Obstructions in normative teacher identity development: a case study in Turkey

ABSTRACT

This paper reports, through a longitudinal case inquiry, on the trajectory of one novice teacher’s professional identity development after completing his pre-service education to become an English teacher in Turkey. He was assigned to a school in the south-east of the country, which has been experiencing worsening civil conflict between regional militants and the national government, characterised by long-lasting curfews and the destruction of buildings and homes. This study provides insights into the formation of a new teacher’s professional identity when working within a conflict region. Written narratives, informal interviews, observation notes, university supervisor observations and a teaching diary were used to examine the developing professional identity. The findings suggest that, in extreme circumstances, individuals may adapt and find ways to mitigate the effects of a challenging community and other disadvantages. Imagined identity can play a powerful role in mediating external difficulties encountered in identity development.

KEYWORDS:

• Teacher professional identity
• imagined identity
• professional development
• conflict region
• longitudinal case inquiry

Acknowledgments

We express our sincere appreciation to the PDiE editors and the reviewers for their invaluable comments and suggestions on earlier versions of this article, which greatly improved the quality of the paper. We are also grateful to the participant in this study for sharing his story and experiences with us and demonstrating a sincere commitment to the study. We also express our gratitude to Assoc. Prof. Dr Deniz Ortactepe, Assoc. Prof. Dr Bedrettin Yazan and Prof. Dr Sehnaz Sahinkarakas for their significant comments and contributions on an earlier version of this paper.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.