Exploring teacher identity from a holistic perspective: reconstructing and reconnecting personal and professional selves

Abstract

This article explores the influence of personal and professional experiences on the development of teacher identity. The holistic perspective in this article refers to the language teachers’ exploration of their personal and professional experiences with the use of both conscious/rational and intuitive/tacit thought processes. Three language teachers explored their beliefs, perceptions, and interpretations originating in their personal, educational, and professional experiences that also affected their teacher identity. Reflexive autobiographical journaling, a guided visualization activity, and three in-depth interviews were used as research methods. The results confirm that teacher identity is deeply embedded in one’s personal biography. The participants’ beliefs and interpretations rooted in their family environment made an impact on their school experiences, career choice, instructional practice, teaching philosophy, and teacher identity. The results suggest that the analysis of teachers’ personal life experiences and their impact on teaching can lead to a holistic understanding of the dominant influences on the development of teacher identity. This research suggests that there may be a broader spectrum of the influences on teacher identity development in professional development than heretofore acknowledged. This paper argues for the necessity of designing an integrated personal and professional development program for language teachers.