Teacher professional learning in the Maldivian context: Working with congruencies for teacher identity as a socio-cultural identity

Abstract

ABSTRACT In this paper, I explore how teacher professional learning focussing on pedagogical praxis and teachers’ socio-cultural backgrounds can foster generalist teacher’s identity as a science teacher. In the context of the Maldives, I report on three generalist primary teachers’ learning journeys in exploring and developing science teaching pedagogies alongside their science content. The teachers engaged in a variety of flexible professional learning activities that focussed on individual learning as well as collective learning. The content of the professional learning activities was pedagogies for science-investigations. Data was collected from lesson observations, teacher reflection-on-practice, individual interviews, and group-lesson-planning-meetings. These data were analysed adopting a thematic narrative analysis focussing on teachers’ voices and individual learning journeys. The analysis of this data demonstrated that the group’s in-depth engagement and reflection of the practical realities of adopting the pedagogies was directed by their agency, desire to learn and socio-cultural expectations, shaping their identities as science teachers and as a community of science teachers, despite their initial fears and reluctance to identify themselves so. Such meaningful processes of professional learning are possible when teacher learning activities are in harmony with teachers’ socio-cultural identities and that of the school’s cultural norms and values – critical elements of any professional learning endeavour.