Examination of High School Physics Teachers’ Professional Identity: A Case Study

Abstract

This study aimed to explore physics teachers’ professional identity through multiple-case methodology. The goal of physics teacher education is to enhance teachers’ professional development to address the suggestions of reform-based science education. Science teachers’ professional identity has been explored at different grade levels: science teachers defined themselves as content teachers, classroom managers, or isolated workers. In this study, physics teachers’ professional identity is analyzed and explained through Wenger’s (1998) theory of learning. The participants were three male high school physics teachers. Data were collected through interviews, reflections, lesson plans, and classroom observations and analyzed through thematic analysis. The results showed that participating teachers had different identity characteristics in that they were defined as question-oriented, project-oriented, or lecture-oriented teachers. The question-oriented teacher focused on questioning to elicit students’ ideas on different types of questions, the project-oriented teacher tended to encourage students to explore the real-life physics through projects, and the lecture-oriented teacher aimed to explain the content through following a smart notebook including all content explanations and sample questions. The analysis through Wenger’s theory showed that the relationship between teachers’ beliefs and practices was linked to physics teachers’ professional identity. The study has important implications to understand development and characteristics of teacher professional identity.