10. Teacher Education Research
Paper
Turbulence Throughout Teacher Education: a Case Study of Negotiating Teacher Identity
Katariina Stenberg1, Katriina Maaranen1, Eeva Kaisa Hyry-Beihammer2, Heidi Krzywacki1, Jan Böhm2
1University of Helsinki, Finland; 2University of Education Upper Austria, Austria.
Presenting Author: Stenberg, Katariina;
Maaranen, Katriina
Becoming a teacher is a potentially bumpy road covered with various turbulences. When student teachers begin their teacher education, they already possess a strong image in becoming a certain teacher (cf. Izadinia, 2013). Having had thousands of hours of apprenticeship of observation, student teachers hold beliefs and ideals about teaching, studying, and learning, and about the teaching profession. Thus, it is not surprising that they are faced with struggles, dilemmas, doubts, contradictions and uncertainty, both personally and professionally, when they integrate into teacher education (cf. Pillen et. al., 2013)
This case study illustrates the complex construction of teacher identity by following the four-year journey of one student teacher in qualifying as a primary-school teacher in Finland. The study exemplifies how Nora (pseudonym) negotiated her developing teacher identity through various turbulences of struggle and doubt. We followed her teacher identity construction from a perspective of dialogical self theory in which identity is seen to consist of the self with different I-positions that are expressed through their own voices (Hermans & Kempen, 1993). The positions are linked to an individual’s experiences and social relationships. I-positions may be internal or external. The internal I-position comprises the individual’s perceptions of him/herself, for example I as a person, I as a foreigner, I as a student teacher, I as a friend, I as a worrier and I as an idealist (cf. Coombs, 2018). External I-positions are the internalized voices of others, for example, my teachers, my relatives, and so on. In addition, the generalized other by Mead stresses social groups, rules and conventions regarding external voices (Akkerman & Meijer, 2011, p. 314). Each I-position is driven by its own intentions and they do not have to be harmonious, but may instead be contradictory (cf. Akkerman & Van Eijick 2013). This approach is fruitful especially when the struggles of a teacher’s work is considered: the multiple I-positions allow us to see diverse and different perspectives (Leijen, Kullasepp, & Toompalu, 2018).
Although various studies relating to student teachers’ teacher identity development have been conducted over the years, the aim of this case study is to dive deeper into this complex phenomenon. The research question of our study was: How does Nora negotiate her teacher identity through her struggles and doubts during her four years of teacher education?
Methodology, Methods, Research Instruments or Sources UsedThis study is part of a larger longitudinal research project investigating the development of a teacher identity among 12 Finnish and 18 Austrian student teachers throughout their initial teacher education. Nora was chosen to our case because she clearly brought out her reflections on the development process, including her doubts and struggles. The data consists of four thematic interviews lasting approximately 45-60 minutes, conducted consecutively by one of the Finnish authors after every academic year throughout the period of teacher education. The main interview themes were being a good teacher, good teaching (and learning), learning experiences in teacher education, and future expectations regarding the studies as well as working as a teacher in the future. The final interview involved two parts: the above-mentioned themes and a retrospective task in which the participant reflected on her entire teacher education through experiences that both strengthened and weakened her teacher identity. Member checking was offered, thus Nora was able to read the data analysis and give her feedback. Nora accepted all the interpretations. The study followed the ethical guidelines of the University of Helsinki and the Finnish National Board on Research Integrity (TENK)
The qualitative data was analysed in two phases. First, three Finnish–speaking authors of this article went through Nora’s four interviews, which had been transcribed verbatim, and all the units of analysis that illustrated struggle and doubt were defined together. The analysis was conducted in MAXQDA, and together codebook for the general data analysis within the research project were developed together. The second phase was conducted by the first author. First, each narrative sequence that demonstrated doubt was coded as a certain I-position negotiation including internal or/and external I-positions. After that, Nora’s narrative was retold (Lieblich, Tuval-Mashiach, & Zilber, 1998). The particular interest was in illustrating how the I-positions moved, occurred, conflicted, retreated and configured in the negotiation space (Ligorio & Tateo, 2008).
Conclusions, Expected Outcomes or FindingsAnalysing the data by using Dialogical Self Theory, this study provided a rich and nuanced viewpoint. The most important notion in our study was that struggles with various I- positions are mostly rooted in fundamental questions relating to personal matters, not just issues of how to teach effectively or working with young people. Nora’s teacher identity development throughout her teacher education revealed four intertwined I-positions that should be carefully supported in teacher education: I as a person, I as a foreigner, I as an academic student and I as a teacher. For example, Nora felt unconfident at the beginning of her studies because her nascent I- as academic student teacher - position made her question her teacher identity. Thus, teacher educators should be aware that new positions have to be supported in order to create a sense of self-efficacy at the very beginning of the studies. Furthermore, Nora’s journey throughout her teacher education illustrated deeply held beliefs that were related to her I as a person-position. Her demands on herself caused strong turbulences and made her question her ability to become as a teacher. this requires teacher educators also to concentrate on student teachers’ personal identity with emotions.
Based on our results, in the light of the four I-positions mentioned above, we consider how teacher education may promote the development of student teachers' teacher identity.
ReferencesAkkerman, S.F., & Meijer, P.C. (2011). A dialogical approach to conceptualizing teacher identity. Teaching and Teacher Education, 27, 308 – 319. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2010.08.013
Akkerman, S. F., & Van Eijck, M. (2013). Re-theorising the student dialogically across and between boundaries of multiple communities. British Educational Research Journal, 39(1), 60–72. doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/01411926.2011.613454.
Coombs, D. (2018). Dialogical self and struggling reader identity. In F. Meijers & H Hermans (Eds), The Dialogical Self Theory in Education (pp. 157-171). Springer, Cham
Hermans, H., & Kempen, H. (1993). The Dialogical Self. Academic Press.
Izadinia, M. (2013). A review of research on student teachers’ professional identity. British Educational Research Journal 39(4), 694–713. https://doi.org/10.1080/01411926.2012.679614
Leijen Ä., Kullasepp K., Toompalu, A. (2018) Dialogue for bridging student teachers’ personal and professional identity. In F. Meijers and H. Hermans (Eds.) The Dialogical Self Theory in Education. Cultural Psychology of Education (Vol 5.) Springer: Cham
Lieblich, A., Tuval-Mashiach, R., & Zilber, T. (1998). Narrative research: Reading, analysis, and interpretation (Vol. 47). Sage.
Ligorio, M. B., & Tateo, L. (2008). “Just for passion”: dialogical and narrative construction of teachers’ professional identity and educational practices. European Journal of School Psychology, 5(2), 115 – 142.
Pillen, M., Beijaard, D., & Den Brok, P. (2013). Tensions in beginning teachers' professional identity development, accompanying feelings and coping strategies. European Journal of Teacher Education 36, 240–260. https://doi.org/10.1080/02619768.2012.696192
10. Teacher Education Research
Paper
Why do I educate those recovering their educational trajectories? A study on Teacher Professional Identity in Second-chance schools in Chile.
Cristóbal Madero Cabib, Verónica Mingo Rojas
Universidad Alberto Hurtado, Chile
Presenting Author: Madero Cabib, Cristóbal
This article studies the Teacher Professional Identity (TPI) in teachers working in schools where children and youth recover from interrupted educational trajectories in Chile. Specifically, the article focuses on teachers working in second-chance schools, exploring their motivations for entering and staying in the teaching profession, their beliefs about teaching and learning, and their satisfaction with their current job.
TPI has been broadly studied, but not in the context of second-chance schools. Neither in Europe nor Chile has this topic been deeply studied. Therefore, this article configures an opportunity to advance this line of research on both sides of the Atlantic.
I use different concepts around TPI in the world of second-chance schools. The first characteristic is the emotional and affective dimension of identity. Meo & Tarabini's (2020) research in two schools in the cities of Barcelona and Buenos Aires identifies the "ethics of care" as one of the three central elements of IPD in these schools. The ethics of caregiving involves making meaningful connections between adults and students, emphasizing care for the relationship and a sense of responsibility for the other. This element is related to the emotional and affective components of the person. A similar finding is presented by Te Riele et al. (2017) study in three re-entry schools in Australia. McGregor & Mills' (2014) study of teacher motivations in re-entry schools in Britain and Australia also shows that teachers helped their students meet a wide range of basic human needs. Finally, the study by Thomas et al. (2020) in the state of Tasmania in Australia explores the characteristics that re-entry school principals observe in their school teachers. In coherence with the studies already mentioned, this study indicates the ability of teachers to create and maintain safe and supportive environments for students, in addition to having strong interpersonal and communication skills (Thomas et al., 2020).
A second prominent element is a centrality in human relationships. Meo & Tarabini (2020) point out the emphasis of teachers on personalizing teaching by relieving students of their individuality in terms of their context and learning characteristics. Te Riele et al. (2017) highlight an effort by teachers to generate personal connections with students, for example, taking care to recognize the student in all its dimensions and to generate relationships that do not "patronize." Along the same lines, Morgan's (2014, 2017) research in 5 re-entry schools in Queensland (Australia) explored the characteristics of "being and becoming" a teacher in this type of school.
Finally, a third element is an emphasis on collective work. The study by Meo & Tarabini (2020) indicates that teachers conceived teaching as a collective effort, where it was crucial to work with others to cope with the complexity and demands of this type of school. In turn, Te Riele et al. (2017) also point out that teachers had a sense of working with others who were "on the same page." Teachers created a "work culture" that promoted companionship and emotional support. This dimension also included a sense of solidarity towards students, seeking to practice with a perspective of addressing structural inequalities. Finally, McGregor & Mills (2014) highlight the "sense of community" as a critical element in teaching.
Methodology, Methods, Research Instruments or Sources UsedI studied the case of two second-chance schools. Case study research is a method that explores the different constituent parts of a phenomenon and how events, actors, and structures converge in the space or setting (Ragin & Becker, 1992). The two schools will be selected according to a purposive sampling criterion, a form of non-probability sampling where the researcher defines different variables that can account for the phenomenon under study (Quinn Patton, 2014). The criteria of school´s years old (one with more and one with less than 20 years ), number of students (one with more and one with less than 200), number of teachers (one with more and one with less than 20), and both located in the Metropolitan Region, but in different municipalities, were used.
I used two data collection methods: (i) In-depth semi-structured interview (n=20 per school): consists of a verbal exchange led by the researcher and based on open-ended questions that can be altered in order and content as the interview progresses (Quinn Patton, 2014). (ii) Focus group (n=4 per school): a qualitative technique that allows capturing the subjectivity of individual discourses, expressed in the framework of a collective scenario of enunciation and reciprocity between peers (Kamberelis & Dimitriadis, 2013; Krueger & Casey, 2000). To deepen this exploration, other actors will also be interviewed: members of the leadership team(n=2 per school), education assistants who are members of the psychosocial team (n=per school), parents(n=6 per school), and students(n=8 per school). It is intended that the information of these actors helps to better understand PTI in second chance schools.
The information collected was subjected to a thematic analysis of narratives (Wells, 2011; Riessman, 2008), which seeks to highlight central themes in the narratives in particular of those who teach, but also of other informants, concerning context (Phoenix, 2008) and critical events (Webster & Mertova, 2007). This analysis is effective in studies on teachers (Elbaz-Luwisch, 2007). In the case of interviews and focus groups will be coded according to a directed process (Creswell, 2015), with openness to include first-order codes, codes that emerge from a second-order inductive analysis (Miles et al., 2014). After this phase of analysis (already accomplished), comparing the two schools subject to the case studies will be conducted, examining similarities and differences (Eisenhardt, 1989). Case-ordered displays will be created (Miles & Huberman, 1994).
Conclusions, Expected Outcomes or FindingsThe dimensions highlighted in the literature section (emotional and affective, centrality in human relationships, and the collective work distinguishing PTI) appear in the narratives of the teachers interviewed here. At the same time, those dimensions of their PTI are corroborated by bosses, colleagues, parents, and, more importantly, by their students. This finding occurs across teachers regardless of the school where they teach, the subject, years in the profession, or years teaching in a second-chance school.
The development of the TPI in this type of teacher also occurred in a dynamic process. Not dynamic in the sense of the well-studied phenomenon of TPI in teachers working in general/regular schools that changes and develops over time. That is also true here, but deeper. These teachers express a dynamicity characterized by being professionals who have to permanently transact between their role’s cognitive and socioemotional dimensions. At specific points, their narratives took a path that it was not easy to recognize a teacher in front but a social worker, psychologist, or pastor.
Teachers working in the settings we study also have to negotiate between their agendas and the role this type of school has.
Coming results remain around a finer distinction of the two cases, so to study if a different type of second-chance school (size, age, etc.) affects in different ways the TPI is acquired.
ReferencesBeauchamp, C., & Thomas, L. (2009). Understanding teacher identity: An overview of issues in the literature and implications for teacher education. Cambridge journal of education, 39(2), 175-189.
Beijaard, D., Meijer, P. C., & Verloop, N. (2004). Reconsidering research on teachers’ professional identity. Teaching and teacher education, 20(2), 107-128.
Clandinin, D. J. (2015). Stories to live by on the professional knowledge landscape. Waikato Journal of Education, 20(3)
Day, C. (2018). Professional identity matters: Agency, emotions, and resilience. In Research on teacher identity (pp. 61-70). Springer, Cham.
Flennaugh, T. K., Cooper Stein, K. S., & Carter Andrews, D. J. (2018). Necessary but insufficient: How educators enact hope for formerly disconnected youth. Urban education, 53(1), 113-138.
Gee, J. P. (2000). Identity as an analytic lens for research in education. Review of Research in Education, 25, 99125.
McAdams, D. P., & McLean, K. C. (2013). Narrative Identity. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 22(3), 233–238. https://doi.org/10.1177/0963721413475622
Meo, A., & Tarabini, A. (2020). Teachers’ identities in second chance schools: A comparative analysis of Buenos Aires and Barcelona. Teaching and Teacher Education, 88, 102963.
McGregor, G., & Mills, M. (2014). Teaching in the ‘margins’: Rekindling a passion for teaching. British Journal of Sociology of Education, 35(1), 1-18.
Morgan, A. (2017). Cultivating critical reflection: educators making sense and meaning of professional identity and relational dynamics in complex practice. Teaching Education, 28(1), 41-55.
Morgan, A., Pendergast, D., Brown, R., & Heck, D. (2014). The art of holding complexity: A contextual influence on educator identity and development in practice in a system of alternative ‘flexi’schools. Reflective Practice, 15(5), 579-591.
Noonan, J. (2019). An affinity for learning: Teacher identity and powerful professional development. Journal of Teacher Education, 70(5), 526-537.
Rodgers, C. R., & Scott, K. H. (2008). The development of the personal self and professional identity in learning to teach. In Handbook of research on teacher education (pp. 732-755). Routledge.
Rodrigues, F., & Mogarro, M. J. (2019). Student teachers’ professional identity: A review of research contributions. Educational research review, 28, 100286.
Te Riele, K., Mills, M., McGregor, G., & Baroutsis, A. (2017). Exploring the affective dimension of teachers’ work in alternative school settings. Teaching Education, 28(1), 56-71.
Thomas, J., Cruickshank, V., Herrlander Birgerson, E., Reid, D., & te Riele, K. (2020). It takes a special type of teacher. An investigation into the capabilities of staff working with disengaged students. International Journal of Inclusive Education, 1-16.
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