Teacher Professional Identity Research Articles

Формування ціннісного аспекта фахової підготовки майбутнього викладача іноземних мов

The article examines the process of forming a value aspect in the professional training of a future foreign languages teacher. Key aspects of the influence of axiological elements on the professional development and personal identity of teachers are investigated. The article highlights practical methods of forming students’ value perceptions, in particular by implementing global and intercultural approaches. The article emphasizes the importance of conscious development of values in future teachers for their successful implementation in the modern educational environment. The role of pedagogical axiology in strengthening the interaction between the teacher and students through the implementation of practical tasks and situations aimed at the development of valuable competencies is analyzed. Special attention is paid to reflection and self-assessment as effective tools for students’ awareness and analysis of their own values. The article suggests that teachers use these methods to actively involve future foreign languages teachers in the process of forming personal and professional values, which will contribute to their successful teaching path in the global educational environment. It is noted that the valuable component of professional training of future foreign languages teacher is of strategic importance in the conditions of globalization and intercultural interaction. Students are invited to actively interact in real situations, which contributes to the formation of their skills in solving ethical problems and making important decisions based on their values. The article is aimed at practical recommendations for teachers of Universities who want to improve the process of forming a value component in future specialists in teaching foreign languages, developing their professional and personal aspects. In addition, the article discusses the importance of reflection and self-evaluation in the formation of the value component in professional training. Reflective sessions, where students analyze their values and discuss them with colleagues, contribute to awareness of their own approach to professional activity.

The relationships between Chinese teachers’ emotions, professional identity, and teaching for creativity: The mediating role of emotional intelligence

This research investigated the complex relationship between teachers' emotions, emotional intelligence, professional identity, and teaching for creativity. The study used a web-based questionnaire to survey 15,675 secondary school teachers in China. Structural equation modeling indicated that teachers’ positive and negative emotions were positively and negatively related to their professional identities, respectively. The results of bootstrapping tests indicated that these relationships were mediated by teachers’ emotional intelligence. The study also found that teachers' emotional intelligence not only influenced their professional identity but also had a strong association with teaching for creativity, with professional identity partly mediating between the two. The article concludes with some implications in terms of regulating teachers’ emotions, improving professional identity, and enhancing teaching for creativity.

Impact of self-efficacy and professional identity on Japanese early childhood education and care (ECEC) teachers’ absenteeism tendency and turnover intention

ABSTRACT Since many early childhood education and care (ECEC) teachers in Japan intend to quit, studying their career continuity is imperative. Preschool teacher self-efficacy and professional identity are important for career continuity. This study examined their impact on absenteeism tendency and turnover intention in 727 ECEC teachers based on childcare experience. Multi-group structural equation modelling revealed that preschool teacher self-efficacy and professional identity associations with absenteeism tendency and turnover intention differed based on childcare experience. Professional identity affected ECEC teachers’ absenteeism tendency and turnover intention more strongly than did self-efficacy, highlighting their importance for understanding ECEC teachers’ professional growth and adjustment.

Enacting teacher emotion, agency, and professional identity: A netnography of a novice Chinese language teacher’s crisis teaching

This netnography explores how teacher agency, emotion regulation, and professional identity were enacted by a novice Chinese language teacher in response to emergency remote teaching (ERT) in Australia amid the global pandemic. Ecologically sound, netnography creates uncoerced spaces to allow participants to have their voices heard, thus enabling researchers to discover nuanced patterns linked to the social-emotional state and wellbeing of the community members, regarding fears, tensions, and resilience triggered by ERT. Multiple data sources were triangulated from the teacher’s reflection journal, digital teaching artifacts, debriefing sessions, interviews, and online questionnaire responses. Thematic analysis reveals teacher identity was re-envisioned through crisis teaching pedagogy and the regulation of negative emotions to facilitate agency, which reciprocally bolstered teacher identity. The findings also indicate teacher identity development is challenged and shaped by negotiating a new role in remote teaching, thus impacting pre-ERT identity. Hence, the emotion regulation trajectory of ERT can stimulate and encourage technology-enhanced professional learning as teacher agency and resilience reinforce a new identity reimagined as a capable online teacher. By situating novice teacher agency, emotion regulation, and emerging identity in crisis teaching, this netnographic research conceptualises how ERT presents not only challenges for novice teachers’ identity development and emotion, but also the sustainability and empowerment of online teaching and professional growth of impacted teachers of Asian languages.

Professional Identity and Leadership Capabilities of College Physical Education Teachers

The purpose of this study is to explore the professional identity and leadership of college physical education teachers in Shandong Province. It provides the research basis for improving the professional identity of PE teachers, improving their leadership, promoting the training of talents in colleges and universities, and strengthening the construction of teachers. This study adopts the methods of quantitative research design, questionnaire survey and random sampling, and selects 205 physical education teachers from 5 colleges and universities in Shandong Province as the investigation objects. The survey found that given the respondents' profile, they are capable of developing a professional identity with teacher leadership. Respondents have failed their teaching careers in different ways than others. Given effective interventions, respondents can further strengthen their professional identity. The influence of personal experience on the level of professional identity is the least. Respondents were fully engaged in teacher leadership, but there was still a large gap. Given effective intervention, they can further improve their leadership ability. Educational background is one of the factors affecting teachers' leadership ability. Teacher professional identity and teacher leadership can develop simultaneously. Teacher development provides opportunities and interventions that may produce optimal results.

THE REALIZATIONS OF TEACHING PROFESSION: FOUR INDONESIAN NOVICE ENGLISH TEACHERS' NARRATIVES DURING THE PANDEMIC

This study explores teacher professional identity (TPI) of novice English teachers in Indonesia by looking at their narratives related to their experiences before and after they entered the profession. The central question leading this inquiry is “What realizations about the profession shape the participants’ TPI?” The data were collected from four participants through emails and follow-up interviews by phone. The data, then, were co-constructed to create coherent narratives of the four novice teachers. Further analysis was conducted by identifying their new realizations and awareness of being English teachers. These realizations about teaching and the profession were discussed in terms of the TPI elements. The findings indicate that realizations about various aspects of TPI of the novice teachers could lead to a better understanding of their professional identity formation before entering the profession, after entering the profession, and at the time of COVID-19 pandemic (2020-2021). The TPI claims in the three stages indicate the complex process of TPI formation and the implications of the process can be the foundation of English teacher education and professional development reform.

Medical teachers’ identity learning during major curriculum renewal: A landscapes of practice perspective

Purpose To explore how medical teachers navigate their professional identities when required to implement critical pedagogy during an undergraduate curriculum renewal initiative. Methods A qualitative exploratory study was conducted, using focus groups and individual interviews with twenty-six purposively selected undergraduate medical teachers at a South African university. Data were transcribed, coded, and thematically analysed. Concepts of Landscapes of Practice Theory and Teacher Identity Learning provided an interpretive framework. Results Findings show that medical teachers’ perceived capacity to implement critical pedagogy was influenced by identities that were constructed within the boundaries of a traditional biomedical curriculum. Three themes were identified, highlighting the inherent liminality of traversing a changing educational landscape: engaging in new practices: moving into the boundary space; attempting alignment: navigating identity in the boundary space; imagining the future: embracing identity in the boundary space. Conclusion Globally directed curriculum renewal imperatives may challenge the established pedagogical practices and professional identities of medical teachers. There is a need for institutional spaces that foster collaboration, dialogue, and reflection with a view to supporting the ongoing identity learning and development of knowledgeability of medical teachers responsible for curriculum transformation.

The ethics of care and the professional identity of teachers: implications for professionalization processes

ABSTRACT This work reviews the approach of the ethics of care in education and analyzes how the foundations of this ethicality contribute to the dialogical construction of teachers’ professional identity (attribution, projection, development and transformation). Professional identity is questioned when care is considered an epistemological and ethical approach to educational relationships, thereby encouraging reflection on the interactive components of identity (projection, disposition, worldview and action plans) and on the meaning of professional competence. This reflection produces transversal implications for teacher professionalization processes, which in turn results in the identification of training devices such as narratives, conversations and reflective and operational practices that help to turn the identity and the moral work of teaching into the central topic.

Teachers’ and principals’ views on interdisciplinary teaching and learning in the humanities

ABSTRACT Scholarship on interdisciplinary teaching and learning, especially in the humanities, is scarce, and it rarely takes teachers’ and principals’ views into account. To address these gaps, we present findings from interviews conducted with teachers and principals who were engaged in developing and enacting interdisciplinary curricula in the humanities. These respondents described interdisciplinarity as an innovation that can affect discourse within the classroom, teacher professional identity, and school management. Their views transcended the theoretical distinctions between cognitive, sociocultural, and critical learning theories that typically feature in educational research on interdisciplinary teaching and learning in the humanities. Understanding the gaps between the current state of the academic literature on interdisciplinary teaching and learning and teachers’ and principals’ views on this issue can inform pre-service and in-service teacher training initiatives.

Bibliometric Review of Teacher Professional Identity Scholarship Over Two Decades

This study presents a bibliometric review of teacher professional identity (TPI) research from 2004 to 2023. 4,066 SSCI-indexed papers retrieved from the Web of Science database were identified for analysis using CiteSpace. The major findings are: (1) The publications have increased significantly from 2004 to 2021, there is a slight decline in recent 2 years. (2) Top contributing country, institution, and journal are the US, University of London, Teaching and Teacher Education respectively. (3) The top productive authors are Yuan Rui, Trent John, and Nazari Mostafa respectively, the top cited authors are Beijaard D, Gee JP, and Lave J. (4) TPI research has evolved in terms of multiple theoretical lens, diversity of discipline and participants, and methodological shift. (5) Emerging trends include teacher agency, positioning theory, and English-medium instruction (EMI) policy. This study has implications for future researchers.

중국 예비유아교사 직업정체성 척도 개발 및 타당화

The purpose of this study is to explore the components of preservice early childhood teachers' professional identity in China and to develop a valid and reliable scale to measure the level of preservice early childhood teachers' professional identity.
 To identify the factors that constitute preservice early childhood teachers' professional identity, 13 subscales and 62 preliminary items were extracted through literature analysis and in-depth interviews. A Delphi survey was conducted to verify the appropriateness of the items by experts, and exploratory factor analysis and reliability analysis were conducted to determine the final five components and 33 items.
 The final item of the preservice early childhood teacher professional identity Scale was used to test the item favorability, validity, and reliability. The results of the item validity analysis showed that all items met the assumption of normality and showed good item discrimination. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was conducted to verify validity, and the model fit of the scale (RMSEA .059) was found to be adequate. In addition, the standardization coefficient (.636 or higher) and average variance extracted (AVE) values of each construct's convergent validity were checked and verified through the covariance correlation between the discriminant validity components. Due to the high correlation of the constructs, multicollinearity among the constructs was tested to confirm their independence. The factor reliability of the scale is more than .867, and the total item reliability is .964, which is very high.
 The preservice early childhood teachers' professional identity scale developed in this study proved to be a valid and reliable scale to measure the level of preservice early childhood teachers' professional identity in various training programs in China.

Learning through practice: the experience of secondary school TVET teachers in Chile

ABSTRACT This article summarizes the main results of a research on teachers working in secondary school VET in Chile by reviewing the principal features of teacher professional identity, including their beliefs and perceptions about teaching for job and their experiences in the context of the school settings in which they work. Empirical findings were collected from a survey of 490 teachers and 31 in-depth interviews. Analysis of these findings shows the emergence of a distinctive teacher professional identity. The identity emphasizes a practical teaching model that is associated with the application of a pedagogy of accompaniment, but which also demonstrates tensions and difficulties of interaction regarding the traditional academic school model. Teachers pointed out as common the weakness of institutional support, the weak link with employers and productive agents and the recurrent need to show their own individual initiative in order to face the challenges of training students.

EDUCATION STAKEHOLDERS' METAPHORS ABOUT TEACHER’S SCRUB

The teacher’s scrub is a controversial issue. It is important to determine what teachers, school administrators, and education union representatives think of the teacher’s scrub. This study aims to reveal the metaphors produced by education stakeholders about "teacher’s scrub". In this study, a case study design, one of the qualitative research designs, was used. In this context, the study group consisted of 26 people, including teachers, school principals, and education union representatives working at different education levels in Aydın province. Data were collected using a semi-structured "interview form about teacher’s scrub" developed by the researchers. The collected data were analyzed by content analysis. The metaphors produced by the participants in the study group about the teacher’s scrub were collected in four categories: "professional identity", "protection and security", "likening to other professional identities", "order and hygiene". The results of the research show that the teacher's scrub is more than just a piece of clothing, it is an important symbol that strengthens the teacher's professional identity, increases the sense of protection and security, and is also associated with order and hygiene. It is expected that the findings of the research will contribute to the discussions about teacher’s scrub in the education community.<p> </p><p><strong> Article visualizations:</strong></p><p><img src="/-counters-/lit/0758/a.php" alt="Hit counter" /></p>

CREATING THE EUROPEAN LANDSCAPE FOR TEACHER EDUCATION: EVOLVING DYNAMICS

The study is devoted to the analysis of Europeanization policy in the area of teacher education in the 21st century and the characterization of mechanisms and instruments for the formation of the European Teacher Education Area. The authosr emphasize the effective roles and influences on the integration processes of European professional organizations: European Association for Teacher Education, European Association of Educational Researchers. The contribution of thematic networks to the Europeanization of teacher education, in particular, the European Policy on Teacher Education, the Thematic Network for Teacher Education in Europe, and others, is highlighted. Attention is drawn to the potential of European research projects under the auspices of the European Commission, and the experience of developing and implementing the European Doctorate in Teaching is analyzed. The political dimension of the processes of Europeanisation of teacher education is analysed through the analysis of the EC’s landmark documents on rethinking education; European principles on teacher competencies and qualifications; improving the quality of teacher education with a forecast of the development of the European teaching profession as 1) highly qualified; 2) requiring lifelong learning; 3) mobile); 4) based on partnership. A number of documents developed by the thematic working group, which directly deals with the development of national policies on education and training of teachers/lecturers throughout their professional careers and the analysis of strategies to support teacher development at the European and national levels, have been introduced into the national scientific circulation. At the level of theoretical positions, it is proved that the focus of modern European research in the field of teacher education is on the narratives of professional identity, professional learning and professional development of teachers in the context of new professionalism with a European perspective.

The development and validation of the teacher professional identity scale in a Chinese university context.

Professional identity has become a central topic in teacher education research and a crucial factor in shaping teachers' self-perception and perspectives on various aspects of their profession, including teacher roles, scholarly research, curriculum design, classroom instruction, instructional methods, and strategies, as well as their interactions within the educational context. Despite the considerable scholarly interest in teacher identity development, relatively few studies have considered how to measure teacher professional identity. This study developed and validated a new measurement of professional identity among Chinese pre-service teachers from an English language education program. A total of 560 pre-service teachers majoring in English language education were invited to participate in a survey and 542 questionnaires were deemed valid and subjected to analysis. Through this analysis, a scale with 17 items was developed, focusing on three different dimensions: professional self-efficacy, career commitment, and professional knowledge. After excluding items with a relatively poor correlation with factor loading, the final scale consisted of 13 items. The results showed that the developed scale has relatively good reliability (α = 0.939) and structural validity (χ2/df = 2.46, p < .001, CFI = 0.978, TLI = 0.971, SRMR = 0.033, RMSEA (90% CI) = 0.071 0.054, 0.089). This study may provide a quantitative instrument for future research to measure professional identity among pre-service teachers, both in Chinese and other contexts.

The Impact of The Double Reduction Policy on The Construction of The Professional Identity of Tutoring Class Teachers

The double reduction policy launched by our country on July 24, 2021 aims to reduce the number of teachers in private teaching auxiliary institutions for basic education, achieve a fair distribution of educational resources, and reduce the academic burden of students and the pressure of extracurricular tutoring. However, the research on the self-identity construction of cram school teachers after the "double reduction policy" is still a blank field. This paper focuses on the status quo of the professional status of teachers in private tutoring institutions after the "double reduction policy". The authors' data are based on fixed structured interviews with 6 teachers from private tutoring institutions in different regions of China. The results show that after the double reduction policy, the professional identity of teachers in private teaching auxiliary institutions is based on their professional beliefs and has not been significantly affected. The discussion in this article prompts each teacher to reflect on his own identity factors, and at the same time complements the construction of the professional identity framework of teachers in private teaching auxiliary institutions.

Status, influencing factors and paths on professional identity of special education teachers

ABSTRACT The aim of the present study was to explore the status, influencing factors and paths on professional identity of special education teachers. The statistical population of the study included 438 special education teachers in Guangdong Province, China. The age of the participants ranged from 22 to 57 years old (M = 32.16, SD = 1.85 years). Of the 438 teachers, 346 were females, 92 were males. The Occupational Stress Questionnaire (He, J. H. 2013. A Study on the Occupational Stress and Work Engagement of Special Education Teacher. Hangzhou: Hangzhou Preschool Normal College of Zhejiang Normal University), School Support Questionnaire (Zhang, Y. 2018. Study on Professional Identity and School Support of Special Education Teachers in Guizhou. Chengdu: Sichuan Normal University), and Professional Identity Questionnaire (Tang, J. R. 2012. Study on Professional Identity of Special School Teachers. Shanghai: East China Normal University) were used. The independent sample t-test, one way ANOVA, correlation analysis, and multiple stepwise regression were used for the data analysis. The results show that: (1) the professional identity of special education teachers is relatively high in the overall and dimensions. (2) There are significant differences in the professional identity in terms of leadership, marriage, education level, teaching years and professional titles. (3) Both occupational stress and school support can significantly predict the professional identity of special education teachers.

Transforming professional identity of medical teachers in Pakistan by a certificate program in health professions education: a thematic analysis of reflective essays.

A teacher's professional identity development is a dynamic and continuous process that requires rigorous, longitudinal, faculty development initiatives which are designed to work on individual professional growth. Impact of such programs must be evaluated by qualitative means to identify the process of change; The purpose of our study was to investigate whether and how our thoughtfully designed 6-month certificate program has transformed the professional identity of medical teachers. The study was conducted in National University of Medical Sciences, Pakistan using thematic analysis, wherein a weekly task of guided reflective writing, on Moodle, was given. Data was analyzed in six phases to achieve credibility and transferability. By analyzing 202 reflective writings, seven subthemes were identified which manifest transformation in certain aspects of identity of participants and grouped under three major themes. The seven subthemes represent transformative journey of participants and include recognizing millennial learners' dilemma, identifying learning gaps and overcoming barriers, discovering a newer version of self, alternative frame of thinking, transforming traditional classroom, conducive learning environment and Community of Practice. Three major themes identified were Awareness, Modeling and Socialization which represent three processes bringing transformation in participants. Our faculty development program has transformed certain aspects of professional identities of medical teachers by incorporating informal teaching strategies of experiential learning, professional socialization, reflections, and role modeling. Participants' beliefs and practices on teaching were challenged by giving a disorienting dilemma of millennial learners and learning theories. They underwent critical discourse with professional peers and mentors in community of practice, reflected on their traditional teaching practices, acquired new insight, underwent self-discovery, and introduced digitalization and interactive learning strategies within their classrooms.

From parent-teacher relations to professional identity in Danish and Swedish schools

ABSTRACT Denmark and Sweden have witnessed a historically significant amplification of parental influence in compulsory schools during the past two decades. The emphasis on parental involvement in these two countries reflects international trends of neoliberal governing of educational processes. We know very little about the interplay between beginning teachers’ encounters with parents and how that influences the teachers’ identity formation. This article investigates beginning teachers’ experiences with parents in Sweden and Denmark and how these experiences reflect the teachers’ professional identity development. Through a comparative case study approach, interviews were carried out with 10 teachers in pre-service and in-service phases of their profession to capture their interpretations of their experiences with parents. A framework involving the concepts of parent-teacher relations, professional teacher identity, and emerging and thickening trajectories was used to develop the interview questions and analyse data. The results show that beginning teachers experience challenges in their relations with parents and these challenges put a strain on their self-definition as professionals. These results provide implications for addressing the constraints on teachers’ professional autonomy brought by a culture of clientelism which has the potential to change the role of teachers and therefore affect their professional identity development.

Teacher professional identity: agentic actions of a novice teacher in a challenging school context

ABSTRACT Teachers develop their identity during initial teacher training and continue to develop it throughout their careers. Many teachers in rural schools find themselves teaching in challenging contexts. This study contributes to the body of knowledge by exploring agency as part of the development of a female teacher’s professional identity over six years as she obtains her degree and begins working in a rural town in South Africa. We used a narrative approach to listen to the participant’s stories and present narratives related to the proactive and generative actions that the participant took. By drawing on Bandura’s Social Cognitive Theory (SCT), we illustrate the importance of intentionality, forethought, self-reactiveness, and self-reflectiveness for agentic actions. Bandura’s ecological model highlights the importance of personal, behavioural, and environmental determinants of agency. The findings reveal that teachers experiencing similar challenging school contexts can draw on their skills, knowledge, personal values, and teaching and learning experiences to develop into teachers with a strong sense of agency who remain actively engaged in their school and the wider community. The authors propose that initial teacher educators refer to SCT as a framework during teaching practice to support the development of student teachers’ agency as part of their professional identities.