Reconsidering research on teachers’ professional identity

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Abstract

The studies considered in this review of recent research on teachers’ professional identity can be divided into three categories: (1) studies in which the focus was on teachers’ professional identity formation, (2) studies in which the focus was on the identification of characteristics of teachers’ professional identity, and (3) studies in which professional identity was (re)presented by teachers’ stories. In the studies reviewed, the concept of professional identity was defined differently or not defined at all. Four essential features of teachers’ professional identity could be derived from the studies. Many of the reviewed studies appeared to be studies on teachers’ personal practical knowledge. However, in only a few studies was the relationship between this knowledge and professional identity made explicit. It is argued that, in future research on teachers’ professional identity, more attention needs to be paid to the relationship between relevant concepts like ‘self’ and ‘identity’, the role of the context in professional identity formation, what counts as ‘professional’ in professional identity, and research perspectives other than the cognitive one that may also play a role in designing research on teachers’ professional identity.

Introduction

In the last decade, teachers’ professional identity has emerged as a separate research area (e.g., Bullough, 1997; Connelly & Clandinin, 1999; Knowles, 1992; Kompf, Bond, Dworet, & Boak, 1996). To explain what this concept means, several authors have drawn on the definition of identity used in the social sciences and philosophy. Of particular interest in this regard is the work of the symbolic interactionist Mead (1934) and the psychologist Erikson (1968). The latter focused on identity formation in social contexts and on the stages people pass through: owing to biological and psychological maturation, each stage has its own characteristics regarding the individual's interaction with his or her environment. Erikson outlined a chronological and changing concept of identity. Identity is not something one has, but something that develops during one's whole life. Mead used the concept of identity in relationship with the concept of self; he described in detail how the self is developed through transactions with the environment. According to Mead, self can arise only in a social setting where there is social communication; in communicating we learn to assume the roles of others and monitor our actions accordingly. Our concept of self can be defined as an organized representation of our theories, attitudes, and beliefs about ourselves (McCormick & Pressley, 1997). The world of the self may appear to the outsider to be subjective and hypothetical, but to the individual experiencing it, it has the feeling of absolute reality (Purkey, 1970). In general, the concept of identity has different meanings in the literature. What these various meanings have in common is the idea that identity is not a fixed attribute of a person, but a relational phenomenon. Identity development occurs in an intersubjective field and can be best characterized as an ongoing process, a process of interpreting oneself as a certain kind of person and being recognized as such in a given context (Gee, 2001). In this context, then, identity can also be seen as an answer to the recurrent question: “Who am I at this moment?”

The concept of identity is defined in various ways in the more general literature. It seems that the concept of professional identity is also used in different ways in the domain of teaching and teacher education. In some studies, the concept of professional identity was related to teachers’ concepts or images of self (e.g., Knowles, 1992; Nias, 1989). It was argued that these concepts or images of self strongly determine the way teachers teach, the way they develop as teachers, and their attitudes toward educational changes. In other studies of professional identity, the emphasis was placed on teachers’ roles (e.g., Goodson & Cole, 1994; Volkmann & Anderson, 1998), whether or not in relationship with other concepts, or on concepts like reflection or self-evaluation that are important for the development of professional identity (e.g., Cooper & Olson, 1996; Kerby, 1991). Furthermore, professional identity refers not only to the influence of the conceptions and expections of other people, including broadly accepted images in society about what a teacher should know and do, but also to what teachers themselves find important in their professional work and lives based on both their experiences in practice and their personal backgrounds (Tickle, 2000). Both sides of professional identity seem strongly interwoven, but have been differently emphasized by researchers. Knowles (1992), therefore, characterized professional identity as an unclear concept in the sense of what, and to what extent, things are integrated in such an identity.

Thus, while it is clear that teachers’ professional identity has emerged as a separate research area, it is, in our view, an area in which researchers conceptualize professional identity differently, investigate varying topics within the framework of teachers’ professional identity, and pursue a diversity of goals. Against this background, we felt the need to gain greater insight into this research area and, through that, contribute to a better understanding of what professional identity entails in teaching and teacher education, stimulate the discussion about this topic, and help in designing future research. In order to realize this, we attempted to answer the following questions:

  • •

    What features are essential for research on teachers’ professional identity?

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    How can current research on teachers’ professional identity be characterized?

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    What problems need to be addressed in research on teachers’ professional identity?

The answers to these questions are based on a review of the literature on teachers’ professional identity in which we systematically analyzed how this concept was used in studies and ascertained what the results of these studies were. First, therefore, we present this review.

Section snippets

Selection and analysis of studies about teachers’ professional identity

We confined our search for the relevant literature to the period 1988–2000, because it was in this period that teachers’ professional identity emerged as a research area. We began with

  • (1)

    a general Web of Science search, resulting in 12 hits with ‘professional identity’ in the title and related to teachers and teacher education; and

  • (2)

    an ERIC search, resulting in 18 hits with ‘professional identity’ in the title and/or as a major identifier and related to teachers and teacher education (5 hits were

Teachers’ professional identity formation

Research on teachers’ professional identity formation is seen as relevant to teacher educators and mentors in schools in order to better understand and conceptualize the support student teachers need (cf. Volkmann & Anderson, 1998). Particularly student teachers’ biographies and the beliefs that are determined by these biographies are conceived of as important constituents of teachers’ professional identity formation (Knowles, 1992; Sugrue, 1997; see also Kelchtermans, 1994). From this

Characteristics of teachers’ professional identity

Some studies in this category drew attention to specific issues related to teachers’ perceptions of professional identity, such as the teaching of low-status subjects in schools (Paechter & Head, 1996), increasing teachers’ sense of professional identity to prevent burnout or attrition, e.g., by providing a sabbatical year (Gaziel, 1995; see also Moore & Hofman, 1988), and male teachers’ reasons for entering primary education (DeCorse & Vogtle, 1997). Some other studies in this category

Stories that (re)present professional identity

This category consists of only two publications that fit our selection criteria. Both emphasize, more than those about teachers’ professional identity formation, the influence of teachers’ professional landscape on their professional lives. Connelly and Clandinin (1999) see this landscape as a storied landscape. During the last two decades, the narrative research tradition gained much influence on research on teaching and teacher education. Generally speaking, from a narrative perspective, the

Reconsidering research on teachers’ professional identity

In the introduction, we posed three questions. Based on the above review, we attempt to answer these questions in this section.

Conclusion

In the introduction, we identified teachers’ professional identity as an emerging research area, particularly in the last decade. The number of studies available for the present review was limited, so that we consulted additional studies. The information we acquired from this additional group of studies was added to findings based on the studies we systematically analyzed. It can be concluded that, in most studies, the concept of professional identity was defined differently or not defined at

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