Professional Identity Formation by First Year Teachers with Significant Physical or Sensory Disabilities

• In Event: First-Year and Early Career Teachers' Experiences

Abstract

This study follows professional identity formation among first-year teachers with significant physical or sensory disabilities (PSD). Forming a positive professional identity can reduce the high attrition rate among first-year teachers.
The participants were 15 teachers who participated in an academic workshop for first-year teachers with PSD. Audio recordings of the workshop’s meetings were thematically analyzed.
Four positive identity-forming processes were revealed: setting ambitious yet attainable long-term goals, negotiating work conditions to overcome limitations and enable success, transforming disabilities into assets, and choosing a student-centered educational approach.
Supporting these processes can mitigate the difficulties of beginning teachers with PSD, promote their inclusion, and add much-needed teachers to the education system.

Authors

• Ainat Guberman, David Yellin College of Education

• Sharona Elias Marcus, Beit Berl College

• Orit Dahan, Beit Berl College