The purpose of this qualitative exploratory embedded single-case study was to identify the effective JROTC teacher's leadership practices in five U.S. public secondary schools in Virginia that positively influence classroom learning environments. This study's central question was: How can JROTC teachers' leadership practices and behaviors influence innovative classroom instructions? The conceptual framework was Kouzes' and Posner's leadership model on positive leadership transformation. The research was conducted to identify factors attributed to the problem that leadership used by the JROTC teachers was ineffective, despotic, and irrelevant to modern students' needs. The methodology used a qualitative exploratory embedded single-case study design because the inquiry was appropriate for descriptive studies to describe a phenomenon's features, context, and process. This study identified how a purposively selected sample of ten JROTC teachers effectively integrated leadership practices into their teaching. The setting was five U.S. public secondary schools in Virginia. Semi-structured interviews, document analysis, and focus group discussions were used to develop a detailed description of each case. Themes and coding were used to analyze the data collected to be compared to the school culture as a cross-case analysis. There was a literature gap on the effectiveness of leadership practices within the JROTC program. This study confirmed that JROTC teachers were instrumental in effective leadership practices because students were transformed by growth mindsets and ideologies that shift their worldviews as they obtained new information. Therefore, teachers provided the structure for promoting critical reflection and empowerment that created growth mindset transformations based on the student's unique needs while promoting awareness of leadership practices and innovations. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2222/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]