Neither student nor teacher? Possible selves in the development of faculty identity during the practicum / ¿Ni estudiante ni profesora? Yoes posibles en el desarrollo de la identidad del profesorado durante el prácticum

Abstract

The process of becoming a teacher is complex and involves enormous challenges for student teachers. Without a doubt, among the most decisive ones is the initiation into professional practice during the practicum. This qualitative interpretive study analyses the practicum reports (narratives) of 15 primary education students from the Dialogical Self Theory. The study seeks to identify the voices that nourish their professional identity, the I-positions (I-p) that arise when coping with critical incidents (CI) experienced during the practicum, and analyse how the different I-ps contribute to an agential transition of the identity from student to teacher. The results point out that the significant voices that nourish the identity of the students in training come from teachers and family members. When confronting CIs, the I-p of I-student predominated, and difficulties are experienced in deploying other professional I-ps. These also highlight the contribution of different I-ps towards the development of the students’ identity-agency, particularly of the I-p of I-future-teacher (possible self). The study offers relevant information for understanding how the student–teacher transition occurs and for reorienting practices towards identity development.