Abstract
This chapter reviews 42 articles and two books on teacher identity published during the last 13 years in order to explore methodological and pedagogical trends as well as highlight key themes and gaps. First, the chapter defines teacher identity. Next, it reviews the recent research in terms of four loose findings: (1) Teacher identity remains a predominantly individualistic concept that centralizes a dynamic holism among past and present influences on a teacher – albeit with increasing attention to community and context. (2) Teacher identity has gone global. (3) Teacher identity is increasingly being employed to deepen approaches to teacher learning and teacher education. And (4) methodological choices in study designs affected the ways teacher identity is understood, employed, and studied. Along the way, the chapter discusses such teacher identity themes as its ability to address neoliberal contexts of education; its reliance on traditional psychology; its potential to centralize race, gender, and power; its use of quantitative and mixed-method approaches; and its potential to deepen future teacher learning. As a whole, this chapter seeks to characterize the current state of the field and offer commentary for advancing teacher identity in the future.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Aderet-German, T., Segal, A., & Vedder-Weiss, D. (2021). Leading teacher professional identity construction and school reform development: A reciprocal relationship. Research Papers in Education, 36(2), 129–151. https://doi.org/10.1080/02671522.2019.1633562
Akkoç, H., & Yeşildere- İmre, S. (2017). Becoming a mathematics teacher: The role of professional identity. International Journal of Progressive Education, 13(2), 48–59. http://search.proquest.com/docview/1941335925/
Aparicio, M. T. (2018). Teacher identity and sociopolitical and professionalization demands. An analysis of their relation in light of a new systemic paradigm: The three-dimensional spiral of sense. European Journal of Social Science Education and Research, 5(1), 43–53. https://doi.org/10.2478/ejser-2018-0005
Arndt, S., Urban, M., Murray, C., Smith, K., Swadener, B., & Ellegaard, T. (2018). Contesting early childhood professional identities: A cross-national discussion. Contemporary Issues in Early Childhood, 19(2), 97–116. https://doi.org/10.1177/1463949118768356
Arvaja, M., & Sarja, A. (2021). Dialogic tensions in pre-service subject teachers’ identity negotiations. Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research, 65(2), 318–330. https://doi.org/10.1080/00313831.2019.1705895
Beauchamp, C., & Thomas, L. (2009). Understanding teacher identity: An overview of issues in the literature and implications for teacher education. Cambridge Journal of Education, 39(2), 175–189. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijer.2011.04.003
Beauchamp, C., & Thomas, L. (2011). New teachers’ identity shifts at the boundary of teacher education and initial practice. International Journal of Educational Research, 50(1), 6–13.
Beijaard, D., Meijer, P. C., & Verloop, N. (2004). Reconsidering research on teachers’ professional identity. Teaching and Teacher Education, 20(2), 107–128. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2003.07.001
Bessette, H. J., & Paris, N. A. (2020). Using visual and textual metaphors to explore teachers’ professional roles and identities. International Journal of Research & Method in Education, 43(2), 173–188. https://doi.org/10.1080/1743727X.2019.1611759
Bourdieu, P. (1977). The economics of linguistic exchanges. Social Science Information, 16(6), 645–668.
Briggs, J. O., Russell, J. L., & Wanless, S. B. (2018). Kindergarten teacher buy-in for standards-based reforms: A dynamic interplay between professional identity and perceptions of control. Early Education and Development, 29(1), 125–142. https://doi.org/10.1080/10409289.2017.1361288
Butakor, P. K., Guo, Q., & Adebanji, A. O. (2021). Using structural equation modeling to examine the relationship between Ghanaian teachers’ emotional intelligence, job satisfaction, professional identity, and work engagement. Psychology in the Schools, 58(3), 534–552. https://doi.org/10.1002/pits.22462
Chikoko, R., & Msibi, T. (2020). The emerging professional teacher identity of early childhood and foundation phase pre-service teachers: Implications for teacher education programmes. Asia-Pacific journal of research in early childhood education, 14, 53–76.
Cochran-Smith, M., & Lytle, S. (1993). Inside/outside: Teacher research and knowledge. Teachers College Press.
Coleman, M. (2013). Emotion and the ultimate attribution error. Current Psychology, 32, 71–81. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-013-9164-7.
Cross, M., & Ndofirepi, E. (2015). On becoming and remaining a teacher: Rethinking strategies for developing teacher professional identity in South Africa. Research Papers in Education, 30(1), 95–113. https://doi.org/10.1080/02671522.2013.851729
Dahl, K. K. B. (2020). Mo(ve)ments in professional identification: Achieving professional identity and becoming a teacher in Danish and Kenyan teacher education. Compare: A Journal of Comparative and International Education, 50(1), 123–140. https://doi.org/10.1080/03057925.2018.1508333
Darling-Hammond, L., & Oakes, J. (2019). Preparing teachers for deeper learning. Harvard Education Press.
Eberley, M.B., Liu, D., Mitchell, T.R., & Lee, T.W. (2013). Attributions and emotions as mediators and/or moderators in the goal-striving process. In E.A. Locke & G.P. Latham (Eds.), New developments in goal setting and task performance. (pp. 59–74). Routledge.
Ehrenreich, J. (2016). Third wave capitalism. Cornell University Press.
Enteman, W. F. (1993). Managerialism: The emergence of a new ideology. The University of Wisconsin Press.
Erikson, E. H. (1968). Identity: Youth and crisis. W.W. Norton & Company.
Farber, B., & Miller, J. (1981). Teacher burnout: A psycho-educational perspective. Teachers College Record, 83(2), 235–243.
Festinger, L. (1957). A theory of cognitive dissonance. Stanford University Press.
Flores, M. A. (2020). Feeling like a student but thinking like a teacher: A study of the development of professional identity in initial teacher education. Journal of Education for Teaching, 46(2), 145–158. https://doi.org/10.1080/02607476.2020.1724659
Foucault, M. (1970). The order of things (A. M. Sheridan Smith, Trans.). Vintage Books.
Freud, S. (1961/1909). Five lectures on psycho-analysis. W.W. Norton.
Gee, J. P. (2000). Chapter 3: Identity as an analytic lens for research in education. Review of Research in Education, 25(1), 99–125. https://doi.org/10.3102/0091732X025001099
Gholami, K., Faraji, S., Meijer, P. C., & Tirri, K. (2021). Construction and deconstruction of student teachers’ professional identity: A narrative study. Teaching and Teacher Education, 97(2), 103–142. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2020.103142
Giddens, A. (1979). Central problems in social theory: Action, structure, and contradiction in social analysis. University of California Press.
Granjo, M., Castro Silva, J., & Peixoto, F. (2021). Teacher identity: Can ethical orientation be related to perceived competence, psychological needs satisfaction, commitment and global self-esteem? European Journal of Teacher Education, 44(2), 158–179. https://doi.org/10.1080/02619768.2020.1748004
Hall, D., & McGinity, R. (2015). Conceptualizing teacher professional identity in neoliberal times: Resistance, compliance and reform. Education Policy Analysis Archives, 23(88), 1–21. https://doi.org/10.14507/epaa.v23.2092
Hanna, F., Oostdam, R., Severiens, S. E., & Zijlstra, B. J. H. (2019). Domains of teacher identity: A review of quantitative measurement instruments. Educational Research Review, 27, 15–27. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.edurev.2019.01.003
Hanna, F., Oostdam, R., Severiens, S. E., & Zijlstra, B. J. (2020). Assessing the professional identity of primary student teachers: Design and validation of the teacher identity measurement scale. Studies in Educational Evaluation, 64, 100822. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.stueduc.2019.100822
Hendrikx, W. (2020). What we should do Vs what we do: Teachers’ professional identity in a context of managerial reform. Educational Studies, 46(5), 607–623. https://doi.org/10.1080/03055698.2019.1620694
Holland, D., Lachicotte, W., Skinner, D., & Cain, C. (1998). Agency and identity in cultural worlds. Harvard University Press.
Holquist, M. (1990). Dialogism: Bakhtin and his world. Routledge.
Hong, J., & Cross Francis, D. (2020). Unpacking complex phenomena through qualitative inquiry: The case of teacher identity research. Educational Psychologist, 55(4), 208–219. https://doi.org/10.1080/00461520.2020.1783265
Hsieh, B. (2016). Professional identity formation as a framework in working with preservice secondary teacher candidates. Teacher Education Quarterly, 43(2), 93–112.
Hubbard, J. (2019). K-6 pre-service teachers’ emerging professional identities as social studies educators. Journal of Social Studies Research, 43(3), 269–283. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jssr.2018.04.002
Irani, F. H., Chalak, A., & Tabrizi, H. H. (2020). Assessing pre-service teachers’ professional identity construction in a three-phase teacher education program in Iran. Asian-Pacific of Second and Foreign Language Education, 5(1), 1–21.
Izadinia, M. (2013). A review of research on student teachers’ professional identity. British Educational Research Journal, 39(4), 694–713. https://doi.org/10.1080/01411926.2012.679614
Jenlink, P. M. (Ed.). (2014). Teacher identity and the struggle for recognition: Meeting the challenges of a diverse society. R&L Education.
Larsen, E., & Allen, J. M. (2021). Teachers as professional learners: Contextualising identity across policy and practice.
Lave, J., & Wenger, E. (1991). Situated learning: Legitimate peripheral participation. Cambridge University Press.
Lavina, L. (2020). Identity and place-based teacher identities: What connects across diverse personal and professional landscapes? Journal of Early Childhood Teacher Education, 41(3), 241–261. https://doi.org/10.1080/10901027.2019.1632992
Lavina, L., Niland, A., & Fleet, A. (2020). Assembling threads of identity: Installation as a professional learning site for teachers. Teacher Development, 24(3), 415–441. https://doi.org/10.1080/13664530.2020.1768888
Leinhardt, G., & Greeno, J. (1986). The cognitive still of teaching. Journal of Educational Psychology, 78(2), 75–95.
Lentillon-Kaestner, V., Guillet-Descas, E., Martinent, G., & Cece, V. (2018). Validity and reliability of questionnaire on perceived professional identity among teachers (QIPPE) scores. Studies in Educational Evaluation, 59, 235–243. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.stueduc.2018.09.003
Mead, G. H. (1934). Mind, self and society. University of Chicago Press.
Noonan, J. (2019). An affinity for learning: Teacher identity and powerful professional development. Journal of Teacher Education, 70(5), 526–537. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022487118788838
Oestreich, J., & Fite, K. (2019). Developing a professional identity in a global society. International Journal of the Whole Child, 4(2), 43–52.
Olsen, B. (2011). “‘I am large, I contain multitudes:’” Teacher identity as a useful frame for research, practice, and diversity in teacher education. In Tyson & A. Ball (Eds.), Studying diversity in teacher education. Rowman & Littlefield.
Ruohotie-Lyhty, M., & Moate, J. (2016). Who and how? Preservice teachers as active agents developing professional identities. Teaching and Teacher Education, 55, 318–327. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2016.01.022
Sardabi, N., Biria, R., & Golestan, A. A. (2018). Reshaping teacher professional identity through critical pedagogy-informed teacher education. International Journal of Instruction, 11(3), 617–634. https://doi.org/10.12973/iji.2018.11342a
Shapiro, S. (2010). Revisiting the teachers’ lounge: Reflections on emotional experience and teacher identity. Teaching and Teacher Education, 26(3), 616–621. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2009.09.009
Smith, D., Weller, J., Starks, D., & Kamara, M. (2021). Where are they from? Pre-service educators’ views on place and professional identity. Asia Pacific Journal of Education, 41(1), 152–166. https://doi.org/10.1080/02188791.2020.1737508
Stenberg, K., & Maaranen, K. (2020). The differences between beginning and advanced student teachers’ teacher identities based on their practical theories. Education Inquiry, 11(3), 196–210. https://doi.org/10.1080/20004508.2020.1716541
Trent, J. (2020). Wither teacher professional development? The challenges of learning teaching and constructing identities across boundaries in China. Asia Pacific Journal of Education, 40(3), 315–329. https://doi.org/10.1080/02188791.2020.1717438
Tsybulsky, D., & Muchnik-Rozanov, Y. (2019). The development of student-teachers’ professional identity while team-teaching science classes using a project-based learning approach: A multi-level analysis. Teaching and Teacher Education, 79, 48–59. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2018.12.006
United Nations. (2015). Department of Economic and Social Affairs Sustainable Development: The 17 goals. https://sdgs.un.org/goals.
van der Wal, M., Oolbekkink-Marchand, H. W., Schaap, H., & Meijer, P. C. (2019). Impact of early career teachers’ professional identity tensions. Teaching and Teacher Education, 80, 59–70. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2019.01.001
Vizek Vidović, V., & Domović, V. (2019). Development of teachers’ beliefs as a core component of their professional identity in initial teacher education: A longitudinal perspective. Center for Educational Policy Studies Journal, 9(2), 119–138. https://doi.org/10.26529/cepsj.720
Wenger, E. (1998). Communities of practice: Learning, meaning, and identity. Cambridge University Press.
Wertch, J. (1998). Mind as action. Oxford University Press.
Williams, J. (2010). Constructing a new professional identity: Career change into teaching. Teaching and Teacher Education, 26(3), 639–647. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2009.09.016
Zeicher, K., & Liston, D. (1996). Reflective teaching: An introduction. Routledge.
Zeichner, K., & Pena-Sandoval, C. (2015). Venture philanthropy and teacher education policy in the U.S.: The role of the new schools venture fund. Teachers College Record, 117(5), 1–44.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Section Editor information
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2022 The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this entry
Cite this entry
Olsen, B., Buchanan, R., Hewko, C. (2022). Recent Trends in Teacher Identity Research and Pedagogy. In: The Palgrave Handbook of Teacher Education Research . Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-59533-3_80-1
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-59533-3_80-1
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-59533-3
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-59533-3
eBook Packages: Springer Reference EducationReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Education