Abstract
PurposeThis article reports on the intrapersonal, interpersonal and ecological factors that shaped the professional identity (PI) construction of five ESL Malaysian pre-service teachers (PSTs) during microteaching classes and teaching practicum.Design/methodology/approachThe study is qualitative in nature aiming to give voice to ESL PSTs and allow them share their personal experience while constructing their professional identity. The semi-interview data were supported by observation data to validate what PSTs report in their interview. The researchers chose junctural points in the PI construction journey to follow the developmental line of PI growth and to live the experience with the participant. The project was a co-construction of knowledge and enabled a more comprehensive understanding of the phenomenon.FindingsThis inquiry revealed that PI is dynamic and changing constantly as one reinterprets and reevaluates self and interact and react to the various intrapersonal, interpersonal and ecological factors in their context. At the intrapersonal level, lack of practical experience and intrinsic motivation and sense of low self-efficacy created a perception of low PI in the beginning of the simulated practice. The findings also show that supportive interpersonal relationships developed within a facilitating context such as the simulated teaching class smoothed the emergence of high PI. However, when the interpersonal relationships and ecological context in the practicum settings were challenging, they hindered PI development and led to a PI crisis.Practical implicationsThe article offers recommendations to enhance the pivotal role of teaching practice during PSTs' journey of becoming.Originality/valueThis study was conducted in one of the understudied contexts in regards of PI construction. It captured a holistic view of the PI construction. It showed that the interplay of interpersonal and intrapersonal factors, in addition to ecological factors, is not isolated from each other. On the contrary, they were like a cycle circumscribing the PSTs and impact their PI construction. Hence, the authors believe that the study contributed with a comprehensive understanding of pre-service PI construction.
Highlights
This article reports on the intrapersonal, interpersonal and ecological factors that shaped the professional identity (PI) construction of five ESL Malaysian pre-service teachers (PSTs) during microteaching classes and teaching practicum
Research approach and question The data being discussed in this paper are part of a larger research project focusing on pre-service teacher professional identity construction (PSTPIC) during simulated teaching and teaching practicum within a Teaching English as a Second Language (TESL) teacher preparation program in a large public university in Malaysia
Intrapersonal factors affecting PSTPIC At the beginning of the simulated teaching classes, the participants expressed their sense of low PI; they could not see themselves as qualified effective PSTs
Summary
This article reports on the intrapersonal, interpersonal and ecological factors that shaped the professional identity (PI) construction of five ESL Malaysian pre-service teachers (PSTs) during microteaching classes and teaching practicum. Lave and Wenger’s (1991) situated learning theory represents the ideas of CoP and peripheral participation as part of the theoretical framework that captures the role of the social factors that direct PSTPIC. It shows how a TEP can serve as a space where PSTs try out different identities and practices to construct their own teacher identity. The situated learning framework explains the role and nature of social relations and forms of participation that could support or hinder the formation of PSTs’ professional identity
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