When Is a Teacher a Teacher? Case Study of a Beginning Teacher in a Nontraditional Role

• In Event: Roundtable Session 39
  In Roundtable Session: Becoming a Teacher: Construction of Teacher Identity

Abstract

Forming a professional identity is an important component in learning to teach.
Across North America, changing school dynamics are creating more positions where teachers are not in a traditional teaching role with full responsibility for a class. This case study analyzes the experiences of an elementary teacher’s first four years when she worked in a non-traditional teaching role in a school. Factors hindering, influencing, and supporting her teacher identity formation are considered. Implications for supporting the professional identity of new teachers who may find themselves in non-traditional roles are discussed in light of the findings.

Authors

• Judy A. Caulfield, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education/ University of Toronto

• Clare Kosnik, University of Toronto

• Clive M. Beck, OISE/University of Toronto