Öğretmen Mesleki Kimliğini Anlamak: İngilizce Öğretmen Adaylarının Görüşleri

Abstract

The present qualitative case study aimed to explore Turkish pre-service English language teachers’ perspectives on the elements of teacher professional identity and their understandings of their own professional identity development during practice teaching. An in-depth analysis of interviews and journal entries showed that it was a continuous process for pre-service teachers to consolidate language-related, personal, and pedagogical elements of their teacher professional identities. The findings revealed that pre-service teachers’ identities are grounded on language proficiency, disciplinary and context-relative skills, and awareness about themselves and students. For pre-service teachers, being an English language teacher meant encompassing language-focused, teacher-focused, and learner-focused skills and characteristics. It was further found that there was a transition from individual to institutional perspectives for pre-service teachers in understanding their professional identity development. Their initial comments on their own teacher identities mostly elaborated on their characteristics and role models whereas their final remarks were on the teacher authority and responsibilities. This study suggests that understanding pre-service teacher identities would guide necessary actions in initial teacher education.