Understanding teacher identity: A social realist approach

• In Event: Teacher education and Educational Reform

Proposal

From the 1980s onwards teacher identity has been one of the most important focus areas of educational research. Some scholars (e.g., Ball, 2003) argue that educational reform not only changes what educators do but also who they are. Investigating how teachers construct their identities within educational reform is crucial, as teachers’ identities are not only essential to their commitment, resilience, motivation to teach, and quality of teaching (Day et al., 2007; Hong et al., 2018), but also powerful mediators in terms of teachers’ interpretations of and responses to policy and reform (Vulliamy et al., 1997; Spillane & Burch, 2006). As critical implementors of educational reform, teachers do not merely mechanically adhere to policy directives; instead, they interpret rules based on their own perspectives and understandings (Spillane et al., 2002). Furthermore, the negotiation between teachers’ self-understandings and external role expectations impacts how they take action within reform contexts. The extent to which teachers align with reform requirements, transform into the envisioned teacher archetype, and modify their professional attitudes and behaviours hinges on the degree to which external norms are integrated into their personal sense-making systems (Guenther, 2021). Thus, teacher identity can serve as a powerful conceptual tool to understand teachers’ diverse responses and actions, including compliance or resistance, toward educational reform.

However, there are divisive debates on ontological assumptions about what teacher identity is. An essentialist view of identity considers identity entirely as a private internal state, regarding identity as a unified, fixed, and unchanging entity (Brubaker & Cooper, 2000). Social constructivism relocates identity from the private domain to the public and social spheres, asserting that identity is multifaceted, fragmented, and fluid, assuming that identity is socially constructed (Brubaker & Cooper, 2000; Akkerman & Meijer, 2011; Rattansi & Phoenix, 2005). Integrative theories criticize the complete denial of identity continuity by social constructivism and its disregard for human agency. They emphasize that identity possesses characteristics of both essentialism and social constructivism (Vignoles et al., 2011; Akkerman & Meijer, 2011). However, existing integrative views on identity are ontologically ambiguous, failing to resolve the ontological conflicts between essentialism and social constructivism.

This paper argues that realist social theory (Archer, 1995, 2000, 2003, 2007) provides a more robust alternative framework for understanding teacher identity. Archer (2000) presents a stratified view of the subject, contending that the subject comprises four levels: self, person, agent, and actor. This framework underscores that each level of the subject possesses distinct causal powers and properties. The self maintains a continuous sense of self, the person possesses personal identity, and the actor embodies social identity. Archer (2000) proposes that the sustained self-awareness individuals possess allows them to comprehend themselves over time, affirming the continuity of their identity as the same individual. This viewpoint serves to address the issue of identity continuity, which is overlooked by social constructivism. Furthermore, Archer (2000) suggests that personal identity arises from three orders: the natural, the practical, and the social (or discursive), contingent upon individuals’ concerns in the world. That is, by establishing our ultimate concerns (i.e., what matters most to us at a particular moment), we define our personal identity. In contrast, social identity emerges from the social order (interactions between individuals and society), constituting a subset of personal identity. Our social identity emerges from how we express our concerns while fulfilling social roles (Archer, 2007). Consequently, from this perspective, defining identity solely within the discourse order, as social constructivism does, is one-sided.

Informed by a stratified and emergent ontology of subject and identity, teacher identity can be defined as the unique manner in which teachers personify their roles and express who they are as teachers. When adopting a social realist perspective, teacher identity is conceived as a relational phenomenon. Considering it, purely as an internal phenomenon or an external one is problematic. Identity cannot be reduced to inherent individual psychological properties in a manner akin to essentialism. Identity cannot be equated with external structural attributes of the world (such as roles), nor can it be treated as a product of discourse, as extreme social constructivism does. Social realism overcomes the fallacy of the essentialist identity perspective focusing solely on internal attributes and stability of identity. At the same time, it avoids the shortcomings of the social constructivist view which overlooks continuous self-awareness, solely concentrates on the social dimension of identity, and underestimates the agency of the subject. Furthermore, social realism addresses the ontological ambiguity that exists within integrative theories.

Author

• Ting Liu, The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK)