Teacher Professional Identity Research Articles

Психологические механизмы формирования профессиональной надежности будущих педагогов

Society demands higher education teachers with new professional skills. Satisfying this demand requires socio-cultural and scientific research to discover ways to develop such qualities in student teachers. This article was written as part of the author's doctoral dissertation research: Student teachers’ professional reliability formation. The purpose of this study was to identify the psychological mechanisms of student teachers’ professional reliability training. Methodology. The following research methods were used: psychological testing, expert evaluation and pedagogical experiment. Additional methods included: Method of Identity Diagnostics (Schneider, 2007), Method of Reflexivity Diagnostics (Karpov, 2003), Diagnostic Map of Professional Reliability of Student teachers (Osadchuk, 2007). The study carried out at Omsk State Pedagogical University (Russia) involved 75 students and 4 teachers. The educational experiment was carried out in the natural conditions that were familiar to students, and the natural course of the educational process was not interrupted. Novelty. The author developed and pilot-tested a range of new educational tools to actualize the psychological mechanisms to train professional reliability of student teachers. These tools included different types of unsupervised activities, motivation training, teaching methods, and pedagogical support strategies. Results. The article presents experimental data showing the correlation between indicators of professional reliability, identity, and reflexivity of student teachers. It contains a diagnostic map of professional reliability for student teachers developed by the author, which can serve as one of the tools for monitoring the education quality in teacher training courses. The findings can be used in educational program development, organizational and methodological documentation, as well as educational and extra-curricular activities related to higher teaching education goals and syllabi.

Professional Identity and Struggles of Basic Level English Teacher: A Critical Narrative Inquiry

Professional development is a continuous process of learning to empower professional competency and enable teachers to be strong and competent in their professional career. The study critically explores the struggles and professional activities of basic level English teachers in professional development. Critical narrative inquiry has been used in relation to long lived experiences of a participant with a semi – structured telephonic interview. The participant narrates three distinct phases of experiences in teaching profession. The result revealed that participant was innately interested in teaching profession before involvement. But the situated school system discouraged his ideology of teaching profession even he determined to continue his profession involving in different seminars, workshop and study. However, the study further suggests that there is lack of innovating teaching profession from critical perspectives focusing the interactive and transformative environment in classroom. Therefore, the basic level teachers need to re- examine and re – construct the professional activities to address the need, interest and level of learners. Similarly, the study contributes to apply language teaching activities in terms of transformative mood rather than structured model of teaching empowering teachers as an agency.

Extracurricular educational activities for prospective teachers’ professional identity development

The influence of extracurricular educational activities at the university on prospective teachers professional identity development has been grounded on the basis of literature on psychology and education analysis, as the influence reflects the professional identity related to axiological definition of life in profession and a semantic system uniting determination of oneself and ones profession. The authors define professional identity, teachers professional identity, a complex of methods evaluating students professional identity development dynamics, and clarify the scientific concept of extracurricular educational activities at the teacher training university. In this work it is understood as an interaction of teachers and students outside the learning process aimed at students personality formation as a subject of prospective professional teachers work, professional identity, self-perfection, self-education and self-development. Extracurricular educational activities at the teacher training university are regarded by the authors as a part of prospective teachers education and professional training. The empirical studies of the professional identity carried out by the authors reflect the role and place of extracurricular educational activities at the teacher training university, as well as their forms and methods for the development of the researched object. Forms, methods and ways of extracurricular educational activities at the teacher training university promoting prospective teachers professional identity development were identified and verified experimentally. The recent study makes it possible to assume that the prospective teachers professional identity results from extracurricular educational activities at the university.

Teachers’ professional identity: validation of an assessment instrument for preservice teachers

This study aims to develop and validate an instrument to analyse future Secondary Education teachers' perceptions regarding the development of Teachers' Professional Identity (TPI). The data were collected from a sample of 733 participants who were students enrolled in the Master's Degree for Secondary Education teachers. The psychometric properties of the instrument were obtained by analysing content, and comprehension validity, construct validity and reliability. A first subsample was used for an Exploratory Factor Analysis, and a second one to verify the identified factor structure via Confirmatory Factor Analysis. The instrument is made up of 31 items in four scales namely the understanding of TPI, the development of TPI at various educational levels, the development of TPI in comparison with that of other professionals and the influencing factors. The results show that it has high levels of validity and reliability. Therefore, it provides TPI research field with an instrument to assess it during the initial teacher training period in consecutive training models where it seems to occur more identity crisis.

Teacher professional identity and the nature of technology integration

Professional identity shapes teachers' sense making of how to understand and behave in their teaching work, and thus may play a significant role in determining how teachers position and appropriate technology in the teaching process. However, how different aspects of teacher professional identity might influence teachers' approaches to technology integration is not well understood. SEM analysis of the survey responses of 280 English language teachers in mainland China on three aspects of professional identity and their use of technology in language instruction revealed that teachers' educator identity orientation towards educational goals, didactic and pedagogical identity orientation towards professional knowledge base and learner-centered orientation towards instruction were significant determinants of teachers' use of technology for content delivery, for learning enrichment and for learning transformation. Moreover, different types of technology use were influenced differently by professional identity. The findings advocate greater attention to these professional identity orientations when examining and supporting teachers’ technology integration.

A Qualitative Study on Identity Construction among Teachers Working with Students with Disabilities

The purpose of this study was to explore multiple facets of the professional identities of Iranian in-service teachers in exceptional schools. The study adopted a qualitative design. The data were collected through in-depth interviews with 14 in-service teachers. The participants were selected through purposeful sampling. Each interview lasted up to 40 minutes. The whole procedure of the data collection was audio-recorded, and verbatim transcriptions were made. Thematic analysis was utilized to analyze the qualitative data. Three themes emerged: relationships, lower identity, and professional identity. The study has some implications for policymakers, curriculum designers, educational psychology, and teacher educators.

What affects the arrogant, proud or ashamed pre-service teacher in mathematics? Effects of social comparison, gender and self-concept on self-conscious emotions

Emotions are essential for the development of professional competence and identity of pre-service teachers. Thus, they can also be seen as an inherent part of teachers’ professional competence and identity. They also influence teachers’ later emotional experience when teaching at school. Mathematics, especially, triggers activating emotions in pre-service primary school teachers. Pride and shame can be understood as relevant achievement emotions, which are also closely linked to the self-concept of a person. Nevertheless, they have been insufficiently studied among pre-service mathematics teachers so far. The present study examines authentic and hubristic pride and shame among n = 310 German prospective primary school teachers in relation to self-concept (ability vs. effort), gender and social comparison with fellow students regarding their own achievement. On the one hand, the results point to the difference between authentic and hubristic pride, and on the other hand, the study provides evidence for the dynamic closeness of shame and hubristic pride. Practical implications, especially for teacher education, are discussed against the background of the limitations of the study.

Teaching Metaphors: Supporting Professional Growth and Shaping Teacher Identity

A phenomenological study was conducted to further a better understanding, and inquire a new awareness, on how metaphors can support professional growth and shape teacher identity for early childhood education students. Examining teaching metaphors might be another strategy for teacher preparation programs to help early childhood education students in identifying their pre-existing values about teaching and learning. Teaching metaphors may guide students to reflect on values and beliefs that make an important impression on their individual teaching journey.

Pre-Primary and Lower Primary Teachers’ Professional Identity in Primary Schools in Nairobi County, Kenya

Professional identity is a noteworthy aspect of the teachers’ professional lives. This is because it influences the manner in which they do their work, retention and productivity in their places of work. This article presents findings from a PhD study that aimed at establishing the status of pre-primary and lower primary teachers’ professional identity and exploring factors influencing it. Fredrick Herzberg’s (1950) theory of Satisfaction and Motivation was used to guide the study. The study used concurrent triangulation research design. The dependent variable was early year’s education teachers’ professional identity, while the independent variable was the type of school. The study was conducted in Kasarani Sub-County in Nairobi County, Kenya. The sample size consisted of 220 teachers and 44 head-teachers in both public and private primary schools. Questionnaires and interview schedules were used to collect data which was then analysed using qualitative and quantitative methods. Findings from the study revealed that pre-primary and lower primary teachers’ professional identity was weak. It was recommended that school management, county and national governments, and other key stakeholders should aim at addressing issues that weaken early year’s education teachers (EYET) professional identity.

Understanding a STEM teacher\u2019s emotions and professional identities: a three-year longitudinal case study

BackgroundTeacher emotions are sometimes underplayed in the research field of teaching and teacher education. Also, teachers often undergo transformations in their professional identities during education reforms. However, very few studies explore the connections between teacher emotions and their professional identities against the background of education reforms, especially in Asian contexts. There is an increasing emphasis on STEM as an education reform in China and the world, and a deep understanding of STEM teacher emotions and professional identities is necessary in the fast development of STEM education. This study examined how a STEM teacher emotionally constructed her professional identities under the STEM education reform.MethodsThis is a 3-year longitudinal case study employing a narrative inquiry approach with one STEM teacher in China. Data collection included one in-depth, semi-structured interview, three conversations, personal emotional diaries, and correspondence records. A four-step data analysis was conducted.ResultsThree major themes reflecting the participant’s emotional professional identities emerged, including “an interested but confused learner”, “an enthusiastic but nervous explorer”, and “an excited but unsatisfied mentor”. In the participant’s experiences as a learner, explorer, and mentor, positive and negative emotions were always intertwined. These helped construct and shape her professional identities and encouraged her to be the best STEM teacher that she could be.ConclusionThis study provides a series of vivid and dynamic pictures of a STEM teacher’s emotions and professional identities against the background of STEM education reform in China from a 3-year longitudinal perspective. It also indicates the personal, social, cultural, and contextual factors that could have strong effects on teachers’ emotional experiences and the construction of professional identities. Furthermore, this study reveals that three processes (i.e., the process of education changes, the process of creating new or multiple professional identities, and the generation process of teacher emotions) could be intertwined and developed together.

The specifics of formation of young teachers’ professional identity in a big russian city

The purpose of this work is to consider the specifics of formation of young teachers’ professional identity in a big Russian city (in conditions of social and labor transformation of Russian society). Methodological framework of the proposed study consists in the principles of neo-institutional theory and the theory of precariat. The results of the study also revealed some elements of constructive influence of social and labor transformation on professional identity of young teachers. Among them the authors enumerate: the change in modern teachers’ career space (focus on horizontal professional mobility), the possibility of developing pedagogical skills and expanding professional competencies, changes in the formula of remuneration and calculation of the workload that are gradually entering certain territories of the country.

Photo-narrative frames: Using visuals with narrative research in applied linguistics

A narrative frame is a data collection instrument comprising a series of sentence prompts that facilitate the elicitation of participant narratives by scaffolding the writing process. Narrative frames allow multiple respondents to compose narratives that are comparable in length, form, and substance, thus allowing the researcher to focus on more precise research aims than are generally possible with more open-ended types of narrative data. In this article, we discuss the rationale for narrative frames and their use in recent research, revisiting their strengths and limitations as research instruments. Following this, we use data from a project investigating the professional identities of expatriate native-speaking English teachers to illustrate the use of photo-narrative frames, an innovation that supplements written stories with photographs from participants' professional experiences. As narratives provide a means of understanding the experiences of others, visual data, such as photographs, can amplify the context, further connecting participant narratives to insights about the complexity of their lives and behaviors. The study details the procedures, from designing and piloting the frames to data collection and analysis. We show how visual-textual layering and integration occurs in a participant's stories and how the images help the participant convey their professional narratives to others. We conclude by considering the ethical issues with collecting and disseminating photographs from participants before making suggestions for future research, focusing on further innovations that can blend visual methods with narrative research, for example, by taking advantage of social media platforms and on-line survey software.

Beginning Student Teachers’ Professional Identity

Abstract: This article investigates teachers’ professional identity of beginning first-year students through their beliefs about being a teacher. The presented study focuses on Austrian teacher students’ (N=18) conceptions of becoming a professional; what convictions student teachers reflect on, which professional identity emerges and what synthesis of a professional teacher identity position can be portrayed at the beginning of teacher education. Through inductively driven content analysis all statements (N=401) have been combined, and a unified synthesis of a beginning student teachers’ professional identity was formed. Three main categories were found: the “ideal” teacher, “good” teaching, and the “optimal” working environment. The results showed a highly idealistic view of being a teacher. The majority of statements referred to teaching from a pupil-centered perspective by strongly emphasising personality traits, student-teacher relationships, and teachers’ professional knowledge. Based on the results, the role of professional identity in Austrian’s teacher education is discussed, and further implementations in research are recommended.

Development and Validation of an English Language Teacher Professional Identity Scale (ELTPIS)

The notion of teacher professional identity has become a regular fixture in numerous theoretical and empirical studies in both mainstream and L2 teacher education. Consequently, a number of scales have been designed and developed to quantify this construct. To be sure, the extant instruments are general with regard to both context and subject matter, and this line of inquiry has not addressed the quantification of the concept in the ELT profession. The present study was, therefore, an attempt to provide a (re)conceptualization of L2 teachers’ professional identity through exploring its underlying components. To this end, an initial 61-item, self-assessment questionnaire was developed using a comprehensive review of the related literature and experts’ opinion. The trial scale was then administered to a sample of 676 ELT teachers. Results of exploratory factor analysis reduced the instrument to 42 items, leading to a six-factor model which indicated that L2 teacher identity includes: researching and developing one’s own practice; language awareness; institutional and collective practice; engaging learners as whole persons; appraising one’s teacher self; and sociocultural and critical practice. Confirmatory factor analysis substantiated the resultant six-factor model as a robust and valid tool for measuring ELT teachers’ professional identity.

Comment

This issue includes a literature review of theory and research around children’s working theo ries; ways in which teachers purposefully inte grated the sounds, smells, tastes, sights, and textures that were known to the child, and new sensations for the child to affirm and extend the child’s sense of belonging; and case studies of four teaching and learning episodes where “everyday democratic practice” is enacted. There is also a thoughtful analysis of preservice teacher professional identity and whether and how Initial Teacher Education enables the development of advocate activist identities. Two articles raise issues that lend themselves to policy solutions in particular: an article on the impact of noise in ECE, and an article on integrated ECE service provision that is related to initiatives formulated in He Taonga te Tamaiti. Every Child a Taonga. Early Learning Action Plan 2019–2029.

Digital transformation of Russian society as a condition of forming young teachers’ professional identity in a big city

Digitalization affects every sphere of life including education. However, for it to be beneficial, it needs transfomation in order to fit the current situation or changes that have occurred in human life over a time.The purpose of this research is to consider the impact of the digital transformation of Russian society on the formation of young teachers’ professional identity. The constructivist approach and the "soft concepts" of identity that have developed within its framework, serve as the methodological basis of the proposed research. The results of the applied authors’ sociological study conducted in 2020 serve as the empirical basis of this study. The method of collecting information was an in-depth interview. The reseach concluded that digitalization has a positive impact on formation of professional identity of young teachers. We also note that, despite the fact that the forced transition to online education has increased the prestige of teaching, digitalization cannot be considered as an independent factor that is able to change the professional space so that it becomes more attractive for young professionals.
 
 Keywords: mass digitalization, forced onlineization, digitalization of school education, online education, professional identity, young teachers, Russian megapolis.

University didactics and their relationship with the development of research skills in students of the National University of San Martín

The study was carried out with a sample of 30 teachers and 30 speakers from the VIII, IX and X cycle of the Language Studies Program of the Faculty of Education and Humanities of the National University of San Martín, Tarapoto. In this context, implementing scientific ally conceived university didactics is a fundamental element of professional transformation of teachers and the improvement of the training practice they develop. One of the fundamental conditions for improving the quality of university teaching lies, in our view, in making possible a substantive change in the configuration of the professional identity of university teachers. In the light of these considerations, studies that provide theoretical modelling on investigative skills are insufficient since most theoretical and empirical results focus, specifically, on the training of a profession. The careers with the greatest presence in the subject are Medicine and Bachelor of Education. In the case of the latter, the most repeated object of study is initial investigative or postgraduate training. In the research, it was raised that the act of the situation between university didactics at the National University of San Martín–Tarapoto and the development of research skills inherent in students of the VIII, IX and X cycle of the Language Studies Program are significantly related. A correlational descriptive study was conducted; theoretical methods of induction, analysis, synthesis, as well as empirical measurement methods were used, as well as statistical methods and individual survey techniques. For statistical contrast of the hypothesis, Pearson's statistical correlation technique was used; hypothesis test, there is statistical evidence with a significance level of 5%. The conclusions shape the validity of the hypotheses.

Efficacy of EFL Teachers’ Assessment Literacy and Professional Identity in Boosting Learners’ Autonomy

This study was set out to investigate the effects of EFL teachers’ assessment literacy and professional identity on learners’ autonomy. Meanwhile, the relationship between teachers’ assessment literacy and professional identity was investigated. Moreover, educators’ perspectives on learner autonomy were studied. To this end, 40 EFL teachers participated in the study through completing assessment literacy scale developed by Mertler (2003) and teacher professional identity questionnaire designed by Beijaard et al. (2000). Besides, 20 EFL teachers were interviewed. Likewise, 110 upper-intermediate EFL learners answered Zhang and Li’s (2004) learner autonomy questionnaire. A mixed method design was used to answer the research questions. The findings revealed that teachers’ assessment literacy was linked to their professional identity. Moreover, assessment literacy and professional identity had fruitful effects on learner autonomy. The findings made it certain that teachers believed in learners’ abilities however they didn’t know how to cultivate autonomous learners.

Using discourse analysis to understand professional music teacher identity

The purpose of this article is to discuss the use of discourse analysis in order to understand music teachers’ professional identities. This is done by elaborating on the theory and methodology of a study on professional identities of music teachers within the Norwegian municipal school of music and performing arts. Theoretical and methodological perspectives, including research design, analysis, results, validity and ethics, are discussed in the article. An argument in favour of discourse analysis is put forward: that it offers focus on the context, complexity and power relations of the field, as well as providing an understanding of how identities are constructed and negotiated. The use of discourse analysis in the study provided analytical tools which challenged taken-for-granted knowledge, discovered binary discursive oppositions, and unmasked power relations. The study found that teachers construct their identities within a contested discursive field where meanings are attached to the work they perform, as well as to the institutions they represent.

Preservice teachers’ experiences of pandemic related school closures: anti-structure, liminality and communitas

Initial Teacher Education (ITE) can be viewed as a formative space in professional teacher identity development. Practice plays a key role in shaping teacher identity, providing a window into the reality of school life, as well as nurturing professional autonomy. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, school life shifted suddenly and unrecognisably in March 2020. This paper focuses on the experiences of preservice teachers on an ITE programme (post-primary) in one Irish University during the period of sudden school closures. The data show the transition to be problematic, underscored by a chaotic pivot to virtual communication and a destabilising of the structures that normally provide consistency. Yet it also presented opportunities and responsibilities. We explore Victor Turner’s work to consider school placement as an ‘in between’ space for preservice teachers and to examine the extent to which sudden school closures heightened this sense of ‘in betweenness’. We argue that the pandemic and its lifting out of pervasive and predictable social structures, gave rise to a period of ‘anti-structure’. We view school closures as an example of anti-structure, which challenged preservice teachers’ identity formation yet also gave rise to ‘communitas’ through experimentation with different modes of being and doing.