The Construction of Identities in the Pre-Service Training of Social Sciences Teachers

Abstract

We live in a global society in which conflicts arise from the non-acceptance of existing diversity. To achieve more inclusive and fair societies, it is necessary that education and, specifically, Social Sciences, attend to the development of identities from the school itself. We present a qualitative case study with Primary Education teachers in initial training at two Spanish universities: the Autonomous University of Barcelona and the University of Seville. By means of a questionnaire with open and closed questions, we explored the representations of future teachers on the construction of their identity, as well as their practical perspectives on the approach to identities in the primary classroom. Quantitative and qualitative techniques were used for data analysis. The most relevant results of the study indicate that in the two cases analyzed the students have a mixed perspective on the construction of their identities, in which the elements linked to local, social, and linguistic contexts are more important. In relation to the approach to identities in the classroom, there are some differences and similarities between the groups that make us reflect on the need to promote a model of initial training that links the teaching of identities not only with knowledge of our present and past, but also with social transformation and the future.