Navigating Tensions: Negotiating Professional Identity on an Interdisciplinary Team

• In Event: Teachers' Identities: Intersections Between Content, Self, and Professional Roles

Abstract

Among the many efforts of schools to increase teacher collaboration is the establishment of secondary-level interdisciplinary teams (Vangrieken, Dochy, Raes, & Kyndt, 2015), including those implementing integrated, project-based learning. Our knowledge of the impact of this collaboration on teachers’ professional identity development, however, is limited. Improving our knowledge of professional identity development is helpful to understanding teachers’ actions (Buchanan, 2015), job commitment (Day & Kington, 2008), and motivation (Van Veen & Sleegers, 2006). This study investigated the identity development of six teachers on one such team. Findings show that as the teachers navigated four key areas of tension, their professional identities were negotiated as well. This study has potential implications for school leaders and teachers seeking to implement interdisciplinary collaboration.

Author

• Christine Morgan, Syracuse University