Can school culture drive teacher leadership agility, or is collaboration the missing link?

This study explores whether school culture alone can drive teacher leadership agility or if collaboration serves as the critical link needed for success in evolving educational settings. Using an exploratory design and Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM), survey data were collected from 199 basic education teachers in the Department of Education (DepEd), Region VIII, Philippines, during the Academic Year 2025–2026. The findings reveal that collaboration is the most significant factor in enhancing teacher leadership agility, overshadowing the direct impact of school culture, which was not statistically significant. However, the study identifies that professional development positively influences school culture, which, in turn, fosters collaborative practices that act as a mediator in strengthening leadership agility. These results underscore the importance of integrating structured collaborative mechanisms to transform cultural and developmental resources into adaptive leadership practices effectively. The research highlights the need for school administrators and policymakers to prioritize the establishment of professional learning communities, targeted professional development initiatives, and intentional collaboration frameworks. By addressing the interplay between school culture and collaboration, this study contributes to the broader discourse on adaptive leadership in educational organizations, offering strategic insights to support resilient and innovative schools in diverse and resource-constrained environments.