Teacher agency in continuous professional learning: a systematic mapping review in the Global South

Purpose This study examines how teacher agency is conceptualised, enabled, constrained, and enacted within Continuous Professional Learning (CPL) in the Global South, where empirical research remains limited. Design/methodology/approach A three-stage mixed-methods review was employed, comprising (1) a systematic mapping review of 1,256 peer-reviewed publications, (2) exploratory modelling used heuristically to examine structural tendencies in CPL-related research visibility, and (3) a qualitative synthesis of six empirical case studies from South Asia, Southeast Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa, and the Middle East. Findings Teacher agency is shown to be relational, contextually mediated, and shaped by institutional cultures, leadership practices, resource conditions, and broader epistemic power relations. Collaborative and school-based CPL, learning-centred leadership, collegial trust, and informal or digitally mediated learning networks emerged as key enablers. Conversely, hierarchical governance, donor-driven reforms, administrative burden, and rigid curriculum mandates constrained teachers' interpretive space. Originality/value By integrating ecological and decolonising perspectives, this study reframes CPL as a socio-political space in which global reform discourses and local epistemologies intersect, advancing a context-sensitive understanding of teacher agency in the Global South.