From Recipients to Co-Creators: How Teacher-Researcher Collaboration Transforms Professional Identity in Limited Resources Context

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Friday 11:45 am - Gold 1
  In Roundtable Session: Reframing Teacher Growth: Simulation, Mentorship, and Online Learning for a New Era

Abstract

This qualitative study examines how teacher-researcher collaboration transforms teachers' professional identity through thematic analysis of identity shifts across three collaborative roles in a design-based teacher professional development (TPD) project in rural Indonesia. Analysis of semi-structured interviews from five teacher collaborators (two coordinators, one designer, and two researchers) revealed distinct yet interconnected identity transformation from passive recipients to active knowledge co-creators. Findings explain how mutual validation processes, authentic learning experiences, and structured collaboration enable professional identity transformation while communication barriers, participation inequities, and structural limitations constrain such development. These findings contribute to understanding professional identity as socially constructed through collaborative relationships and provide evidence-based recommendations for designing more equitable TPD approaches that honor teachers as intellectual professionals.

Author

• Sarah Fitri, University of Cambridge