The Role of Identity: Negotiating Gendered and Cultural Expectations on a Teacher's Salary

• In Event: Sheraton Roundtable Session 34
  In Roundtable Session: Teacher Longevity: Job Satisfaction, Expectations, and Expansion

Abstract

This proposal investigates the lived experiences of 25 teacher leavers from geographically diverse regions of the United States. Drawing upon life history interviews exploring their motivations for entering teaching, experiences in the classroom, and career trajectories out of the profession, we focus on the salience of salary in shaping teachers’ career decisions, despite social norms emphasizing intrinsic over extrinsic factors. Moreover, we found that teachers’ perceptions of salary were mediated by both gendered and cultural expectations, such that teachers interpreted their income through a lens of identity and reached career decisions through an identity-making process. We highlight the cases of two former teachers whose interpretation of salary through gendered and cultural lenses ultimately led them to higher-paying careers.

Authors

• Carol R. Rinke, Marist College

• Lynnette K. Mawhinney, The College of New Jersey