Influences on teachers’ professional identity in schools in challenging circumstances: an empirical study of Chilean primary teachers’ perceptions
Publication Date
October 15, 2017
Creator
Abstract
There are so far few attempts to understand the teaching occupation and the meaning of being a good teacher as understood by teachers, a central issue in the improvement of schools. This study explores Chilean teachers’ perceptions of their professional identities, since conflict and stress around questions of identity affect teachers’ emotional well-being, impacting their capacity to engage emotionally with students and the wider school community, and thus their capacity to provide significant learning experiences which are key elements of successful learning. On the contrary, positive leadership and sufficient intellectual and material resources for reflection and discussion on the situation of conflicts on teachers’ professional identities can trigger processes of personal and professional growth, enhancing professional identity meanings, and thus effectiveness in providing significant learning experiences.
To look at teachers through the lens of identity allows us to explore the combination of personal and contextual factors that affect their identities, bringing an understanding of teachers' perceptions about their identities and the contribution of other social actors to them in Chilean primary public schools.
In this vein, it is important to acknowledge that most teachers have strong motivations in choosing the occupation. These motivations are often related to their sense of vocation as well as their personal beliefs and values. In this context, teachers’ professional identity meanings are explored in underperforming schools by means of semi-structured interviews of twenty primary teachers. By a careful qualitative analysis, this study found different groups of influences that define these identities, shaping and re-shaping at least three professional identity profiles with consequences for teachers’ autonomy in professional judgements, agency and collegial relationships, and impacting their capacity to provide significant learning experiences.
Item Type
ethesis
Thesis Type
PhD
Supervisors
Subjects (LC)
Associated Schools / Departments
School of Education (UK)
eprints ID
44553
UoN Repository URI
Except where otherwise noted, this item's license is described as
File(s)![Thumbnail Image]()
Name
Thesis M Lozano Student ID4168376.pdf
Type
Full-text
Description
Examined
Size
2.94 MB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum (MD5)
f337e100b62a08d59d085654f2dd90fe