Navigating blended learning, negotiating professional identities

ABSTRACT

In response to the rapid development of educational technology and the desire to offer flexible learning opportunities, the implementation of blended learning is a burgeoning trend in contemporary higher education. However, limited research has been conducted into the professional identities of faculty members as they navigate this considerable shift in pedagogical practice. Through a qualitative, interpretivist approach, in-depth semi-structured interviews are utilised to elicit the subjective experiences and beliefs of a cohort of expatriate lecturers in the pilot stage of a blended learning initiative in a Middle East higher education institution. Applying the lens of positioning theory to analyse the subject positions both constituted and rejected by the participants, and subsequent to a thematic analysis of respondent narratives, five inductive themes of professional identity are presented. Contributing to the contemporary discourse of teacher professional identity, the findings reveal significant complexities and uncertainties facing educators in hybrid delivery modes which trigger misalignment with established pedagogical beliefs and invoke disruptions to professional personas. The paper concludes by comparing the findings with relevant, extant studies and addressing implications for policymakers implementing future-blended models.

KEYWORDS:

• Teacher professional identity
• positioning theory
• subject positions
• higher education
• blended learning

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes

1. Professional rather than academic identity has greater relevance since the study’s participants are untenured, not required to hold a PhD nor conduct research.

2. The influence of socio-materiality on positioning was outside the scope of study.

3. The majority of faculty in local tertiary institutions are expatriates (Austin et al. 2014).

4. Data are included in the analysis.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Natalie-Jane Howard

Natalie-Jane Howard is Communication Skills lecturer in the Middle East and a PhD candidate at Lancaster University, UK. Her research interests include teacher identity and professionalism, blended and online education and professional development programmes in tertiary education.