On becoming teachers in Rwanda: Examining how the teaching practice shapes pre-service teacher identity construction through a Community of Practice lens

• In Event: Pre-Service teacher education through the prism: Highlighting grassroots perspectives from Malawi and Rwanda

Proposal

Research on pre-service teachers (PSTs) in low and middle-income countries often focuses on knowledge and technical skills, leaving important personal and social dimensions of growth unexamined. However, “learning to teach is an identity-making process” (Beijaard, 2019, p. 1); a healthy professional identity (PI) is related to teachers’ motivation, instructional quality, and commitment to the profession (Beijaard et al., 2004; Hong, 2010; Rots et al., 2010). Teachers construct their PI through interactions with others, drawing on personal beliefs, professional knowledge, values and norms, and aspects of the environment (Leeferink et al., 2019; Watson, 2006). Processes of PI construction are complex and dynamic, with periods of steady growth punctuated by friction and crises leading to transformative moments (Cuadra-Martínez et al., 2023; Meijer, 2011). Research suggests role models closely linked to the context of professional practice, such as mentor teachers in school-based teaching practice, are influential in the development of PSTs’ identities (Flores-Delgado et al., 2020; Izadinia, 2015).

Most research on teacher PI comes from high-income Western countries, and may not be generalizable across contexts, as identity formation is a meaning-making process closely interwoven with place and culture. Teacher PI is understudied in Rwanda, where the preparation of teachers is a pressing concern, and the teaching practice component of pre-service education is particularly weak (Niyibizi et al., 2021; Takavarasha & Zimuto, 2024). Understanding the processes of PSTs’ PI construction can serve to strengthen the teaching practice in Rwanda to nurture beginning teachers with healthy professional identities.

This longitudinal qualitative study explores PI development among 100 PSTs who participated in a pilot residency program in Rwanda. The program extended primary teacher preparation with an additional year of training and intensive teaching practice. The teaching practice prioritized mentoring from classroom-based teachers, frequent observation, and coaching by teacher educators based at two teacher training colleges. Drawing on open-ended questionnaires, reflective journal entries, and focus group discussions conducted throughout the program, the study asks: (1) How do PSTs in Rwanda construct their PI as they participate in the teaching practice? and (2) How do PSTs’ interactions with role models and other actors within the teaching practice shape the way they construct their teacher PI?

The analysis employs a community of practice (CoP) lens, a well-established framework for examining PST learning and identity formation through increasing participation in the joint enterprise and shared practices of a professional community (Bottoms et al., 2020; Cuenca, 2011; Wenger, 2013). We explore how PSTs’ interactions with mentor teachers, teacher educators, primary students, and other PSTs contribute to their ongoing identity construction as they are in the process of ‘becoming’ (Wenger, 1998). Additionally, PSTs’ reflections on their own experiences as they cross boundaries between the pre-service program and primary school communities illuminate how their role as ‘brokers’ of ideas and practices between these overlapping CoPs contributes to their evolving professional identities (Friedrichsen et al., 2006; Wenger, 2000). The presentation will highlight implications for pre-service education in Rwanda and similar contexts to cultivate a teacher workforce of engaged and committed professionals.

Authors

• Kate Schell, Florida State University

• Ana H Marty, FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY