Teacher Professional Identity Research Articles

Exploring Teacher’s Professional Identity in Relationship to Leadership: A Latent Profile Analysis

As a result of the COVID-19 outbreak, which has affected the whole world, teacher leadership has gained more significance. Teacher leadership is a multidimensional concept. While some teachers exercise leadership only at the classroom level, others exercise leadership at a macro level. This level of leadership enactment is directly related to how teachers construct their professional identity in relation to leadership. This study aims to explore the leadership-related professional identities of teachers who came to the fore, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic period by using latent profile analysis. The data were collected from a sample of 710 teachers. Teachers completed the Teacher Leadership Behavior Scale, which measures teacher leadership behaviors at four levels: classroom, parental, micro-level, and macro-level. Participants also completed the Rosenberg self-esteem scale, the teacher self-efficacy scale, the openness to authority scale, and the job satisfaction scale. As a result of latent profile analysis, three distinct profiles of teacher leadership identity emerged: those who exercise leadership at a minimum level, an intermediate level, and a maximum level across all four levels of teacher leadership. These profiles were labeled as “restricted professionality”, “intermediate professionality”, and “extended professionality”, drawing upon Hoyle’s conceptualization of teacher professional identity. These findings suggest that teachers construct their identities differently regarding teacher leadership. It is essential for school leaders to first explore the different levels of professional identity and tailor their professional development activities accordingly.

Munus triplex: A pedagogical application of a theological concept

The authors considered the identity of Christian teachers to be an urgent matter because of rapid changes in society, and assumed that such a consideration could help to envision education in an authentic way. They recognised that the current understanding of Christian identity emphasises unity with Christ and, therefore, set out to demonstrate that this unity is not only a matter of private spiritual life, but must also be carefully considered in professional practice. This article is not a research paper per se, but rather an exploratory, constructive essay. The authors examined and elaborated on unity with Christ with the help of the so-called three offices of Christ: prophet, priest, and king. After interpreting the Heidelberg Catechism and bringing it into critical dialogue with contemporary voices, they identified the implications of the three offices for educational practice. The office of prophet was reflected in both the implicit and explicit messages of the teacher. The office of priest was observable in a teacher’s compassionate behaviour, while the office of king was seen in the teacher’s humble citizenship and struggle against evil, as well as in the ethical views that a teacher promotes in class. Three offices were found helpful in rethinking Christian teachers’ role. The implications of this research included the potential for counterbalancing dualistic practices (role of the prophet), placing an emphasis on care instead of neoliberal pressures (role of the priest), and envisioning subject content within the coming of the kingdom (role of the king).Contribution: Through its consideration of the teaching profession in terms of the three offices of Christ, this article’s research seeks to enhance the professional identity of faithful Christian teachers. While the focus is primarily on those employed in Christian schools and also intends to influence the identity of those working in secular settings. The authors argue that teachers are prophets in the messages they impart, priests when they act compassionately, and kings when they encourage dedicated and exemplary citizenship.

Conceptualizing Teacher Professional Identity in Tertiary Education

This study attempted to conceptualize Saudi EFL teacher’s professional identity and the vital role it plays in educational process. Mixed methods’ design was used to answer four research questions using a questionnaire comprised of 14 elements in three subsections: the subject matter field (4 statements), the didactical field (6 statements), and the pedagogical field (4 statements) and semi-structured face-to-face interviews. The 491 randomly selected participants who agreed to take part in the study were aware of the constructs underlying the formation of their professional identity but exclusively confined these constructs to their instructional experience. Future researchers should conduct more comprehensive studies to cater for other constructs that underpin EFL teacher’s professional identity in the Saudi context.

The Professional Identity of University Teachers

Society is experiencing a process of change, which impacts on the formation of citizens; the professional teaching identity is related to a behavior of improvement, which drags with it to the progress of its environment, it is necessary to understand the conceptualized, of the professional teaching identity to determine the theoretical conceptions on the professional teaching identity through a literature review. A literature review was conducted to determine the theoretical conceptions of the teaching professional identity, through the search of articles in different platforms, 23 articles were analyzed, between 2017 to 2022.

Illuminating the English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teaching odyssey: unveiling the professional identities of pre-service teachers

Background: This study delves into the self-perceived professional identities of pre-service English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers within a Vietnamese context. The objective of this study was to augment the understanding of the evolution of teacher identity, which would subsequently provide valuable insights for the formulation of bespoke teacher education programs. Methods: This research was anchored in grounded theory, adhering to a qualitative research design. Reflective writing was the primary instrument for data collection, with 238 pre-service teachers, enrolled in an English Teacher Education training program. Data collection took place in the academic year 2022-2023 at a university in Can Tho city, Vietnam from February 1st until May 31st, 2023. Pre-service teachers were tasked with writing an 80-word reflection on their perceived professional identity. Participants were chosen through convenience sampling. Data analysis encompassed open coding and a constant comparative method, culminating in the construction of a theoretical framework. Results: The findings of this study revealed a continuum of self-perceived professional identities among 238 pre-service teachers (28 identities in total), encompassing flexible teachers (n=24), student-cantered teachers (n=21), reflective teachers (n=16), growth-oriented teachers (n=13), engaging teachers (n=12), supportive teachers (n=11), enthusiastic teachers (n=10), disciplinarian teachers (n=9), subject-matter expert teachers (n=9), resourceful teachers (n=8), balanced teachers (n=8), pragmatic teachers (n=7), relationship-builder teachers (n=7), sociable teachers (n=7), attentive teachers (n=7), real-world connector teachers (n=7), professional boundaries teachers (n=7), interactive teachers (n=6), traditional teachers (n=6), holistic teachers (n=6), contextually aware teachers (n=5), cheerful teachers (n=5), authentic teachers (n=5), appreciated teachers (n=5), compassionate communicator teachers (n=5), guided teachers (n=4), feedback-driven teachers (n=4), and consistent identity teachers (n=4). Conclusions: The study offers invaluable perspectives into the genesis of professional identities in the domain of teacher education within the Vietnamese EFL context and holds significant implications for the enhancement of teacher training methodologies and pedagogical development.

The relationship between principal support, teacher professional identity, and teacher professional learning in China: Investigating gender differences

AbstractAs an alternative concept of teacher professional development, teacher professional learning has attracted increasing research attention. This study explored the relationship between teacher gender, principal support, teacher professional identity, and teacher professional learning among 608 teachers in central and western regions of China. The results indicated that female teachers perceived higher professional identity and professional learning than male teachers. Principal support had a significant positive influence on teacher professional learning, with teacher professional identity playing a partial mediating role. Teacher gender moderated the mediation effect of teacher professional identity on teacher professional learning, and professional identity had a higher influence on professional learning among male than female teachers. Based on the findings, the practical implication was discussed.

The professional identities of prospective mathematics teachers who teach through programming

AbstractAs has been the case in many countries around the world, the new Norwegian curriculum from 2020 included programming as part of mathematics education. However, little is known about how prospective teachers perceive this addition in regard to their developing professional identities. When the results from an electronic survey of 394 prospective teachers showed unexpected findings, five of the subjects were asked to participate in a focus group interview in order to explore some of these results. The focus group interview was conducted to understand how prospective teachers considered the past, present and future aspects of their professional identities as teachers of mathematics through programming. The results reveal that, although the prospective teachers had little experience of programming, they were positive regarding its implementation in mathematics lessons because they identified themselves as digital natives; they therefore believed that learning to program would be easy. They aligned themselves with their students, as masters of technology, in contrast to their future colleagues, whom they implicitly described as digital immigrants. The findings of this study have implications for teacher education. Even if the prospective teachers have a positive attitude toward programming and consider themselves digitally competent, a limited understanding of how programming can be integrated into their mathematics teaching will affect the identities that they see for themselves as teachers who teach mathematics through programming.

A Survey of Pre-service Teachers' Motivation to Teaching and Teachers Professional Identity: The Case of Heze University in China

A Survey of Pre-service Teachers' Motivation to Teaching and Teachers Professional Identity: The Case of Heze University in China

Academic literacy development and professional identity construction in non-native English-speaking novice English language teachers.

Studies examining students' academic literacy development have received increasing attention in the past two decades, with exponential growth in the literature since 2010. Despite this, there have been relatively few empirical studies on novice teachers' academic literacy learning process and the construction of teachers' professional identities. To address this issue, this study employed a longitudinal narrative inquiry to trace and evaluate the professional identity construction of two Chinese novice language teachers as they developed academic literacy in their master's and doctoral programs in the United States. The study adopted a Community of Practice (CoP) framework and drew upon various data sources, such as both novice teachers' coursework, reflection journals, statements of teaching philosophy, and other supplementary documents, to evaluate how each participant was socially engaged (or disengaged) in a new language education community and how they developed professional identities as language teachers in this process. The findings indicate that the pedagogical knowledge and theories acquired by both participants during their graduate studies informed their teaching methods and promoted their development of a researcher-teacher identity. In addition, the longitudinal data allowed for tracking changes in both participants' self-efficacy and emotions. While the stories of both novice teachers described the evolution of their teaching beliefs throughout their graduate studies, their narratives also highlighted a lack of micropolitical literacy training at the graduate level. This study contributes to our understanding of the connection between academic literacy development and the formation of teacher professional identity by shedding light on novice language teachers with a non-native English-speaking background. The implications for future research are also provided.

Preservice teacher professional identity: Influence of the teacher educator and the teacher education model

The objective of this study is to estimate the association between the following variables: teacher professional identity, the teacher education model adopted, the type of teacher educator, and academic progression of teacher education students. A purposive and convenience sampling process was used to recruit 662 preservice teachers attending teacher education programs at three Chilean universities. A sociodemographic survey and teacher professional identity scale were administered to these preservice students. Data were analysed using Spearman correlation, the Kruskal-Wallis test, and multiple linear regression. Results how different types of teacher educator profiles and teacher education models positively correlate with professional identity; furthermore, levels of professional identity were found to differ in connection with students’ level (year) within their teacher education program. It was also found that the profile of teacher trainers, who are also schoolteachers, and the critical-intellectual educational model are predictors of teacher professional identity. In the discussion, these results are analysed based on the literature.

Reflective Practice as a way of developing the professional identity of Teachers and Professionalizing Nursing Education

Reflective Practice as a way of developing the professional identity of Teachers and Professionalizing Nursing Education

Teacher professional identities and their impacts on translanguaging pedagogies in a STEM EMI classroom context in China: a nexus analysis

While translanguaging has gained increasing recognition as a multiliteracy pedagogy in English-medium instruction (EMI) education, research exploring its implementation in STEM classroom contexts remains limited. Furthermore, the interplay of EMI teachers’ professional identities and their instructional strategies has received little attention. This qualitative study explores how STEM academics in an EMI programme in China implemented translanguaging pedagogy, developed their professional identities, and examined the impact of identity on their classroom instructional language use. Drawing upon nexus analysis, the study maps the intersecting discourses influencing two EMI lecturers’ divergent language ideologies and translanguaging strategies. The findings highlight the role of teacher identity and agency in navigating institutional and classroom discourses, facilitating planned and effective translanguaging pedagogy. The study reveals identity struggles within the examined institution, where academic staff faced a challenge in balancing their roles as effective EMI teachers and successful researchers due to a discourse of research meritocracy and were constrained in exploring translanguaging pedagogy due to a discourse of internationalism. These challenges undermined their motivation to invest in teaching identity and pedagogical skills. This study underscores the need for a balanced view of research and teaching, more robust teacher evaluation systems, and institutional support to foster effective translanguaging pedagogy in EMI by incorporating teacher identity construction into EMI teacher preparedness.

“Moving in more closely”: Using Q methodology to explore preservice teacher identity formation as a complex dynamic system

This article describes the development and implementation of a complex dynamic systems theory (CDST) study of Preservice Teacher (PST) professional identity development. I align conceptual conceptual frameworks of CDST to Q Methodological assumptions in order to explore the utility of Q in service of CDST aims. What started as an exploration of a small cohort (n=6) of PSTs evolved into an up-close exploration of one dimension of student-centered teacher: teacher activism. The study revealed that Q is an excellent tool for uncovering the complex dynamical structures–namely the tensions and harmonies– consistent with CDS assumptions about PST developmental processes. Factor analytical results suggested that multiple dimensions exist within a PST's emerging role identity. I conclude by suggesting that Q methodology has singular relevance for complexity researchers and identity researchers in teacher education, and social science researchers across higher education.

A Study on Professional Identity of Teachers of Chinese International Education

With the continuous development of the globalization of the Chinese language craze, the profession of teaching Chinese as a foreign language is more and more well-known. As Chinese teachers who teach in a multicultural environment, their professional identity has gradually become a topic of concern. This paper takes full-time teachers of Chinese international education as the research object. With the help of existing survey data in the academic field, this paper makes an in-depth discussion and interpretation of their development status. It found that the professional identity of teachers of Chinese international education is in a relatively negative state in all dimensions. Based on the current situation, the paper gives a reasonable analysis of the reasons, and believes that social evaluation, salary level, working environment, career development path and other aspects have a negative impact on the professional identity of teachers of Chinese international education. Based on the reasons, the paper also gives suggestions on feasible measures from the government, society and other aspects, so as to provide a reasonable path for the future career construction of teachers of Chinese international education.

Teachers' professional identity and job burnout: The mediating roles of work engagement and psychological capital

AbstractTeacher burnout refers to teachers’ inability to cope with work stress smoothly. Previous studies have revealed that job burnout is negatively related to professional identity; however, little is known about the mechanism underlying the relationship between teacher professional identity and job burnout. This study tested the mediating effects of work engagement and psychological capital in the relationship between professional identity and job burnout. A descriptive correlational design was employed. Measures included the Professional Identity Scale, Utrecht Work Engagement Scale, Psychological Capital Questionnaire, and Professional Quality of Life Scale. A total of 3147 primary and secondary school teachers in China, of which 2220 were women (70.5%) and 927 were men (29.5%), with an average age of 39 years (SD = 8.74), completed the questionnaire survey. SPSS PROCESS macro (version 21) was used to explore the mediating roles of work engagement and psychological capital in the relationship between professional identity and job burnout. Professional identity, work engagement, and psychological capital significantly negatively affected job burnout. Work engagement and psychological capital, when occurring in parallel or sequentially, partially mediated the relationship between professional identity and job burnout. Job burnout among teachers with high professional identity can be eliminated by increasing work involvement and promoting exercise to improve their psychological capital. These findings provide implications for preventing burnout among teachers in the future.

L’entretien de recherche : un révélateur du vécu des liens travail/formation pour des stagiaires en alternance et ses effets sur leur développement professionnel

The interview is a privileged methodological research tool. We applied it in the context of our doctoral work to shed light on the temporalities in the construction of the professional identity of trainee teachers. If the research interview has a heuristic aim for the researcher, what impact does it have on the interviewee? The discourse produced during the interviews enabled us to gain access to the experiences of the work-study students in the process of professionalization and shed light on the way in which they articulated work and training. Because our results indicate that the exchanges also brought out the meaning of certain situations for the trainees, we hypothesise that the research interview thus contributed to their professional development.

Pedagogical Coaching as Identity Work: Cultivating and Negotiating ESL Teacher Narrative Identities

ABSTRACT Language teacher learning and professional identity can be understood as intertwined. Radical changes in practice entail changes in how teachers understand themselves. Thus, narratives of identity should be considered a significant concern of professional learning. Employing a narrative conception of identity, we argue that narrative identity work is a valuable channel for mediating and supporting teacher growth. We highlight how pedagogical coaching, a dialogic and longitudinal form of professional learning, can create a space for narrative identity work. Using a theoretical lens of narrative identity, we explore one pedagogical coach’s collaboration with two elementary ESL specialists over one school year. We consider how the coach employed identity work tactics to support teacher growth. In so doing, we posit two novel identity tactics: reflective articulation and narrative bricolage. This work highlights the potential of teacher narrative identity work in professional learning for ESL specialists particularly, and general education teachers broadly.

Student teachers’ perceptions of mentoring as an influencer of their professional teacher identity development

ABSTRACT This study investigated the role of the mentor lecturer in the development of the Professional Teacher Identity (PTI) of 838 fourth-year pre-service teachers while doing Work Integrated Learning at a South African University. The students reflected in group workshops on the role of the mentoring they received in their PTI development. In this qualitative, descriptive case study, a document analysis was conducted on transcriptions of the posters that the groups created. The results showed that the mentor lecturers ranked sixth out of nine as influencers of the students’ PTI development. The students felt misunderstood and unsupported. There are three possible interpretations of this finding: the role of the mentor lecturer is an unnecessary and unwanted feature of the teacher training programme, the mentor lecturer is not meeting the needs of the student, or the millennial generation into which this sample fits is not open to critical self-reflection and critique.

Professional Identity of Physical Education Teachers : What Does It Consist Of?

PURPOSE Professional Identity Formation (PIF) has become a core concept in various professional education fields as it emphasizes professionals’ dispositions as well as abilities. This study provides an overview of PIF and explores the characteristics of professional education programs that highlight PIF. Through this overview, the purpose of this study is to propose the ‘Professional Identity Matrix for Physical Education Teacher (PIMPET)’, which helps identify PE teachers’ Professional Identity (PI).METHODS This study suggests a guideline to understand PE teachers' PI based on the analysis of the current literature on PI and PIF.RESULTS The characteristics of PIF-based professional education programs were described according to three criteria: teaching content, method, and assessment. On the PIMPET framework, the components of PI formed by PE teachers can be categorized into nine domains which encompass the three identity dimensions (competence, knowledge, and disposition) and the three task areas (teaching, student, and administration).CONCLUSIONS The PIMPET framework allows for a comprehensive understanding of PE teachers’ PI and provides implications for the professionalism of PE teachers and PE teacher education.

MATHEMATICS AND SCIENCE TEACHERS’ PERCEPTIONS OF THE FACTORS INFLUENCING TEACHING AND PROFESSIONAL IDENTITY

Professional identity has a significant impact on teachers' interpretation of their different roles and their understanding of how to perform these roles. This study aimed to explore mathematics and science teachers’ perceptions of the factors influencing their teacher professional identity within three dimensions: teaching efficacy, teaching profession, and teaching context. Mathematics and science teachers (N = 395) who were teaching in grades 5 to 12 participated in the study. To address the research aims, we administered a questionnaire to gather information on the factors influencing teacher professional identity. The quantitative data on the teachers’ perceptions of the factors influencing their teacher professional identity showed that the teaching efficacy dimension ranked the highest, the teaching context dimension ranked second and the teaching profession dimension third. The teachers’ perceptions were largely influenced by three main factors: years of teaching experience, gender, and school location. The teachers’ responses to the questionnaire’s open-ended questions highlighted some issues related to the quality of the professional development programs available to teachers. Keywords: teaching professional identity, math teachers & science teachers