Abstract

A growing body of research considers professional leadership identity to be a key element in professional culture. More specifically, a leadership identity in school principals implies great changes and improvements in the educational outcomes of schools. The identity is unstable and changing. For this reason, the “teacher-principal” transition includes a series of identity changes in education professionals. In this case, we present a case study of a school principal who leads a school with a difficult performance. The findings reveal important changes in the professional identity of this principal and key elements in reference to her identity asymmetry (perceived and assumed).