From isolation to individualism: collegiality in the teacher identity narratives of experienced second-level teachers in the Irish context

Abstract

Harnessing teacher collegiality has been advocated as a means through which to negotiate contemporary challenges to teacher professionalism. However, the dominance of discourses of competitive individualism in global educational contexts poses a challenge to collegial relationships. This paper draws on the findings of a narrative study of teacher identity in the Irish context. It points to some ambiguities and tensions within the operation of teacher collegiality in that context and highlights the profession’s cultural susceptibility to individualism. The paper argues that glossing over these vulnerabilities could hamper the development of collegial professionalism. These findings highlight the importance of bringing a culturally and contextually embedded analysis to the critique of international trends around teacher professionalism.

Keywords:

• teacher professionalism
• teacher identity
• collegiality
• education policy
• narrative

Acknowledgements

The author would like to thank the anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments on an earlier draft of this paper. This work was supported by the Maynooth University John and Pat Hume Doctoral Scholarship.

Disclosure Statement

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

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Clíona Murray

Clíona Murray is a lecturer in the School of Education, NUI Galway, where she teaches sociology of education, research methodologies and sociolinguistics. Her research interests include teacher identity studies, education policy studies, inclusion and diversity, and feminist theory.