From Awareness to Action: Critical Teacher Identity Development

• In Event: Teacher Identity Development: Expanding Conceptualizations to Account for Changing and Challenging Contexts

Abstract

While the student population in U.S. public schools becomes more racially and culturally diverse, the teaching workforce remains mainly homogenous, with limited representation of teachers from marginalized social identities such as race, gender, and sexuality. This lack of representation not only negatively affects the educational experiences of all students but also threatens the well-being and retention of marginalized teachers, contributing to their heightened burnout and attrition.
Marginalized teachers must continuously navigate and address systemic injustice as part of their identity development. This ongoing process can potentially lead to the development of Critical Consciousness (CC). To promote the retention and well-being of teachers of color, we examine how teachers’ identity negotiation is shaped by CC, which involves Critical Reflection (CR), Critical Motivation (CM), and Critical Action (CA), in response to systemic inequities (Clark & Seider, 2020; Diemer et al., 2016; Diemer et al., 2017; Freire, 1970; López et al., 2022). CR refers to teachers learning to analyze perceived social inequities. CM involves teachers’ perceived ability and commitment to address injustices and enact social change by connecting CR and CA. CA refers to specific actions aimed at addressing social inequities while critically reflecting on those inequities. We argue that CC serves as a psychological and professional resource for teachers who identify as marginalized. It supports their well-being, shapes their identity development, and fosters their retention in the profession.
To illustrate, we center Asha, an Afro-Indigenous Latina teacher. In the paper, we use Asha’s story to demonstrate how CC functions as a protective and empowering force that strengthens teacher identity, fosters agency, and enhances psychological well-being. Through CR, Asha shaped her pedagogical choices, which allowed her to challenge systemic inequities through her teaching. Her Critical Curiosity (CCu), a sustained interest in understanding injustice, fueled her CC enabling her to foster more diverse, equitable, and inclusive educational spaces for both students and colleagues.
In the paper, we elaborate on how critical teacher identity development is closely tied to teachers’ basic psychological needs of competence, relatedness, and autonomy. For Asha, cultivating CC allowed her to reclaim autonomy by aligning her teaching practices with her sociopolitical values rather than conforming to the dominant institutional expectations. Simultaneously, she developed a strong sense of competence through her ability to navigate institutional barriers and enact change, including through leadership in school-based equity committees. CC also fostered relatedness, offering Asha meaningful connections with like-minded colleagues. These relationships provided crucial emotional and professional support, reinforcing her sense of purpose. Thus, CC functions not merely as a tool for sociopolitical awareness but as an essential contributor to psychological well-being, occupational commitment, and professional thriving.
We propose that critical teacher identity entails ongoing critical reflection on systemic inequities and a commitment to translating that awareness into purposeful actions that foster and advocate for educational and social change. We conclude by advocating systemic support in teacher education and professional development to cultivate critical teacher identity, especially in the face of rising anti-DEI and anti-CRT legislation.

Authors

• Ji Y. Hong, University of Arizona

• Dionne Cross Francis, University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill

• Soojeong Lee, University of Arizona

• Travis Jon Dean, University of Arizona

• Jing Zhao, Educational Psychology

• Yijia Chen, University of Arizona

• Lijie Liu, University of Arizona

• Nitika Mehta, University of Arizona

• Paul A Schutz, University of Arizona