Conference Agenda

The growing concern about teacher shortages in secondary education is shared, to different extents, by most OECD countries. The declining attractiveness of the teaching profession, and the subsequent difficulties in attracting and retaining teachers, have become a central concern for education policies. One of the solutions advocated to deal with this issue is to broaden the recruitment pool for teachers, notably by facilitating access to teaching for individuals joining the teaching profession after other professional experiences. In France, as well as in many OECD countries, these so-called 'second-career' teachers represent a growing proportion of applicants and successful candidates in recruitment competitions. These teachers have special characteristics and come from a wide variety of previous professional experiences.

In the international scholarly literature, teachers retraining to enter teaching have been considered a group to be studied separately from teachers with a more traditional background (“second career teachers” as opposed to “first career teachers”, or “traditional entrants”) (Berger & D’Ascoli, 2011). This distinction between these two populations is justified by their particularities (second-career teachers face unique challenges, they bring a particular skillset, they have a specific relationship with pupils and the profession, etc. (Tigchelaar et al., 2009 ; Tigchelaar et al., 2014 ; Dozolme, 2015).

However, the boundaries of this population (and thus its definition) vary greatly depending on the research under consideration. For instance, the minimum amount of years spent in the previous activity that is deemed necessary to be considered a second-career teacher varies from 2 years for Denave (Denave, 2015) to 3 years for Wilkins (Wilkins, 2017), or even 5 years for Négroni (Négroni, 2019).

Putting at a distance the binary division that is typically used, I hypothesize that the population of second career teachers can be heterogeneous in terms of profiles and is thus composed of several groups of individuals who differ in the combinations of experiences they had before joining teaching. Consequently, I question how many trajectory profiles can be found, and how they differ from each other.

The aim of this paper is therefore to highlight individual differences in a population initially thought to be homogeneous (Courgeau & Lelievre, 1989) (by separating first and second career teachers, one assumes some form of homogeneity in the 'second career' category). I propose to study this diversity by creating a typology of the study and professional path for French secondary school teachers to access teaching, using statistical methods of hierarchical classification in a software that is called R. The study is based on data about the career paths of a large population of tenured French teachers. This data was collected as part of a thesis in education sciences.

The result of this typology of the diversity of access path to education is a classification in five groups, ranging from the most linear to the least linear. The three categories with the least linear pathways comprise almost a third of the total population, thus confirming the importance of further taking this population into account. The presence of five classes clearly highlights a diversity in the spectrum of possible and existing trajectories. This result allows us to question and challenge the boundaries usually drawn between first and second career teachers. In addition, different motivations for joining the teaching profession are found depending on the previous trajectory. This debate about the limits of the 'second career' population, and on the diversity of teachers' careers, leads us to conclude that it is a crucial factor to take this into account when considering the integration, professional training and professionalization of these teachers with a particular profile.

In teacher education (TE), teacher identity development studies can be seen as an emerging study area. There is much already written and published in the related literature on teacher education programs however, there isn’t much on teacher education policy, contextual factors, and teacher identity formation in relation to teacher education institutions and habitus. Individuals have a central identity composed of all identity statuses and different sub-identities such as professional, parental, sexual, and ideological identities (Gür, 2014). Identities are combinations of knowledge, emotion, competencies, and experiences with regard to a social role, described in this study as teacher identity (Giddens, 1991). Identity formation in a professional domain is “an ongoing process of integration of the ‘personal’ and the ‘professional’ sides of becoming and being a teacher” (Beijaard, Meijer, & Verloop, 2004, p.113), and becoming a teacher involves the construction of a person’s identity (Danielewicz, 2001). Through an in-depth analysis of the program in relation to institutional habitus, this study explores the complexity of teacher identity formation in the English as a Foreign Language (EFL) undergraduate context. It aims to portray the identity formation process of EFL prospective teachers in a public research university where the medium of instruction (MoI) is English in Turkey. In addition, the study uses Bourdieu's field theory and its toolkit as its theoretical perspective in examining the institutional habitus concerning teacher identity development.

Institutional habitus can significantly impact the formation of a teacher's identity because teachers, often internalize the expectations and beliefs of the institutions they belong to. The institutional habitus may influence how teachers view their roles and responsibilities in an undergraduate education program. It may affect their beliefs about teaching and learning, and their relationships with students and colleagues. This can shape how they develop their professional identities as teachers. Programs should also provide opportunities for teachers to engage with various perspectives and reflect on how these may impact their professional identities. As for term definitions, Bourdieu (1992) defines habitus, field, and doxa terms. Habitus is the learned set of preferences or dispositions by which a person orients to the social world. It is a system of ‘durable, transposable, cognitive ‘schemata or structures of perception, conception, and action’. Field is defined as a playground. Doxa: rules and (dis)positions in that playground (in the field).

Additionally, TE programs should provide ongoing support and professional development for teachers to help them continue to grow and evolve as professionals. Bourdieu’s concept of habitus is embedded in the theory of action that questions how regular patterns of practices are formed in social and cultural locations. Social actors inscribe the “structured structures” and play a role in their transformation into “structuring structures” (Bourdieu, 1992, p. 53). Teacher educators and prospective teachers are agents in such a habitus, and they play a role in “structuring the structures” in their institutions. Habitus refers to the internalized dispositions and practices that individuals develop due to their socialization within a particular group or field. An individual's experiences, and interactions shape habitus, and perceptions within a group or field, influencing how they perceive and interact with the world around them. The research questions are as follows:

1. How is EFL teacher identity developed through the pre-service teacher education program in a public research university context in Turkey?

2. How do teacher educators foster the development of teacher identities in prospective EFL teachers?

3. How do prospective EFL teachers in the selected cases define their professional identity development process?

4. How does institutional habitus influence the identity development process of prospective EFL teachers?

Majority populations’ deep ignorance about the world's Indigenous peoples has raised concerns in communities around the globe (Godlewska et al., 2020; Ranta & Kanninen, 2019; Taylor & Habibis, 2020). The challenge of mainstream ignorance lies in its structural connection to transnational, oppressive processes: it is not a matter of accidental "absence of knowledge", but a certain kind of knowledge, an engagement to discourses that invalidate and resist Indigenous experiences and identities (Cook, 2018). Since recognizing constraints of our current knowledge and assumptions is crucial for the onset of decolonization (Shahjahan et al, 2022), and since teachers have a unique role in distribution of knowledge and ideas, this paper is set to examine (1) how mainstream ignorance and approaches to dismantling it are conceptualized in six countries engaged in Indigenous education; Finland, Sweden, Norway, Canada, Aotearoa New Zealand, and Australia; and (2) how do these conceptualizations reflect on Finnish teacher education (TE) and outline alternative ways for its development.

The Sámi, Indigenous people inhabiting territories known today as Finland, Sweden, Norway and Russia, are the only Indigenous people in the area of the European Union. European ignorance about the Sámi, and the alarming consequences this ignorance holds, has been recognized by Sámi communities and multidisciplinary professionals (e.g., OKM, 2021). Initiatives have been launched to raise awareness of Indigenous issues not only within Sámi states, but also at the EU level – increasing knowledge in EU policymaking is considered instrumental in promoting reconciliation and better conditions for Sámi people (Prime Minister’s Office, 2021; Saami Council, 2022). Finland, one of the official Sámi states, has received notifications from the European Commission Against Racism and Intolerance on its deep national ignorance regarding Sámi matters and calls to address the issue through education (ECRI, 2019). This deficiency, as much of the critique of Finnish education’s incongruity in addressing social injustices, is often overshadowed in the discussions by Finland’s image as a country of equal and exemplary education (see Kasa et al., 2023). Thus, it is relevant to analyze the position Finland's prestigious TE holds in relation to the concepts of ignorance from global contexts and neighboring Sámi states, Sweden and Norway.

The research problems are approached through a thematic synthesis, a type of systematic literature review (Thomas & Harden, 2008). The research is ongoing and more information on the results will be available at the time of the presentation. However, some expected results can be outlined. The review is likely to find cohesion in the transnational conceptualizations of ignorance, considering the phenomenon's foundations in universal, colonial socio-historical processes. The suggested approaches to dismantling ignorance are expected to include both concrete and abstract focus points. In terms of concrete actions, various institutions have, for example, hired more Indigenous staff in educational institutions to support indigenization (Gaudry & Lorenz, 2019). More abstract are the calls to address the ignorance-driven discomfort toward Indigenous topics, experienced by majority educators (e.g. Higgins et al., 2015).

Considering the goals of sustainable and equal systems binding all of Europe (UN, 2015), understanding of diversity has justly penetrated the guiding educational values in Finland. Making mainstream ignorance visible is a long-overlooked objective despite its great potential for reframing unsustainable structures, affecting Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples alike (Taylor & Habibis, 2020). Efforts to train educators to see and overcome these structures are an example of systematic means that can trickle down to the wider society (Rubin & Brown, 2019).

Throughout their careers teachers are involved in a continuous process of personal and professional development. This begins with a formal qualification in pedagogical and content specific knowledge and skills. As they develop their practice, this formal qualification is regularly supplemented with additional qualifications and learning experiences. Teacher Continuous Professional Development (CPD) refers to the breadth of activities undertaken by teachers to develop their expertise and skills to improve the learning environment for their students (Guskey 2000). It can include directed, planned activities with a specific aim as well as more organic learning opportunities and can occur both individually and collaboratively with others (Day 1999). Teacher Learning occurs across the broad spectrum of learning from formal, through non-formal to informal learning. Formal learning is typically institutionally sponsored, classroom-based and highly structured. Non-formal learning is generally structured; however it may not be classroom based. Informal learning, a category that includes incidental learning, may occur in institutions, but it is not typically classroom-based or highly structured, and control of learning rests primarily in the hands of the learner. Incidental learning, a subset of informal learning, almost always takes place, although people are not always conscious of it (Marsick and Watkins, 1990).

Wenger-Trayner et al (2015) posit that professional occupations are made up of a “complex landscape of different communities of practice – involved not only in practising the occupation, but also in research, teaching, management, regulation, associations and many other relevant dimensions” (p15). As a teacher progresses through their career, they will be involved to a greater, or lesser, extent in many of these aspects of their occupation, engaging in different communities of learning. Social learning networks play a significant role in how teachers navigate this landscape of practice comprising the broad spectrum of formal, non-formal and informal learning opportunities they encounter. One such social learning network is a Community of Inquiry, which provides a framework for cognitive, social and teacher presence within which teachers can critically reflect on, review, and make adjustments to their teaching practice to improve the learning environment for their students (Garrison, Anderson & Archer 2000).

In February 2017 it was announced that a new Leaving Certificate subject in Computer Science was to be fast-tracked for introduction in Ireland in September 2018. By February 2018, the specification was launched which outlined the curricular areas to be taught and the assessment structures to be utilised. The specification outlined an approach to teaching and learning and assessment strategies with a focus on self-directed learning and reflection (NCCA, 2018). The nature of the specification with a focus on student-centred pedagogical practices and real-life scenarios required a novel approach to teacher upskilling to develop competence and confidence within the teaching community. A professional development framework was put in place to support teachers who wished to teach the newly introduced subject. This framework provided skills development workshops as well as webinars, MOOCs and online collaboration and networking platforms which proved very beneficial to the teachers involved in the professional development (McGarr et al, 2020). This provided a Community of Inquiry within which the participating teachers could learn with, and from, each other.

This research study will investigate the informal, social learning undertaken by teachers through their participation in a professional development community of inquiry to upskill in Computer Science. It will, potentially, help to identify practices and strategies that facilitate informal, social learning adding to the diversity of educational opportunities for learners and helping to re-order the national, adult learning agenda by placing “informal and implicit processes in a much higher position than they have hitherto occupied” (Evans, 2019 p. 14).