The construction and development of professional teacher identity: an analysis of positional changes and their link to agency

Authors

Download

Abstract

This article is part of a broader research project that examines the construction and development of teachers’ professional identity through the analysis of subjective learning experiences spanning from their final year of initial teacher education to their second year in the workforce. In order to report on the progress of our work, we present a discourse analysis of a learning experience considered relevant for the construction and development of professional identity and its connection to agency. The analysis highlights three aspects that are of particular importance: (i) the process of constructing and developing teachers’ professional identity is grounded in the positional movement of voices within experience, which enables identity reconstruction; (ii) the reconstructive process of identity involves agency as a central dimension of identity change; and (iii) agency cannot be understood as an individual capacity, but rather as a possibility that emerges within a specific situational context. The contribution of this work is an analytical model based on subjective learning experiences that allows the use of modal operators to study the relationship between professional identity and agency.

Keywords:

professional identity, teacher autonomy, teacher education, personal narratives

References

Ahern, S. (1999). Between duty and desire: Sentimental agency in British prose fiction of the later eighteenth century [Tesis doctoral no publicada]. McGill University.

Androusou, A., y Tsafos, V. (2018). Aspects of the professional identity of preschool teachers in Greece: Investigating the role of teacher education and professional experience. Teacher Development, 22(4), 554-570. https://doi.org/10.1080/13664530.2018.1438309

Arvaja, M. (2016). Building teacher identity through the process of positioning. Teaching and Teacher Education, 59, 392-402. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2016.07.024

Ashton, K. (2022). Language teacher agency in emergency online teaching. System, 105, Artículo 102713. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2021.102713

Ávalos, B., y Valenzuela, J. P. (2016). Education for all and attrition/retention of new teachers: A trajectory study in Chile. International Journal of Educational Development, 49, 279-290. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijedudev.2016.03.012

Babativa Salamanca, H. A., Rubiano Cárdenas, P. A., Velásquez Pérez, T., Gaona Diaz, N. F., González Ortega, J. A., y Vega Gámez, M. I. (2024). La entrevista semiestructurada: una herramienta pertinente en la percepción de valores sociales para la vida. Revista Lasallista de Investigación, 21(1), 92-107. https://doi.org/10.22507/rli.v21n1a5

Bamberg, M. (2011). Who am I? Narration and its contribution to self and identity. Theory & Psychology, 21(1), 3-24. https://doi.org/10.1177/0959354309355852

Bazeley, P. (2018). “Mixed methods in my bones”: Transcending the qualitative-quantitative divide. International Journal of Multiple Research Approaches, 10(1), 334-341. https://doi.org/10.29034/ijmra.v10n1a22

Beauchamp, C., y Thomas, L. (2011). New teachers' identity shifts at the boundary of teacher education and initial practice. International Journal of Educational Research, 50(1), 6-13. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijer.2011.04.003

Beijaard, D., Meijer, P. C., y Verloop, N. (2004). Reconsidering research on teachers' professional identity. Teaching and Teacher Education, 20(2), 107-128. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2003.07.001

Benwell, B., y Stokoe, E. (2006). Discourse and identity. Edinburgh University Press.

Biesta, G., Priestley, M., y Robinson, S. (2015). The role of beliefs in teacher agency. Teachers and Teaching: Theory and Practice, 21(6), 624-640. https://doi.org/10.1080/13540602.2015.1044325

Birkeland, S., y Feiman-Nemser, S. (2012). Helping school leaders help new teachers: A tool for transforming school-based induction. The New Educator, 8(2), 109-138. https://doi.org/10.1080/1547688X.2012.670567

Bowen, A., Satienchayakorn, N., Teedaaksornsakul, M., y Thomas, N. (2021). Legitimising teacher identity: Investment and agency from an ecological perspective. Teaching and Teacher Education, 108, Artículo 103519. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2021.103519

Bruner, J. (1990). Acts of meaning. Harvard University Press.

Buchanan, R. (2015). Teacher identity and agency in an era of accountability. Teachers and Teaching, 21(6), 700-719. https://doi.org/10.1080/13540602.2015.1044329

Caïs, J., Folguera, L., y Formoso, C. (2014). Investigación cualitativa longitudinal. CIS-Centro de Investigaciones Sociológicas.

Chávez, J. (2020). Space-time in the study of learning trajectories. Learning: Research and Practice, 6(2), 1-13. https://doi.org/10.1080/23735082.2020.1811884

Chávez, J., Barril, J. P., Jiménez, T. L., Clarà, M., Ramos, F. S., Peel, K., y Justiniano, B. (2024a). Navigating burnout: A study of teacher identity in Chile, Ecuador, Brazil, Spain and Australia. Pedagogy, Culture & Society, 1-17. https://doi.org/10.1080/14681366.2024.2302314

Chávez, J., Faure, J., y Barril, J. (2021). The construction of teachers’ professional identity: An analysis of subjective learning experiences. European Journal of Teacher Education, 46(2), 256–273. https://doi.org/10.1080/02619768.2021.1905627

Chávez, J., Fauré, J., y Barril Madrid, J. (2022). The role of agency in the construction and development of professional identity. Learning: Research and Practice, 9(1), 93–108. https://doi.org/10.1080/23735082.2022.2134575

Chávez, J. C., Faure, J., Barril, J. P., Almuna, F., y Escaffi, J. (2024b). Construction of professional identity in novel teachers. Learning experiences: help or hindrance? European Journal of Psychology of Education. Publicación anticipada en línea. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10212-024-00824-7

Chávez, J., Faure, J., Barril, J., Almuna, F., y Escaffi, J. (en prensa). The informal learning experiences in the construction and development of professional teacher identity. Learning, Culture and Social Interaction.

Clark, A. (2020). Beyond desire? Agency, choice, and the predictive mind. Australasian Journal of Philosophy, 98(1), 1-15. https://doi.org/10.1080/00048402.2019.1602661

Cobb, D. J., Harlow, A., y Clark, L. (2018). Examining the teacher identity-agency relationship through legitimate peripheral participation: A longitudinal investigation. Asia-Pacific Journal of Teacher Education, 46(5), 495–510. https://doi.org/10.1080/1359866X.2018.1480010

Creswell, J. W., y Poth, C. N. (2017). Qualitative inquiry and research design: Choosing among five approaches (4.ª ed.). Sage Publications.

Davies, B. (1999). Positioning and personhood. En R. Harré y L. van Langenhove (Eds.), Positioning theory: Moral contexts of intentional action (pp. 32-52). Blackwell.

De Fina, A. (2015). Narrative and identities. En A. De Fina y A. Georgakopoulou (Eds.), The handbook of narrative analysis (pp. 349-368). Wiley Blackwell.

De Luca Picione, R., Martino, M. L., y Troisi, G. (2019). The semiotic construction of the sense of agency: The modal articulation in narrative processes. Integrative Psychological and Behavioral Science, 53, 431-449. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12124-019-9475-9

Dugas, D. (2021). The identity triangle: Toward a unified framework for teacher identity. Teacher Development, 25(3), 243-262. https://doi.org/10.1080/13664530.2021.1874500

Edwards, A., y Mackenzie, L. (2008). Identity shifts in informal learning trajectories. En B. van Oers, W. Wardekker, E. Elbers, y R. van der Veer (Eds.), The transformation of learning: Advances in cultural-historical activity theory (pp. 163-181). Cambridge University Press.

Edwards, F. C. E., y Edwards, R. J. (2016). A story of culture and teaching: The complexity of teacher identity formation. The Curriculum Journal, 28(2), 190-211. https://doi.org/10.1080/09585176.2016.1232200

Eisenhardt, K. M. (1989). Building theories from case study research. Academy of Management Review, 14(4), 532–550. https://doi.org/10.5465/amr.1989.4308385

Eteläpelto, A., Vähäsantanen, K., y Hökkä, P. (2015). How do novice teachers in Finland perceive their professional agency? Teachers and Teaching, 21(6), 660-680. https://doi.org/10.1080/13540602.2015.1044327

Feiman-Nemser, S. (2001). From preparation to practice: Designing a continuum to strengthen and sustain teaching. Teachers College Record, 103(6), 1013–1055.

Feser, M. S., y Haak, I. (2023). Key features of teacher identity: A systematic meta-review study with special focus on teachers of science or science-related subjects. Studies in Science Education, 59(2), 287-320. https://doi.org/10.1080/03057267.2022.2108644

Flick, U. (2019). Quality criteria of qualitative social research. En N. Baur y J. Blasius (Eds.), Handbook of methods of empirical social research (pp. 473-488). Springer.

Fuentealba, R., y Imbarack, P. (2018). Compromiso docente, una interpelación al sentido de la profesionalidad en tiempos de cambio. Estudios Pedagógicos, 40(Especial), 257–273. https://doi.org/10.4067/S0718-07052014000200015

Giddens, A. (1993). Problems of action and structure. En P. Cassell (Ed.), The Giddens reader (pp. 88-175). Macmillan.

Gillespie, A. (2012). Position exchange: The social development of agency. New Ideas in Psychology, 30(1), 32-46. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.newideapsych.2010.03.004

Gillespie, A., y Martin, J. (2014). Position exchange theory: A socio-material basis for discursive and psychological positioning. New Ideas in Psychology, 32, 73-79. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.newideapsych.2013.05.001

Greimas, A. J. (1976). Maupassant: la sémiotique du texte exercices pratiques. Editions du Seuil.

Hanna, F., Oostdam, R., Severiens, S. E., y Zijlstra, B. J. (2020). Assessing the professional identity of primary student teachers: Design and validation of the Teacher Identity Measurement Scale. Studies in Educational Evaluation, 64, Artículo 100822. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.stueduc.2019.100822

Harré, R. (1983). Personal being. Blackwell.

Heikonen, L., Pietarinen, J., Toom, A., Soini, T., y Pyhältö, K. (2020). The development of student teachers' sense of professional agency in the classroom during teacher education. Learning: Research and Practice, 6(2), 114-136. https://doi.org/10.1080/23735082.2020.1725603

Heikkilä, M., Iiskala, T., y Mikkilä-Erdmann, M. (2020). Voices of student teachers' professional agency at the intersection of theory and practice. Learning, Culture and Social Interaction, 25, Artículo 100405. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lcsi.2020.100405

Hökkä, P., Vähäsantanen, K., y Mahlakaarto, S. (2017). Teacher educators' collective professional agency and identity – Transforming marginality to strength. Teaching and Teacher Education, 63, 36-46. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2016.12.001

Holland, D., y Lachicotte, W. (2007). Vygotsky, Mead, and the new sociocultural studies of identity. En H. Daniels, M. Cole, y J. V. Wertsch (Eds.), The Cambridge companion to Vygotsky (pp. 101-135). Cambridge University Press.

Hong, J., y Cross Francis, D. (2020). Unpacking complex phenomena through qualitative inquiry: The case of teacher identity research. Educational Psychologist, 55(4), 208–219. https://doi.org/10.1080/00461520.2020.1783265

Juutilainen, M., Metsäpelto, R. L., y Poikkeus, A. M. (2018). Becoming agentic teachers: Experiences of the home group approach as a resource for supporting teacher students' agency. Teaching and Teacher Education, 76, 116-125. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2018.08.013

Kalaja, P., Barcelos, A. M. F., Aro, M., y Ruohotie-Lyhty, M. (Eds.). (2016). Beliefs, agency and identity in foreign language learning and teaching. Springer.

Kauppinen, M., Kainulainen, J., Hökkä, P., y Vähäsantanen, K. (2020). Professional agency and its features in supporting teachers' learning during an in-service education programme. European Journal of Teacher Education, 43(3), 384-404. https://doi.org/10.1080/02619768.2020.1746264

Kayi-Aydar, H. (2015). Teacher agency, positioning, and English language learners: Voices of pre-service classroom teachers. Teaching and Teacher Education, 45, 94-103. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2014.09.009

Kelchtermans, G., y Ballet, K. (2002). Micropolitical literacy: Reconstructing a neglected dimension in teacher development. International Journal of Educational Research, 37(8), 755-767. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0883-0355(03)00069-7

Kozulin, A. (2003). Vygotsky's educational theory in cultural context. Cambridge University Press.

Krause, R. J., y Rucker, D. D. (2020). Strategic storytelling: When narratives help versus hurt the persuasive power of facts. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 46(2), 216-227. https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167219853845

Leeferink, H., Koopman, M., Beijaard, D., y Schellings, G. L. (2019). Overarching professional identity themes in student teacher workplace learning. Teachers and Teaching, 25(1), 69-89. https://doi.org/10.1080/13540602.2018.1527762

Ljalikova, A., Meristo, M., Alas, E., y Jung, M. (2021). Narrative analysis as a means of investigating CLIL teachers’ meaningful experiences. Qualitative Research in Education, 10(3), 228-259. https://doi.org/10.17583/qre.2021.7828

Luckmann, T. (1982). Individual action and social knowledge. En M. von Cranach y R. Harré (Eds.), The analysis of action (pp. 247-265). Cambridge University Press.

Mahmoudi-Gahrouei, V., Tavakoli, M., y Hamman, D. (2016). Understanding what is possible across a career: Professional identity development beyond transition to teaching. Asia Pacific Education Review, 17, 581-597. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12564-016-9457-2

McAdams, D. P. (1993). The stories we live by: Personal myths and the making of the self. Guilford Press.

McLean, K. C., y Syed, M. (2016). Personal, master, and alternative narratives: An integrative framework for understanding identity development in context. Human Development, 58(6), 318-349. https://doi.org/10.1159/000445817

Meijer, P. C., De Graaf, G., y Meirink, J. (2011). Key experiences in student teachers' development. Teachers and Teaching: Theory and Practice, 17(1), 115-129. https://doi.org/10.1080/13540602.2011.538502

Moghaddam, J. M. (2011). Perceived effectiveness of business internships: Student expectations, experiences, and personality traits. International Journal of Management, 28(4), 287-302.

Morgan, B. (2016). Language teacher identity and the domestication of dissent: An exploratory account. TESOL Quarterly, 50(3), 708-734. https://doi.org/10.1002/tesq.316

Pantić, N. (2017). An exploratory study of teacher agency for social justice. Teaching and Teacher Education, 66, 219-230. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2017.04.008

Priestley, M., y Drew, V. (2019). Professional enquiry: An ecological approach to developing teacher agency. En D. Godfrey y C. Brown (Eds.), An eco-system for research-engaged schools: Reforming education through research (pp. 154-170). Routledge.

Ridder, H. G. (2017). The theory contribution of case study research designs. Business Research, 10, 281-305. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40685-017-0045-z

Rosa, A., y Valsiner, J. (Eds.). (2018). The Cambridge handbook of sociocultural psychology. Cambridge University Press.

Roth, S., y Erstad, O. (2016). Positional identities in educational transitions: Connecting contemporary and future trajectories among multiethnic girls. Ethnography and Education, 11(1), 57–73. https://doi.org/10.1080/17457823.2015.1040044

Rushton, E. A., Rawlings Smith, E., Steadman, S., y Towers, E. (2023). Understanding teacher identity in teachers' professional lives: A systematic review of the literature. Review of Education, 11(2), Artículo e3417. https://doi.org/10.1002/rev3.3417

Rushton, E. A., y Reiss, M. J. (2021). Middle and high school science teacher identity considered through the lens of the social identity approach: A systematic review of the literature. Studies in Science Education, 57(2), 141-203. https://doi.org/10.1080/03057267.2020.1799621

Sannino, A., Engeström, Y., y Lemos, M. (2016). Formative interventions for expansive learning and transformative agency. Journal of the Learning Sciences, 25(4), 599–633. https://doi.org/10.1080/10508406.2016.1204547

Schriever, V. (2020). Early childhood teachers' management of their changing roles regarding digital technologies in kindergarten: A grounded theory study. Australasian Journal of Early Childhood, 46(1), 32-49. https://doi.org/10.1177/1836939120979065

Stake, R. E. (1995). The art of case study research. Sage Publications.

Stake, R. E. (2006). Multiple case study analysis. Guilford Press.

Tao, J., y Gao, X. A. (2021). Language teacher agency. Cambridge University Press.

Tatto, M. T. (2021). Professionalism in teaching and the role of teacher education. European Journal of Teacher Education, 44(1), 20-44. https://doi.org/10.1080/02619768.2020.1849130

Taylor, L. A. (2017). How teachers become teacher researchers: Narrative as a tool for teacher identity construction. Teaching and Teacher Education, 61, 16-25. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2016.09.008

Turra-Díaz, O., y Flores-Lueg, C. (2019). A formação prática das vozes do corpo discente da pedagogia. Revista Ensaio: Avaliação e Políticas Públicas em Educação, 27(103), 385-405.

Ursin, J., Vähäsantanen, K., McAlpine, L., y Hökkä, P. (2020). Emotionally loaded identity and agency in Finnish academic work. Journal of Further and Higher Education, 44(3), 311-325. https://doi.org/10.1080/0309877X.2018.1541971

Valsiner, J., y Van der Veer, R. (1988). On the social nature of human cognition: An analysis of the shared intellectual roots of George Herbert Mead and Lev Vygotsky. Journal for the Theory of Social Behaviour, 18(1), 117-136.

Vassilieva, J., y Zavershneva, E. (2020). Vygotsky's height psychology: Reenvisioning general psychology in dialogue with the humanities and the arts. Review of General Psychology, 24(1), 18-30. https://doi.org/10.1177/1089268020902723

Vähäsantanen, K., Paloniemi, S., Räikkönen, E., y Hökkä, P. (2020). Professional agency in a university context: Academic freedom and fetters. Teaching and Teacher Education, 89, Artículo 103000. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2019.103000

Veresov, N., y Fleer, M. (2016). Perezhivanie as a theoretical concept for researching young children’s development. Mind, Culture, and Activity, 23(4), 325–333. https://doi.org/10.1080/10749039.2016.1186198

Vygotsky, L. S. (1978). Mind in society: The development of higher psychological processes. Harvard University Press.

Vygotsky, L. S. (2018). Los cuadernos de Vygotsky: una selección (E. Zavershneva y R. van der Veer, Eds.). Springer.

Vygotsky, L. S., y Luria, A. R. (1994). Introduction to the Russian translation of Freud´s Beyond the Pleasure Principle. En R. van der Veer y J. Valsiner (Eds.), The Vygotsky reader (pp. 10–18). Blackwell.

Wilson, E., y Deaney, R. (2010). Changing career and changing identity: How do teacher career changers exercise agency in identity construction? Social Psychology of Education, 13(2), 169-183. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11218-010-9119-x

Yin, R. K. (2013). Validity and generalization in future case study evaluations. Evaluation, 19(3), 321–332. https://doi.org/10.1177/1356389013497081

Yin, R. K. (2018). Case study research and applications: Design and methods (6.ª ed.). Sage Publications.

Zhu, K., Guo, H., Liu, Z., Tang, M., y Wang, J. (2020). Identity-guided human semantic parsing for person re-identification. En A. Vedaldi, H. Bischof, T. Brox, y J. M. Frahm (Eds.), Computer Vision – ECCV 2020 (Vol. 12348, pp. 346–363). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-58580-8_21