Leveraging Critical Reflections and AI Analysis with Students and Pedagogical Partners for Transformative Learning in Educational Leadership

This participatory action research study employed a two-step critical reflection process to investigate the connection between the learning process, pedagogies, student experiences, and their scholar-practitioner leader identity. As part of this investigation, we also explored how to guide generative AI to assist with analyzing reflection data while maintaining privacy, ownership of results, and transparency in the analysis steps. We found engagement in critical reflection on specific elements of active learning can shape the scholar-practitioner leader identity for both students and educators, and that human expertise in research ethics and methodology remains essential for maintaining appropriate ethical guardrails when using AI.