Understanding Academic Self-Concepts: Empirical Investigation into Pre-Service Technology Teachers’ Social Comparison Processes and Peer Influences

• In Event: Always Becoming: Identity Work in the Making of Teachers

Abstract

This qualitative study explores how academic self-concepts develop among pre-service vocational technology teachers, focusing on Shulman’s domains of pedagogical (PK), content (CK), and pedagogical content knowledge (PCK). Guided by social comparison theory, the study examines how individuals select comparison targets – often peers from the university context – for self-evaluation. Through guided interviews (n=18), findings reveal a multidimensional structure of self-concepts aligned with PK, CK, and PCK, with participants emphasizing domain-specific over demographic similarity in comparisons. These insights underscore the role of social comparisons in shaping academic self-concepts of pre-service technology teachers. This work contributes to strengthening teacher education by integrating historical frameworks of professional knowledge and psychological mechanisms of self-assessment into future-facing pedagogical development.

Authors

• Mats Vernholz, Paderborn University

• Katrin Temmen, Paderborn University