Emerging and Potential Methodologies in Research on Mathematics-Related Teacher Identity

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

Abstract

Subject-specific teacher identities have been widely studied across disciplines, with mathematics-related teacher identity being a particularly productive research area (Rushton et al., 2023), explaining what happens in mathematics classrooms. Despite the advancements in the field, recent reviews highlight a strong reliance on qualitative methodologies with conventional data collection and analysis methods and have called for greater methodological innovation (Authors, 2019; Graven & Heyd-Metzuyanim, 2019). This is important as methodologies are inherently connected to the research questions we pose and the theoretical frameworks we apply, therefore, further questions addressing unexplored aspects of teacher identity may require novel methodologies. In response, this paper seeks to broaden the methodological scope of mathematics-related teacher identity research by exploring new methodological possibilities. We build on recent review studies and our engagement in this field to discuss emerging and potential approaches that could offer new insights and affordances, and ask: What are the emerging and potential methodologies in mathematics education research for exploring teacher identity?
Our paper identifies three potential directions for emerging methodologies. First, participatory methodologies are fruitful as they enable a deeper, more contextually grounded understanding of teacher identities and their practices, with a direct impact on teachers’ development. They have the potential not only to reposition teachers as co-researchers of their own evolving identities but also to move the act of interpretation onto them. Second, beyond fictionalising (Ebbelind & Helliwell, 2023), arts-based methodologies are still largely absent in mathematics-related teacher identity research, despite showing the potential to capture the affective dimension of teacher identity development beyond mathematics education. The integration of I-poems as an analytical technique, for instance, could also help bridge the growing divide between studies of affect and teacher identity, as well as retain psychological insights in a field that has become increasingly social (Author et al., 2018b; Graven & Heyd-Metuyanim, 2019). Third, methodologies for researching collective identities can help explore this area of research that remains largely unexplored. Arguably, collective identity connects to collective agency and action and is essential for sustaining communities of practice in which teachers learn, develop, and work (Hökkä et al., 2017).
In all, the methodologies discussed in this paper share a capacity to reveal aspects of identity that are not easily observable, publicly shared, or readily articulated. These approaches are not mutually exclusive, therefore, combining them may also offer promising possibilities. Importantly, research methods are not merely tools for accessing teacher identities; applied in teacher education, they can simultaneously serve as pedagogies for identity development. Ultimately, participatory, arts-based and methodologies for researching collective identities present a critical opportunity to rethink how we approach mathematics-related teacher identity research. By broadening our methodological landscape, we can generate a richer, more nuanced understanding of the complexities of teacher identity development and, in turn, deepen our insights into the interplay between teacher identity, professional practice, and mathematics learning.

Authors

• Sonja Lutovac

• Andreas Ebbelind, Linnaeus University

• Tracy Helliwell, University of Bristol