Construction Of Professional Identity Research Articles

An activity theory inquiry into emotional vulnerability and professional identity construction of language teacher educators

ABSTRACT Despite the growth of research on language teachers’ emotion and professional identity in the past decades, little is known about the emotional life of language teacher educators (LTEs), much less about their emotional vulnerability. Accordingly, the present study drew on activity theory and explored 14 Iranian LTEs’ emotional vulnerability and professional identity construction. Drawing on data from narrative frames and semi-structured interviews, our study demonstrated how context created tensions that profoundly shaped the LTEs’ emotional vulnerability and identification processes. Specifically, we found that LTEs’ emotional vulnerability results from others’ malpractice and/or their own lack of autonomy, leading to further identity investment. Although they faced a myriad of challenges serving as sources of emotional and professional identity tensions, the LTEs adhered to ethics in maintaining their identity standards to positively contribute to teachers’ professional growth. We provide implications for institutional policymakers to better acknowledge the professional status of LTEs so that they become less emotionally vulnerable.

Professional identity work of nurse practitioners and family physicians in primary care in Quebec and Ontario – a study protocol

BackgroundSolo medical practices in primary healthcare delivery have been abandoned in favor of interdisciplinary teamwork in most Western countries. Dynamics in interdisciplinary teams might however be particularly difficult when two or more autonomous health professionals develop similar roles at the practice level. This is the case of family physicians (FPs) and nurse practitioners (NPs), due to the fact that the latter might accomplish not only the traditional role proper to a nurse, but also several medical activities such as requesting diagnostic exams and prescribing medical treatments. The tensions that this overlap might generate and their implications in regard of the development of professional identities, and consequently of the quality of health care delivered, have been suggested, but rarely examined empirically. The goal of this study is to examine identity work, i.e., the processes of (re)construction of professional identities, of NPs and FPs working together in primary care interdisciplinary teams.MethodsA longitudinal, interpretive, and comparative multiple (n = 2) case study is proposed. Identity work theory in organizations is adopted as theoretical perspective. Cases are urban primary care multidisciplinary teams from two different Canadian provinces: Quebec and Ontario. Participants are NPs, FPs, managers, and patients. Data gathering involves audio-diaries, individual semi-structured and focus group interviews, observations, and archival material. Narrative and metaphor techniques are adopted for analyzing data collected. Within- and cross-case analysis will be performed.DiscussionFor practice, the results of this investigation will: (a) be instrumental for clinicians, primary care managers, and policy decision-makers responsible for the implementation of interdisciplinary teamwork in primary healthcare delivery to improve decision-making processes and primary care team performance over time; (b) inform continuing interdisciplinary professional development educational initiatives that support competency in health professionals’ identity construction in interdisciplinary primary care organizations. For research, the project will contribute to enriching theory about identity construction dynamics in health professions, both in the fields of health services and primary care education research.

"Today, I Say It's Mine!": Professional Identity Construction among Jewish and Arab School Counselors Coping with CSA Disclosure in Israel.

School counselors play a crucial role in preventing, disclosing, and intervening in child sexual abuse cases (CSA) and in maintaining safe and protected school environments. However, research on their experiences coping with CSA remains limited. The purpose of the present study was to describe and analyze the coping experiences of Israeli Jewish and Arab school counselors with CSA disclosure, particularly the consequences for their processes of professional identity construction (the ongoing process through which they develop and refine their sense of self in their profession). Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 21 Israeli Jewish and Arab school counselors working in elementary schools (grades 1-6) with significant experience in coping with CSA. Two themes surfaced, reflecting the counselors' professional identity construction: (1) Counselors' professional identity transformation following encounters with CSA among their students; (2) Integrating professional knowledge, attitudes, and engagement behaviors into professional identity. The findings describe a trajectory of transformation and professional development among the counselors, beginning with defining and refining their professional roles and followed by the integration of professional knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors into their professional routines. Arab counselors also highlighted specific sociocultural challenges within this process, relating to the gap between cultural values and role expectations. Implications for future research, policy, and practice are discussed.

Exploring Pakistani University Lecturers’ Professional Identity Construction and Negotiation in ESL Classroom

Background: In the context of English as a second language (ESL) education in Pakistani universities, understanding the professional identity construction and negotiation of university lecturers is crucial. Objective: The current study aims to explore the complex dimensions of professional identity among non-native English speaking (NNES) multilingual Pakistani university lecturers. Theoretical Framework: This research aims to address the research gap by providing a nuance exploration of the experiences of Pakistani university lecturers by relating sociocultural theory proposed by Lev Vygotsky (1978). As this theory describes how individual’s cognition is associated with linguistic, cultural, institutional and social contexts, therefore, the focus of the sociocultural perception is on involvement in social interactions Method: Employing the qualitative research approach, the study seeks to investigate the multifaceted aspects that influence the professional identity of the lecturers. Six lecturers were purposively selected on the basis of their linguistic backgrounds and work experiences for classroom observations and in-depth interviews. Results and Discussion: The findings shed light on the challenges and opportunities faced by Pakistani university lecturers in shaping their roles within the ESL teaching domain. Research Implications: The study offers valuable insights into the evolving landscape of ESL education in Pakistan, providing various perspectives of how professional identity is negotiated and constructed within this specific educational context. Originality/Value: The relevance of this study lies in its potential to profoundly influence both academic discourse and educational practices. By delving into the subtle processes of professional identity construction, the study offers valuable insights into the dynamics of teaching and learning in diverse linguistic and cultural settings. It also highlights the critical need for continuous professional development for lecturers to enhance the quality of education.

The liminal space: academic literacies practitioners’ construction of professional identity in the betwixt and between

Research on third space practitioners in higher education has gained traction since the mid-2010s. However, less research has been done on academic literacy practitioners as third space practitioners, and their often-marginalised positioning at many South African higher education institutions. This is despite their integral role in student success, and the fact that many South African academic literacy practitioners support the academic literacies development of thousands of students. At the same time, many also negotiate problematic binaries in terms of institutional conceptualisations and positionings of academic literacies development. This article explores how academic literacy practitioners construct their professional identities and manage the complex tensions that are often an inherent part of these professional identities. Using qualitative data, this research explores which institutional structures and cultures surround academic literacy practitioners, and what constraining or enabling effects these have on how they perform their roles and construct their professional identities. The findings highlight that research helps academic literacy practitioners establish a professional identity and legitimise the value of academic literacies development work. Participants also spoke about the importance of communities of practice and collaboration in shaping their professional identities. Although this paper focuses on South Africa, the findings will likely be useful in other contexts where academic literacy practitioners negotiate problematic binaries while trying to construct professional identities.

It's better to die before dishonour: Linguistic creativity and the negotiation of meaning in the Nigerian Army community of practice

This article investigates emblematic language use and the negotiation of meaning with particular emphasis on generative mechanisms like jargon and slang in two Nigerian Army barracks in Calabar municipality, Cross River State, south-eastern Nigeria. The study is anchored in a linguistic ideology framework which is grounded in beliefs and values people have towards explicit and implicit language use in a particular communicative context. Drawing on qualitative ethnographic data sourced through participant observation and semi-structured interviews with 30 participants who were purposively sampled, the authors argue that jargon and slang are indexical linguistic resources that enable military personnel to create diverse new meanings in the informal linguistic ecology of the army. We conclude that beyond helping to create a new linguistic convention in the barracks, jargon and slang also facilitate the construction of professional identity, enact inclusion/exclusion and sustain dominant values and professional ethos. The study focuses on ways of interpreting the specificity of the military world and the reality of dominance through the prism of these linguistic specimens. Jargon and slang, therefore, offer a firmer lens to appreciate the army's social universe and subjectivities, and more broadly to enhance an understanding of contextually embedded social practices in the military.

Singapore nurses’ perception of professional identity

Introduction: Nurses’ professional identity is important for their career orientation and clinical practice. This study explored Singaporean nurses’ perceptions of professional identity. The results provide an understanding of how guided learning and reflection could help nurses in their professional identity formation and development. Methods: Using an exploratory descriptive qualitative research study and purposive sampling by researchers teaching in the programme, 64 Registered Nurses with a diploma qualification pursuing a Bachelor of Science degree with Honours in Nursing programme in Singapore were invited to participate. They responded to open ended survey questions online, which were analysed using a thematic analysis. Ethical approval was obtained. Results: All 64 first year students were invited to participate at the start of the module and upon the completion. The response rates were 94% and 81% respectively. Two overarching themes – “nurses as professionals with knowledge and moral character” and “the construction of professional identity” - emerged from the data. Conclusion: The nurses perceived their professional nursing identity as a construct comprised of knowledge and moral characteristics, which is consistent with international literature. A professional nursing identity, relationships with other healthcare professionals, patients and confidence in practice were all interrelated. Guided reflection and discussion on clinical experiences and social interactions helped students become aware of their professional identity and responsibilities. Such purposive educational effort needs to be started early and supported through the students’ educational journey into clinical practice. Keywords: Professional Identity of Nursing, Singapore Nurses, Image of Nursing, Social Perception of Nursing in Singapore, Nurse Education

Exploring the Complexities of Professional Identity Formation Among English Teachers at a Korean University

This study explored the perceptions of professional identity among three English teachers from diverse academic disciplines at a Korean university. The teacher participants were chosen based on their diverse sociocultural and academic backgrounds that created a small yet diverse sample of cases. Furthermore, each of them possessed a minimum of 10 years of teaching experience. This extensive experience enabled them to engage in profound reflections regarding the development of their professional identities through the lens of these experiences. Taking a poststructuralist approach, we utilized semi-structured interviews, class observations, and course-related documents to delve into the professional identity formation process and the factors influencing their identity formation. Our findings underscore that professional identity construction is an intricate process, shaped by sociocultural and institutional dynamics. Specifically, two dominant factors emerged: the implications of “native speakerism” and the distinctions between tenure and non-tenure academic tracks. These insights contribute to a deeper understanding of professional identity complexities among English instructors in Korean higher education institutions.

Professional Identity Construction: An Inquiry into the Narratives of Indonesian Teachers of English for Young Learners

Professional Identity Construction: An Inquiry into the Narratives of Indonesian Teachers of English for Young Learners

Defining Who You Are by Whom You Serve? Strategies for Prosocial–Professional Identity Integration with Clients

Many professionals want to both achieve professional success and contribute to society. Yet, in some professional contexts, these aims are in tension because serving elite clients is considered the pinnacle of professional success, but professionals themselves may view serving this clientele as antithetical to making a societal contribution. Drawing on interviews with 84 architects and designers who self-identify as people seeking to contribute to society—that is, who hold a prosocial identity—we develop theory about how professionals navigate tensions between their prosocial and professional identities and with what consequences for their work with clients. We identified four strategies that professionals used to ease these tensions, all of which gave the prosocially oriented professionals a sense of identity integration. However, these strategies differently shaped professionals’ approach to power relations with the client, depending on the client’s status and the types of knowledge and skills each professional viewed as central to their work. Professionals with marginalized social identities, such as women and ethnic/racial minorities, were more likely than others to embrace working with low-status clients and to use broader definitions of the knowledge and skills required for their work. Our findings contribute to scholarship on professional identity construction and prosocial work.

Construction of professional identity in novel teachers. Learning experiences: help or hindrance?

Construction of professional identity in novel teachers. Learning experiences: help or hindrance?

The struggle for pedagogical recognition in higher education: short stories of tension and triumph in the professional identity construction of an English for Academic Purposes (EAP) practitioner in Hong Kong

AbstractA considerable body of work now exists on the role that identity plays in understanding teachers and teaching. Developing and sustaining teacher identities in higher education can, however, be challenging given the subordinate positioning of teaching in some educational contexts. Despite the growth of English for Academic Purposes (EAP) programmes in many parts of the world, recent research suggests that EAP practitioners are especially vulnerable to being assigned marginalized identities within the academy. Therefore, this paper reports the results of a study which used a short story approach to investigate the tensions and triumphs one EAP practitioner in Hong Kong experienced in constructing her language teacher identities (LTIs). Findings suggest that her identity tensions and struggles take place across space and time and play out at different scales, including classrooms, educational institutions, and within broader societal discourses. However, the short stories presented in this paper speak not only of tension and struggle, but also of determination and resilience to construct LTIs in the academy. Consequently, the results of this study can help to raise awareness amongst stakeholders, including policy makers, leaders of higher education institutions, and language teaching practitioners, of how they can support and sustain the construction of LTIs within the academy. Implications for professional learning for language teaching practitioners and suggestions for future research are considered.

The "professional imprint": A prospective reflective writing activity to shed light on the processes of professional identity construction in trainee teachers

The "professional imprint": A prospective reflective writing activity to shed light on the processes of professional identity construction in trainee teachers

Beyond the Theory: Symbolic Interactionism and EAP Practitioners' Professional Identity Construction

This article examined the construction of professional identity among TESOL graduate students who are preparing to teach English. The study investigated the meanings that these students associate with professionalism and the challenges they encounter in the English for Academic Purposes (EAP) profession. Even though the EAP field has received significant research attention, few studies have focused on the construction of professional identity among practitioners themselves. This research employs in-depth interviews with 7 alumni of the English Education Department at IAIN Langsa, Kota Langsa to comprehend how EAP practitioners develop their professional identity. The study utilizes key theories from Symbolic Interactionism to create a theoretical framework on EAP identity. The study's results demonstrate that EAP practitioners perceive themselves as effective teachers, but they encounter tensions around positioning, marginalization, and recognition. These tensions often create fragmented identities that may correspond to academic or support service roles. The study emphasizes the need for a shared understanding of EAP practitioner identity to decrease professional disarticulation

Identidad Profesional docente en la Educación Física: Una revisión integrativa de literatura

In recent decades, the teaching profession, as a result of changes in the professional space and post-Bologna training processes, has been the target of multiple transformations emerging in the reconfiguration of teachers' professional identities, which is why it is important to provide knowledge about its construction process.The purpose of this review is to understand how the Professional Teacher Identity in Physical Education is built and to identify the elements that contribute to its construction. The review was carried out in the Dialnet databases between 2010 and 2022 using the as keywords: Professional Identity and Physical Education, in Spanish or Portuguese in peer-review academic journals. 18 research papers were selected among 54 identified that where submitted to a thematic analysis. Three themes were identified: i) professional teaching identity construction (9 studies), ii) elements that contributed to teacher professional identity (3 studies), iii) construction and elements related to teacher professional identity (6 studies). The findings suggest that teacher professional identity is building from personal, social and professional interactions within a dynamic and progressive process during initial training and professional practices influenced by previous experiences.

“Being a native is not enough if you are not White”: The identity construction trajectory of an African American English language teacher at a Saudi university

Increasing research has recently been devoted to issues of racism within TESOL; however, most studies have been directed towards the unearned privilege of teachers labelled as ‘native English-speaking teachers’ (‘NESTs’) and the unjust marginalization of those perceived as ‘non-native English-speaking teachers’ (‘NNESTs’). This focusing on the former as the exclusive beneficiaries and the latter as the sole victims of racial discrimination has led to overlooking a large portion of language teachers whose professional experiences fit neither group. Approached through the lenses of communities of practice (Lave & Wenger, 1991; Wenger, 1998) and critical race theory, and guided by a narrative inquiry approach, this qualitative study tackles this gap by investigating the professional identity construction trajectory of an African American English language teacher working in a dominated by the native speakerism ideology Saudi university. Relying on in-depth interviews as the main data source, the findings revealed that the participant’s trajectory and forms of (non)participation were profoundly, yet detrimentally, shaped by his non-Whiteness. The study concludes with implications for research, practice, and policy.

Torn between socio-political mandates and professional identity: Teachers’ collaborative reflection on their identity tensions

Although the construction of language teacher professional identity is situated in a social, political, and ideological context, scant attention has been paid to tensions emerging from the nexus between identity construction and these contextual variables. To address this gap, this study drew on English language teachers’ collaborative reflection to provide an emic perspective on the role of the socio-cultural context in the formation of teachers’ professional identity. Eight novice and experienced English language teachers participated in two separate collaborative reflection panels (four teachers in each panel) to reflect on the role of the socio-cultural context in Iran in their professional identity construction and identity tensions. Analysis of teachers’ reflection showed that three sets of interrelated socio-cultural variables impacted the participants’ professional identity tensions: (1) macro state-level variables; (2) meso institutional-level variables; and (3) micro individual-level variables. The findings also indicated that the participating teachers took different positions to resolve the tensions they experienced between their personal ideologies and external expectations at these three levels. The main implication of this study is for institutional administrators and teacher educators to devise plans to lessen the degree of tensions that teachers might experience in their process of professional identity construction and to afford them the agency to resolve these tensions.

‘Academics without publications are just like imperial concubines without sons’: the ‘new times’ of Chinese higher education

ABSTRACT Whilst the extant literature on the publish-or-perish culture in the West is plentiful, there remains surprisingly little scholarship exploring the ways managerialist policies have become integral to local identities, work and life in Chinese universities. We address this gap by taking China’s endeavour to become first in the global higher education field as an entry point and reflecting on our lived experiences as early career researchers (ECRs) in the form of a duoethnography. Our dialogues consider how, and with what effects, Chinese higher education privileges the notion of research excellence and works to construct professional identities. As grassroots ECRs epitomising a force to negotiate, challenge and resist the contemporary research order from below, we identify academic publishing as ‘the best strategy’ to get ahead in the academic game. Despite our compliance with the regime of new managerialism, our narratives also suggest that we are attempting to resist the drive for research productivity through envisaging a slower tempo in writing and aspiring for greater reflection. We provide readers with a range of individual- and collective-based strategies for being and progressing as grassroots ECRs, and implications for universities are also discussed at the end of the article.

Coping with Teacher Professional Identity Tensions: Using TPACK During Global Crisis Time

ABSTRACT Sudden teachers’ transition to an online context has remarkably influenced their professional identity construction. However, little is known about the tensions English Language Teachers (ELTs) experience during this shift. The present study examined ELTs’ identity tensions in online courses, the relevant coping strategies, teachers’ TPACK level and its relationship with their professional identity development. The data were collected through a TPACK/teacher identity questionnaire and semi-structured interviews. Descriptive data analysis revealed that teachers had a high level of TPACK with moderate technological knowledge. The teacher identity analysis indicated that the teachers reported institutional, pedagogical, and sociocultural tensions with varying degrees. Likewise, the qualitative analysis revealed similar tensions, including low access to basic infrastructure and professional support, greater responsibility, top-down online policies, etc. The teachers also reported various coping strategies for these tensions. The study concluded with pedagogical implications for policymakers, administrators, and teacher educators. To support English language teachers’ professionalism, there is a need to rethink policies, facilities, and contextual factors and promote effective technology integration into course content and pedagogies.

Native speakerism as a source of agency-related critical incidents: Implications for non-native English teachers’ professional identity construction

Despite the developments on the contributions of native speakerism (NS) for the professionalism of non-native English-speaking teachers (NNESTs), little is known about how NS influences NNESTs' agency and identity construction. The present study draws on an ecological-poststructural lens and explores such a contribution through critical incidents that happened to 15 Iranian NNESTs. Data were collected from a questionnaire, narrative frames, and semi-structured interviews. The analysis of the data revealed three major themes: (1) native speakerism as a source of NNEST marginalization, (2) the role of school policymakers in NS-induced inequality, and (3) native speakerism as a source of pedagogy of doubt. The findings showed that NS not only serves as a discourse that transcends geographical borders to shape NNESTs' agency and identity, but institutional participants also add to the negative effects of NS on NNESTs' professional practice. The study concludes with implications for institutional policymakers and teacher educators to revisit their understanding of NS and the ripple effects that NS bears for NNESTs’ agency and identity construction.