Purpose: In response to threats to teacher autonomy and creativity by measurements of teacher quality through student performance on high-stakes test scores and standardised professional learning, this study aims to explore teacher collaborative research for opportunities for promotion of teacher agency. Design/methodology/approach: The authors explore the following research question: How is agentic teacher research into English teaching that integrates information and communication technologies and creative and critical thinking enabled? Using ethnographic tools and an analytical lens influenced by ecological teacher agency, factors which enable teacher agency within teacher research are investigated. Findings: Teachers' experiences of, and insights into, collaborative research indicate the enabling of teacher agency through an interplay of personal and professional narratives and available cultural, structural and material resources. Intersections between teacher research and teaching for creativity and teacher agency are revealed. Originality/value: Three separate fields of study including teacher agency, teacher research and teaching for creativity are brought together providing insight into how teacher research into teaching for creativity in literacy learning can enhance teacher collaboration, autonomy and agency.