The construction of teachers’ professional identity: An analysis of subjective learning experiences

ABSTRACT

This article explores the construction of teachers’ professional identity through analysis of subjective learning experiences. In order to report on the progress of our work, we present a discourse analysis of three experiences considered to be of particular relevance by a final-year pedagogy student. The analysis yielded four important conclusions: i) The process of teachers’ professional identity construction is based on comparing and contrasting different experiences and culminates in the construction of new identity positions; ii) this process must involve experiences that call into question existing meanings of self; iii) future teachers must engage in productive dialogue with other significant actors in order to identify and recognise the value of certain positional objects; and iv) certain subjective learning experiences have a greater impact on the reconstruction of identity positions. Finally, we propose an analysis model based on subjective learning experiences for the construction of teachers’ professional identity.

KEYWORDS:

• Teacher identity
• subjective learning experiences
• identity position
• sociocultural perspective
• teaching practicum

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Center for Youth Studies UNAB (CEJ-UNAB) [P2019.4]; PIED (Educational research projects) from the Pro-Vice-Chancellor’s Office (Research), Faculty of Education, Universidad Andres Bello [DI-PIED3/2018].

Notes on contributors

Jorge Chavez Rojas

Jorge Chavez is assistant professor at the Faculty of Education, University Andres Bello in Santiago of Chile. Ph. D. in Educational Psychology and his work includes study of educational innovations and teaching and learning processes in virtual contexts. Currently, my work focuses on the study of learning trajectories in teacher professional identity.

Jaime Faure Ñiñoles

Jaime Fauré is currently a doctoral student at the University of Barcelona, Spain. His thesis advisor is Dr. César Coll. Jaime’s lines of work include learning trajectories, learner and professional identity, educational innovations in higher education, and psychological processes involved in teaching and learning.

Juan Pablo Barril Madrid

Juan Pablo Barril Madrid is assisntat professor at the Factulty of Social Science, University Autónoma of Chile. Master in Sociology. The main axes of her work are education and gender studies. Currently her work focuses on the relationship between gender and professional teaching identity.