Manifestations of Transformational Agency in a Virtual Community of Practice with Chemical Engineering Faculty

National reports have emphasized the need for pedagogical innovation and social responsibility in engineering education, positioning faculty as key agents of change. Yet, many faculty development models pay limited attention to the institutional and disciplinary environments that shape possibilities for change in their teaching practices. This study investigates how transformational agency (TA) can manifest among chemical engineering faculty who participated in a structured virtual Community of Practice (CoP) designed to support instructional changes.

Two chemical engineering faculty members participated in an eight-month CoP organized as part of an NSF-funded initiative. Each participant engaged in three semi-structured interviews at the beginning, midpoint, and conclusion of the CoP. Interview transcripts were analyzed using Transformational Agency Theory (Bajaj, 2018), which characterizes sustained, relational, coalitional, and strategic forms of agency. Alongside this, the Ecological Systems Theory (EST) (Bronfenbrenner, 2005) was used as a complementary lens resulting in the creation of a Transformational Agency Ecosystem Framework. A reflexive thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2021) guided the coding, combining deductive and inductive approaches. This analysis addressed the research question: How does transformational agency manifest in the experiences of chemical engineering faculty who engage in a structured Community of Practice?

Findings indicate that participation in the CoP supported faculty in developing a stronger sense of instructional purpose, engaging in peer collaboration, and critically reflecting on their teaching roles. These manifestations of agency varied across time and context, suggesting that sustained engagement in professional learning communities can meaningfully shape how faculty approach changes in chemical engineering education. When tied to the Ecological System Theory there are strong correlations between the four TAs and different tiers of the framework. These combined theory relationships also allow for deeper themes to be established, such as critical reflection. Better understanding of these dynamics can provide a structure for future Communities of Practice.