The Relationship between Continuous Professional Development and Teacher Identity in High School Education in Mexico

• In Event: What works and what doesn’t: Professional development for teachers

Proposal

The globalized world presents new challenges for educators, highlighting the crucial need for their continuous professional development (Day & Sachs, 2004; UNESCO, 2019). In Mexico, high school education is characterized by diverse subsystems, with propaedeutic and terminal orientations, and the necessity for pedagogical and didactic professionalization of teachers, as many of them come from non-pedagogical backgrounds. Despite current efforts, research indicates that teachers training programs have been insufficient and have not have an impact in teaching practices. This is because the decision-makers are external agents unfamiliar with the contextual needs and a lack of recognition for the personal and emotional dimension of teaching (Díaz-Maggioli, 2004; MEJOREDU, 2022; UNESCO, 2019).
In this context, there is the need to research about continuous professional development (CPD) from a teacher-centered perspective. CPD is conceptualized as an individual learning process that occurs within a specific context (time and space) and results in changes in teacher identity and practice (Calvo, 2019; Day & Sachs, 2004; Kelchtermans, 2005). Each teacher assigns different meanings to these experiences, making it challenging to merely classify them as courses or workshops. Rather, CPD is an situated, evaluative, reflective, and participative process that materializes in teachers’ practices. On the other hand, teacher identity (TI) is a dynamic construct, that changes continually, shaping the beliefs, perceptions, and ideas that teachers hold as true and that serve as guides for their practice (Beijaard et al., 2004; Cantón y Tardif, 2018; Rodgers y Scott, 2008). The relevance of TI lies in its influence on practice and the impact on their decision-making process.
This research aims to explore the relationship between CPD and TI in Mexico’s high school level. To achieve this, a systematic literature review was conducted using databases such as EBSCO, E-Libro, ScienceDirect, ProQuest, and Scielo. Logical operators and combinations of keywords related to TI and CPD were used, and the search was narrowed to Education, Pedagogy, and Social Sciences between the years 2000 and 2022. Empirical research and systematic reviews conducted in Mexico and Ibero-America focusing on high school and higher education were included to identify theoretical and methodological perspectives, as well as trends and gaps related to these two key concepts.
Two prominent trends were identified: studies focusing on CPD experiences reveal that they are individual learning processes that transform teacher identity and practice. While others concentrate on documenting the construction of TI through practical experiences. Teaching practice serves as the link between these concepts, as it is the setting where teacher identity is constructed and where CPD experiences are lived. CPD facilitates the development of competencies necessary to become a teacher, leading to the construction of a professional identity (Beauchamp y Thomas, 2009; Beijaard et al., 2004; Kelchtermans, 2005; Rodgers y Scott, 2008). This finding directs the empirical aspect of this research towards documenting and systematizing CPD experiences that teachers identify as significant for the construction of their identity and that result in improvements in their practice.
The construction of teacher identity involves various elements, such as emotions, meaningful experiences, and professional knowledge, which interact with each other and with the teaching context (Beauchamp y Thomas, 2009; Beijaard et al., 2004; Rodgers y Scott, 2008). In conclusion, the relationship between CPD and TI opens the possibility of proposing changes in educational policy through a teacher-centered training paradigm in high school education in Mexico. This approach aims to understand teachers' ideals, conceptions, and identity motivations that guide their decision-making and practices. As well as how CPD processes and experiences can be significant contributors to their identity construction. This contribution holds particular importance in the context of curriculum reform, as it encourages teachers to achieve meaningful and sustainable improvements in their practice.

Author

• Macarena de Mateo, Universidad Iberoamericana CDMX