The Entanglement of Identity and Politics in Conceptualizing "Teacher Identity"

• In Event: 68.019 - Research on Teacher Identity and Motivation: Mapping Challenges and Innovations

Abstract

In research on teacher identity, it is clear to us that a number of important aspects are involved in the formation of what is conceptualized as ‘teacher identity’; these aspects complicate our understanding of teacher identity and inform not only the implications for teacher education and teacher professional development but also our way of studying how teachers develop as professionals. The aim of this theoretical discussion is twofold: The first is to provide a conceptualization of teacher identity that acknowledges the intersection of identity and politics and the consequences of this acknowledgment in theorizing teacher identity as being politicized, discontinuous and shifting. The second is to highlight four aspects that seem important in the process of teacher identity formation: emotion aspects; narrative and discourse aspects; reflection aspects; and agency/structure aspects. We propose an understanding of teacher identity that recognizes the intersection of identity and politics, suggesting that this understanding has advantages over primarily a psychological (Rodgers & Scott, 2008) or a sociocultural lens (Beauchamp & Thomas, 2009), because (a) it promotes a more holistic understanding of teacher identity that does not ignore the social and cultural contexts in which identities are shaped nor the influence of power relations and politics in teacher identity formation; and (b) it recognizes the prospects of developing a critical and transformative orientation towards the conceptualization of teacher identity. What follows from this conceptualization of teacher identity is a recognition that teacher identity formation is an ongoing process of negotiating one’s beliefs, values, emotions and teaching practices, all in the context of political realities. Future research, then, can incorporate this growing knowledge of the intersection of identity and politics and their influence on teacher identity formation in exploration of other aspects that mark the development of professional identities in teaching.

Authors

• Michalinos Zembylas, The Open University of Cyprus

• Sharon M. Chubbuck, Marquette University