Change in One Teacher's Professional Identity During the First Year of Teaching in an Alternative School: A Case Study

• In Event: Teacher Identity and Motivation: Concepts, Research Designs, and Empirical Examples

Abstract

Objective
The first few years of teaching are the most crucial for teachers' retention (Cochran-Smith, 2004). It is the meaning of experiences during these early years that undergirds new teachers’ career-related decisions. In the current study, we conceptualized meaning-making of early teaching experiences and making career-related decisions within the framework of professional identity (PI) formation. The objective was to describe a teacher’s PI formation during the first year of teaching, provide insights into processes that contribute to or detract from commitments to continue teaching, and describe the processes that undergird the teacher’s decisions about instructional approach and strategies.

Theoretical Framework
The study was framed by a Dynamic Systems Model of Role Identity (DSMRI), which conceptualizes teachers’ PI as a dynamic system consisting of four contextually constructed and interrelated components: (1) ontological and epistemological beliefs; (2) purpose and goals; (2) self-perceptions; and (4) perceived action possibilities (Kaplan et al., 2012).

Context, Methods and Data Sources
This case study followed one beginning Israeli science teacher (second author) during his first in-service year in a K-12 democratic school (a school emphasizing teachers’ and students' autonomy and participation in school management). In particular, it focused on the teacher's experience instructing a weekly 3-hours mixed-aged science class, which was selected as it involved particular challenges for the teacher. The data consisted of: (1) weekly reflective journal entries that the teacher kept during this academic year; (2) participant-observations of 75% of the classes meetings; (3) field notes; (4) electronic communication with the teacher throughout the year; and (5) two in-depth interviews with the teacher, one early in the year and one towards the end of the year. Analysis followed the assumptions and components of the DSMRI and identified meaning units in the data that corresponded with the model components, alignment and misalignment between components of the teacher PI, changes in these components and their interrelations, and personal and environmental events that coincided with these changes.

Findings
The analysis indicated very prominent fluctuations in the PI components throughout the academic year, and in particular, changes in alignment and misalignment between the teacher’s goals (e.g., maintaining discipline), self-perceptions (e.g., resenting enforcing discipline), and ontological beliefs (e.g., the students lack of self discipline). Such misalignments triggered identity exploration of action possibilities that drew on cultural-contextual resources (e.g., soliciting students’ feedback and having students sign a behavioral contract). The analysis further indicated that events that spurred dilemmas and triggered exploration either increased or decreased perceived temporary misalignment; but, that in the long run, led to a more aligned teacher PI and to a decision to continue teaching.

Scholarly Significance
This case study illustrates how the DSMRI can serve as a conceptual framework for describing and investigating early teachers' challenging experiences and struggles during their first year of teaching. Insights based on the model could inform teacher training, professional development programs, and school services that aim to support teachers in their first professional steps.

Authors

• Dana Vedder-Weiss, Ben Gurion University of the Negev

• Liel Biran, Lev HaSharon Democratic School, Israel