dc.description.abstract |
Research studies on teacher professional identity are growing in recent times focusing on a
variety of aspects linked to the teachers‘ lives. These aspects included the inner landscapes of
teachers‘ lives, the artistic or spiritual selves of teachers, the various influences on identity
formation, the characteristics of teacher identity, and the implication identity has for securing
teachers‘ commitment to their work and adherence to their professional norms. Notwithstanding,
despite the growing exploration on various aspects of teacher identity formation, still there seems
elusiveness on the exact moment at which teacher identity is formed, and on the things that
constitute teachers‘ professional identity. Thus, this study specifically aimed at unveiling the
interplay of moments where EFL teachers construct their professional identities and the
constituents of teacher identity by focusing on experienced EFL teachers working in secondary
schools. Data were generated through a one-on-one semi-structured in-depth interview with eight
experienced EFL teachers working in Gedeo Zone secondary schools, Ethiopia. Through IPA,
thematic analysis was conducted across participants within a hermeneutic phenomenological
methodology. The findings of the study revealed that teachers‘ identity formation implies
choosing commitments in their professional life domains and is congruent with their
engagements and personal virtues. That is, the study found out explanations of teaching
functions, academic competences, personal virtues and coping strategies as manifestations of
teachers‘ professional identity (TPI); implying that the participant teachers commit to multiple
identities in their professional life contexts. These are represented through six pertinent themes
which denote the different constituents of TPI and the various ways of constructing or
negotiating it. These themes included: teaching as a fallback career, identity crisis at transition to
teaching, professional roles, challenges, teacher emotions, and passion for the teaching
profession. The study showed that the participant teachers co-construct and/or negotiate their
professional identity while responding to routinely changing teaching conditions. The teachers‘
professional identity, which is co-constructed and/or negotiated in this study, is a
multidimensional and dynamic reality shaped by personal agency and daunting contextual
conditions. These professional identities disclosed themselves through teachers‘ descriptions of
their lived experiences –by what teachers actually do in their work, their desire to, and their
personal characters. Although the participant teachers perceive their workplace conditions as
highly restricting their commitment to their job, they still conceive themselves as honourable
professionals by expressing their passion for teaching as a profession. This suggests that identity
is part of what makes an individual a teacher and it is thus an important aspect of professional
development. These findings have implications for the feasibility of changing practices and the
transferability of educational ideas. This study, therefore, suggests policy makers should strive to
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establish programmes recognizing effective (or good) teachers as multi-dimensional
professionals whose effectiveness cannot be equated to students‘ test scores alone; as a result,
moving towards designing short-term on-the-job training programmes that contribute to the
development of holistic teachers |
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