Teacher Professional Identity Research Articles

The Current Situation and Training Countermeasures of Chinese Rural Teachers’ Professional Identity in the Context of “Double Reduction”

This research sought to investigate Chinese rural teachers’ professional identity in the context of “double reduction”, analyze deficiencies and causes, and explore reasonable training countermeasures to enhance rural teachers’ professional identity in order to contribute to promote rural education. A sample of 306 Chinese rural teachers voluntarily participated in this study. To explore the the status quo, questionnaire survey and interview were used. Results revealed that the overall level of professional identity of rural teachers in Chinese primary and secondary schools was relatively high. In addition, it was important to notice that the level of role values is the lowest among the four factors. Besides, research showed that teacher professional identity was related to a number of individual factors, including gender, length of teaching experience, and subject taught, and the double reduction policy brought rural teachers work and psychological pressure. Therefore, we can take some measures to deal with it.

Exploration of Training the Undergraduate Preschool Education Professional Talents Based on Teacher Professional Identity

Exploration of Training the Undergraduate Preschool Education Professional Talents Based on Teacher Professional Identity

"Closer to the Light, Smaller the Shadow Became" --- a Critical Autoethnography of a Novice EFL Teacher's Professional Identity Construction at Private Universities in China

"Closer to the Light, Smaller the Shadow Became" --- a Critical Autoethnography of a Novice EFL Teacher's Professional Identity Construction at Private Universities in China

How professional status influences Botswana teachers’ self-perceived professional identity: A social symbolic interaction perspective

This study aimed to gain a deep understanding of how teachers in Botswana develop their professional identity and how it is shaped by their professional status. Using a qualitative approach, in-depth interviews were conducted to understand how teachers develop their professional identity. Based on a social symbolic interaction perspective, this study's findings revealed that being a teacher is informed by various social interactions within teachers' contexts. Furthermore, this study revealed that a teacher's professional identity is shaped by the professional status of teaching. Teachers' narratives reveal social interactions, such as limited resources and interactions with students, parents, society, and educational administration, which are constructs of teachers' professional identity. The practical implications for effecting change in the educational system include addressing resource disparities, reallocating educational resources, and enhancing autonomy. Rather than grade bands based on performance and qualification, factors such as experience and demonstrated competence could be considered. Lastly, strengthening regulations that pertain to the teaching profession and providing official recognition may also contribute to reshaping teachers' professional identity.

A Study on the Current Situation and Promotion Strategies of Teachers’ Professional Identity of EFL Student Teachers in Normal University

A Study on the Current Situation and Promotion Strategies of Teachers’ Professional Identity of EFL Student Teachers in Normal University

Volksschullehrer-Wissen sammeln und verbreiten. Das Deutsche Schulmuseum bzw. die Deutsche Lehrerbücherei in Berlin 1876–1914

The article examines the book collection of the German School Museum (since 1908 German Teachers’ Library) on the one hand according to its ‘content’ and on the other hand according to its social and cultural functionality for the elementary school teachers organized in the Berlin Teachers’ Association. How did the collections contribute to the socio- cultural self-assertion and professional identity of elementary school teachers in the German Empire? How and with what profile was the German Teachers’ Library able to establish itself as an actor in the field of pedagogical knowledge around 1900, i.e. in the years when the need for knowledge for the ‘Volksschule’ changed profoundly due to rapid social and economic-technological modernization?

Формирование профессиональной идентичности студентов педагогической магистратуры в условиях системно-модульной организации образовательного процесса

Current geopolitical situation and Russia's withdrawal from the Bologna process showed the urgent need to improve the national system of continuous pedagogical education, in which the master's program as the second level of higher education is focused on more in-depth, in comparison with the bachelor's degree, professional training of graduates, providing them with a high level of professional identity as the most important indicator of professional development. Due to a number of reasons (changes in master's degree standards, increased requirements for graduates with short terms of study and the lack of basic specialized education for many students, etc.), the quality of education in the master's program has significantly decreased, manifested in the absence of an increase in the educational level of students. Currently, to ensure the quality of teacher training in master’s studies, universities should find reserves in the organization of the learning process to develop professionalism among students, develop and implement flexible modular educational programs, their technological support, and build an effective system of interaction with employers. The purpose of the study: to develop a model for the formation of professional identity of students of pedagogical magistracy in the conditions of a system-modular organization of the educational process. The theoretical methods were an analytical review of scientific sources on the problem of professional identity, analysis and generalization of the results; pedagogical modeling. Based on the results of the theoretical analysis, the structural-content components of the professional identity of teachers are revealed as a complex, integrative, dynamic personal education that influences the professional development and success of the professional pedagogical activity. The method of pedagogical modeling led to the creation of a model for the formation of professional identity among master’s degree students in pedagogy with a system-modular organization of the educational process. The model makes it possible to form ideas about the formation of students' professional identity during the period of study in a pedagogical master's program as a systemic, dynamic, cyclical process of subject-subject pedagogical interaction between participants in educational relations.

The relationship between teacher professional identity and burnout amid the pandemic: A moderated mediation model.

Teacher burnout is affected by personal and social factors. COVID-19 has greatly impacted teachers' physical and mental health, which could aggravate teacher burnout. Based on the JD-R model, this study aims to investigate the relationship between teacher professional identity (TPI) and job burnout during the COVID-19 pandemic, and examine the moderating roles of perceived organizational support (POS) and psychological resilience (PR) in these relationships among primary and secondary school teachers in China. A total of 3,147 primary and secondary school teachers participated in this study. Work engagement played a mediating role in the relationship between professional identity and burnout; when the POS and PR scores were high, the predictive coefficient of TPI on burnout was the largest. This study tested the mechanism underlying the relationship between TPI and burnout, and explored the protective factors of burnout. This study supports the applicability of the JD-R model during COVID-19 and provides ideas for teachers to reduce burnout.

‘If there is nothing else there is teaching’: Professional identity of preservice teachers in Pakistan

AbstractCoupled with developing required knowledge, skills and attitude, preservice teacher education is said to influence professional identity of a student teacher. This research aimed to understand professional identity development of prospective teachers who recently completed their 4‐year preservice teacher education programme in a public university in Pakistan. To achieve the stated purpose, the research used a case study approach and collected data through semistructured interviews from five preservice teachers who recently completed their preservice education. The data suggested that moral purpose in teaching was the most influential factor in teacher identity development in this region. In addition, the status of teachers in the region, teaching practice, workplace relationships and prospective teachers' own agency influence the way they shape and reshape their professional identity. Although unexplored through a systematic research, teacher identity has been a frequently discussed topic in the context of Pakistan. This paper reports the voices of unheard and less recognized individuals (teachers) from a remote region of Pakistan. It brings forth some significant insights such as the moral purpose of teaching that has received limited attention in teacher identity development.

Professional identity of language teacher trainees during practicum: A metaphor analysis

Teachers may face dilemmas when they realize certain discrepancies between theory and practice throughout their career. Especially for teacher trainees, such dilemmatic spaces may be beneficial in uncovering multiple identities developing and being shaped especially during practicum. More specifically, the most frequent discrepancy could be between the desire to explore one’s own teacher identity and to please mentors and supervisors. Therefore, teacher training programs should provide spaces for teacher trainees to reflect and analyze those dilemmas so that they could develop their teacher professional identity (TPI) in an unproblematic and smooth manner. To this end, this study involved twelve senior English teacher trainees into a five-week process when they expressed their growing professional identities through metaphorical discourse within the scope of Teaching Practice I course. The thematic analyses of the elicited metaphors revealed vital hints about the TPI of language teacher trainees. Besides, the place and importance of metaphors for understanding TPI were discussed in the context of teacher education.

Subjective Social Class and the Retention Intentions of Teachers from the Publicly Funded Normal Students Program in China: The Dual Mediating Effect of Organizational and Professional Identity

A stable teaching force is an important guarantee for the sustainable development of education. Teacher turnover is one of the reasons for the teacher shortage in rural areas. Although studies have examined the influencing factors of teachers’ turnover intention, little is known about the effect of subjective social status on teachers’ turnover intention, especially for publicly funded normal students program (PFNSP) teachers who play a vital role in improving the quality of education in less developed regions of central and western China. A questionnaire survey was conducted, which returned a total of 16,731 responses (8141 public recruited teachers and 1498 teachers from PFNSP). The study explores the influence of subjective social class on PFNSP teachers’ retention intention and the mediating role of organizational and professional identity on this impact. Except for organizational identity, the subjective social class, professional identity, and retention intentions of PFNSP teachers were significantly lower than those of publicly recruited teachers. There was a significant association between subjective social class and retention intentions of PFNSP teachers. In addition, organizational identity and professional identity had a significant positive relationship to PFNSP teachers’ retention intention, and played partial mediating roles in the relationship between subjective social class and retention intentions.

Constructing professional identities in new figured worlds: Foreign language teachers transitioning to English teaching in Vietnam

ABSTRACT Teachers stand at the face of educational change, and it is therefore important to understand the identity work that they do if reform is to be successful. This paper explores how two Vietnamese university language teachers renegotiated their professional identity in the context of dramatic changes to language provision in the tertiary-sector in Vietnam. These changes were brought about by higher education reforms and the national plan to improve the quality of English language teaching, commonly referred to as National Project 2020. The authors use the concept of Figured Worlds, and the related notions of figurative and positional identities, to analyse the narratives that permeated these teachers’ professional identities. Their storylines provide an illustrative case which highlights the complex forces that reshape teacher professional identities in times of externally imposed reform and professional transition. The findings of our study show that prior experience, language affiliation, emotional responses to change, professional orientations and actions, confidence, and self-esteem were key influential forces shaping the teachers’ identities. The findings have relevance for the broad field of teacher professional identity as well as for language education in Vietnam and other Southeast Asian countries.

Preservice teachers' teaching internship affects professional identity: Self-efficacy and learning engagement as mediators.

Preservice teachers' professional identity is a critical factor in their motivation, effectiveness, and retention. Teaching internship can promote the transformation of professional identity and self-efficacy of preservice teachers. The internship environment also enhances students' increasing level of learning engagement. Although much research has shown strong relationship between preservice teachers' teaching internship and professional identity, less is known about how self-efficacy and learning engagement mediated those variables. The purpose of this study is to investigate the roles that self-efficacy and learning engagement play in the relationship between preservice teachers' professional identities and their teaching internship experiences. The study involved 309 preservice teachers in total, and the variables were measured using questionnaires. For the data analysis, we used structural equation modeling. The study's findings are as follows. (a) Teaching internship, professional identity, self-efficacy, and learning engagement were all significantly correlated with one another. (b) Both self-efficacy and learning engagement partially mediated the relationship between teaching internship and professional identity in a parallel manner. (c) Self-efficacy and learning engagement also sequentially mediated the relationship between teaching internship and professional identity.

NARRATIVES AND IDENTITIES: A CRITICAL REVIEW OF EMPIRICAL STUDIES FROM 2004 TO 2022

Amidst the recent surge in English language teacher identity research, this article systematically reviews existing research studies (n=30) conducted on English language teacher identity across English as a foreign language (EFL), English as a second language (ESL), and native English-speaking contexts that employed narrative inquiry as its methodology. Employing Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) framework, the systematic review identifies major themes on teacher professional identity classifying articles on three broad stages of professional development from student teachers’ identity negotiation to novice teachers’ identity development and experienced teachers’ and teacher educators’ identity construction. It reveals that English language teachers’ identity is influenced by their practice in learning communities in varying contexts, macro factors like gender, race, ideology and discourse, critical incidents and agency, conflicting emotions, teacher education programs, and imagined identity and investing. In addition, the article offers a critical assessment of narrative inquiry in language teacher identity and gives suggestions for future research. Finally, it proposes a preliminary framework on the trajectory of identity construction and its implications for English language curriculum and teacher development.

Construction of Teacher Professional Identity through Initial Training

The construction of a professional identity is a key element in the transition to the teaching profession, which begins its development at the initial training, especially during professional training courses. Purpose: This article collects the experiences related to the construction of the teaching identity of teachers who graduated from two state universities of the Santiago Metropolitan Region in Chile. Methodology: Interpretative-qualitative research was carried out, framed in a phenomenological design. Semi-structured interviews were applied to 10 teachers who graduated from a course of Primary Education Teaching in 2014 and are still practicing the profession in the school system. Categories and subcategories were created from their tellings, establishing relationships between teacher identity and initial training. Results: This study shows that teachers value their initial training, especially regarding values, discipline, and experiences of training in different contexts as constitutive elements of their professional identity. However, both groups describe unsatisfactory situations experienced as beginner teachers, where they recognized the weaknesses of their initial training for overcoming the complexities of the school context. Conclusions: This study points to the need to strengthen the articulation in the process of training from university onwards and the support of the educational establishment.

Professional identity of teachers as a component of university corporate culture

The article addresses the problem of establishing the impact of educational organizations’ corporate culture on the development of professional identity in teachers and their professional advancement. The study focuses on resolving the issues of creating an educational environment that supports teachers’ potential, helps them recognize their own problems, and makes them conducive to their development by transforming the problems into objectives. It is found that the established corporate culture of educational organizations contributes to the understanding of mechanisms behind the development of new personal qualities in teachers in the process of mastering certain types of activities and, as a result, to the transformation of teachers’ fragmentary experience into sustainable motivation for professional improvement in the process of collaborative work.

Does Burnout Decrease With Teacher Professional Identity Among Teachers in China?

In China, burnout is common among kindergarten, primary, and secondary school teachers. Previous studies have demonstrated that professional identity positively affects the prevention of burnout among teachers. However, studies on the mediating mechanisms behind and the moderating factors affecting this relationship remain scarce. In this study, the mediating role of work engagement as well as the moderating roles of self-efficacy and perceived organizational support in these relationships was examined. A total of 3,147 kindergarten, primary, and secondary school teachers completed self-reported questionnaires. SPSS 21.0 was used to conduct data analyses, and ordinary least square (OLS) regression was used to conduct mediation and moderation analyses. Results found that the relationship between teacher professional identity and burnout was partially mediated by work engagement. Through work engagement, teacher professional identity had the biggest predictive effects on burnout when the scores for self-efficacy and perceived organizational support were high. Implications for preventing burnout among teachers in the future were provided.

School climate and teacher professional capital: mediating role of teacher professional identity

ABSTRACT This study sought to examine the direct and indirect influences of school climate characteristics and the mediating role of teacher professional identity to the development of teachers’ professional capital using data from 302 primary and middle school teachers of Banja woreda, Amhara Region, Ethiopia. Results of Structural Equation Modeling analysis revealed teachers’ perception of school climate had a statistically significant and strong direct influence on their professional identity development but did not have a significant direct influence on their professional capital development. Mediation analysis has shown that school climate had a statistically significant and strong indirect influence on professional capital development, i.e. teachers’ perceived professional identity fully mediated the effect of school climate on their professional capital development. The SEM analysis also disclosed the direct effect of school climate on teachers’ professional identity and professional capital development and the direct effect of professional identity on teachers’ professional capital development.

Interaction of a Dance Teacher's Professional Identity Components

The dance teacher takes care of the physical, psychological, spiritual and social development of their students in cooperation, promoting a sense of aesthetic and art, musical education, cultivating a sense of taste, and realizing a healthy way of life. Repeatedly a dance teacher becomes a role model. In order to work successfully in the profession, a dance teacher must be aware of the nature of his work. There are enough conflicting questions about the professional activity of a dance teacher, for example, what are the main professional functions, should a dance teacher also be a choreographer, or is managing a dance group/studio a self-evident professional duty? The answers must be found in the experience of dance teachers. The purpose of the article is to reflect an important stage of the specific research (Research of a dance teacher's professional identity) and to analyze the content of interaction between the components of dance teacher's professional identity. Research basis includes 95% of students from all higher education bachelor dance programs in Latvia. Approximately 11.38% dance teachers from Latvia participated in the research. Respondents were dance teachers with different education level, work experience, age, as well as a wide representation of genres. As a result of the research, the interrelationships and interactions of the dance teacher's professional identity components have been revealed and characterized.

Teachers' assessment literacy improves teaching efficacy: A view from conservation of resources theory.

Recent revisions to the Conservation of Resources theory have not only reclassified categories of resources, but have also acknowledged the conceptual importance of "gain spirals" and "resource caravans" in enriching the theoretical understanding of resources. Given that teachers' assessment literacy is a prominent yet underexplored personal constructive resource in teaching, this paper examines its role in teaching efficacy. In addition, personal energy resources (e.g., psychological capital and professional identity) are studied as antecedents to teaching efficacy. To this end, a survey based on the Chinese versions of the Teacher Assessment Literacy Scale, the Teaching Efficacy Scale, the Psychological Capital Scale, and the Teacher Professional Identity Scale was administered to secondary school teachers in Henan Province, China, and 351 completed, valid surveys were returned. The findings indicated that the teachers' assessment literacy and teaching efficacy were positively correlated, verifying that assessment literacy can influence teaching efficacy through the separate and chain mediation effects of psychological capital and professional identity. The identification of such mediating pathways has confirmed that resources owned by teachers can lead to gain spirals and full resource caravans, thus expanding the Conservation of Resources theory by positing that resources can be nested within one another. This study has theoretical implications for teaching efficacy research and the Conservation of Resources theory as well as practical implications regarding how to boost teachers' constructive and energy resources and professional development.