Identity (Re)Construction of Turkish Pre-service Language Teachers during the Practicum

Fatma Kaya

doi:10.31458/iejes.1228795

EN TR

Identity (Re)Construction of Turkish Pre-service Language Teachers during the Practicum

Abstract

Teacher identity has been prioritized in current research related to teacher education in order to understand teaching and learning context. This case study investigates identity (re)construction of three pre-service English teachers during the practicum. Drawing on sociocultural theory, how pre-service teachers constructed their identities and enacted their agencies in the field school was examined based on the narratives of the participants. Data collection tools included reflective papers and semi-structured interviews with the participants. Analysis of the qualitative data revealed the following themes related to identity formation of pre-service teachers during the practicum: their imagined selves (Wenger, 1998), the practicum as shaping their identity, and directions for future selves as a result of practicum experience. It was found that previous experiences of the participants as language learners and interaction with the parties including mentor teacher and students in the field school had both positive and negative impacts on identity formation of pre-service teachers. Findings of the study is expected to contribute to the relevant literature, and suggestions are presented for further studies.

Keywords

ELT (English Language Teaching), Teacher identity, Language teacher education programme, the practicum

Identity (Re)Construction of Turkish Pre-service Language Teachers during the Practicum

Abstract

Teacher identity has been prioritized in current research related to teacher education in order to understand teaching and learning context. This case study investigates identity (re)construction of three pre-service English teachers during the practicum. Drawing on sociocultural theory, how pre-service teachers constructed their identities and enacted their agencies in the field school was examined based on the narratives of the participants. Data collection tools included reflective papers and semi-structured interviews with the participants. Analysis of the qualitative data revealed the following themes related to identity formation of pre-service teachers during the practicum: their imagined selves (Wenger, 1998), the practicum as shaping their identity, and directions for future selves as a result of practicum experience. It was found that previous experiences of the participants as language learners and interaction with the parties including mentor teacher and students in the field school had both positive and negative impacts on identity formation of pre-service teachers. Findings of the study is expected to contribute to the relevant literature, and suggestions are presented for further studies.

Keywords

ELT (English Language Teaching), teacher identity, language teacher education programme, the practicum

References

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/10.1080/03057640902902252
Beijaard, D., Meijer, P.C. &Verloop, N. (2004). Reconsidering research on teachers’ professional identity. Teaching and Teacher Education, 20, 107-128.
Buchanan, R. (2015). Teacher identity and agency in an era of accountability. Teachers and Teaching, 21(6), 700-719, https://doi.org/10.1080/13540602.2015.1044329
Bukor, E. (2015) Exploring teacher identity from a holistic perspective: Reconstructing and reconnecting personal and professional selves. Teachers and Teaching, 21(3), 305-327, https://doi.org/10.1080/13540602.2014.953818
Cohen, J. (2010). Getting recognised: Teachers negotiating professional identities as learners through talk. Teaching and Teacher Education 26, 473–481.
Creswell, J.W. (2012). Qualitative inquiry and research design: Choosing among five approaches. Sage Publications.
Duff, P.A. (2014). Case study research on language learning and use. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics, 34, 233–55. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0267190514000051
Edwards , E. &Burns, A. (2016). Language teacher-researcher identity negotiation: An ecological perspective. TESOL Quarterly, 50(3), 735-745.
Edwards, F.C.E. &Edwards, R.J. (2017). A story of culture and teaching: The complexity of teacher identity formation. The Curriculum Journal, 28(2), 190-211.
Erdem, C. (2020). Exploring the relationships between possible selves and early teacher identity of Turkish pre-service teachers. FIRE: Forum for International Research in Education, 6(3), 94-115.

Freedman, S.W. &Appleman, D. (2008). “What else would I be doing” Teacher identity and teacher retention in urban schools. Teacher Education Quarterly, 35(3), 109-126.
Hatsch, J., & Wisniewski, R. (1995). Life history and narratives: questions, issues and exemplary works. In J. Hatsch, & R. Wisniewsky (Eds.), Life history and narrative (pp. 113-135). London: Falmer.
He, P.& Lin, A.M.Y. (2013) Tensions in school–university partnership and EFL pre-service teacher identity formation: a case in mainland China. The Language Learning Journal, 41(2), 205-218, https://doi.org/10.1080/09571736.2013.790134
Izadinia, M. (2013). A review of research on student teachers’ professional identity. British Educational Research Journal, 39(4), 694-713.
Johnson, K.E. & Golombek, P.R. (2020). Informing and transforming language teacher education pedagogy. Language Teaching Research, 24(1), 116-127.
Kayı-Aydar, H. (2015). Multiple identities, negotiations, and agency across time and space: a narrative inquiry of a foreign language teacher candidate. Critical Inquiry in Language Studies, 12(2), 137–160, https://doi.org/10.1080/15427587.2015.1032076
Keskin, A. & Zaimoğlu, S. (2021). An investigation of Turkish EFL teachers’ perceptions of professional identity. Cağ University Social Sciences Journal, 18 (1), 82-95.
Hidalga, Z. M., & Villardón, L. (2019). Teacher identity research and development. In Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Education (pp. 1-24). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Merriam, S. B. (1998). Qualitative research and case study applications in education (2nd ed.). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Miller, J. (2009). Teacher Identity. In A.Burns &J.C.Richards (Eds.) Second Language Teacher Education. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Norton, B. (2006). Identity as a sociocultural construct in second language education. In K. Cadman & K. O'Regan (Eds.), TESOL in Context [Special Issue], 22-33.
Norton, B. (2013). Identity and language learning: Extending the conversation (2nd ed.). Bristol, UK: Multilingual Matters.
Polkingthorne, D. E. (1996). Narrative knowing and the study of lives. In J. Birren (Ed.), Aging and biography: Explorations in adult development (pp. 77-99). New York: Springer.
Prabjandee, D. (2019). Becoming English teachers in Thailand: Student teacher identity development during teaching practicum. Issues in Educational Research, 29(4), 1277-1294.
Priestley, M., Edwards, R., Priestley, A. & Miller, K. (2012). Teacher agency in curriculum making: Agents of change and spaces for manoeuvre. Curriculum Inquiry, 42(2), 191-214, https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-873X.2012.00588.x
Rodrigues, L.A.D., Pietri, E., Sanchez, H.S. & Kuchah, K. (2018). The role of experienced teachers in the development of pre-service language teachers’ professional identity: Revisiting school memories and constructing future teacher selves. International Journal of Educational Research, 88, 146–155. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijer.2018.02.002
Rodriguez, T.L. & Polat, N. (2012). Politicizing difference: Interpreting citizenship as a dimension of diversity in pre-service teachers’ narratives. Linguistics and Education, 23, 361-372.
Ruohotie-Lyhty, L. (2013). Struggling for a professional identity: Two newly qualified language teachers’ identity narratives during the first years at work. Teaching and Teacher Education 30, 120-129.
Saldaña, J. (2009). The coding manual for qualitative researchers. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Sang, Y. (2020). Research of language teacher identity: Status quo and future directions, RELC Journal, 1-8.
Sfard, A. &Prusak, A. (2005). Telling identities: In search of an analytic tool for investigating learning as a culturally shaped activity. Educational Researcher, 34(4), 14-22.
Taylor, L.A. (2017). How teachers become teacher researchers: Narrative as a tool for identity construction. Teaching and Teacher Education, 61, 16-25.
Trent, J. (2013). From learner to teacher: practice, language, and identity in a teaching practicum. Asia-Pacific Journal of Teacher Education, 41(4), 426-440, https://doi.org/10.1080/1359866X.2013.838621
Trent, J. (2010). Teacher education as identity construction: insights from action research. Journal of Education for Teaching, 36 (2), 153-168.
Tokoz-Goktepe, F. & Kunt, N. (2021). “I’ll do it in my own class”: Novice language teacher identity construction in Turkey. Asia Pacific Journal of Education, 41(3), 472-487, https://doi.org/10.1080/02188791.2020.1815648
Varghese, M., Morgan, B., Johnston, B. &Johnson, K.A. (2005). Theorizing language teacher identity: Three perspectives and beyond. Journal of Language, Identity, and Education, 4(1), 21-44, https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327701jlie0401_2
Wenger, E. (1998). Communities of practice: Learning, meaning, and identity. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
Wolff, D. & De Costa, P.I. (2017). Expanding the language teacher identity landscape: An investigation of the emotions and strategies of a NNEST. The Modern Language Journal, 101, 76-90.
Yuan, R. & Lee, I. (2015). The cognitive, social and emotional processes of teacher identity construction in a pre-service teacher education programme, Research Papers in Education, 30 (4), 469-491, https://doi.org/10.1080/02671522.2014.932830
Yuan, R. & Lee, I. (2016). ‘I need to be strong and competent’: A narrative inquiry of a student-teacher’s emotions and identities in teaching practicum. Teachers and Teaching, 22 (7), 819-841, https://doi.org/10.1080/13540602.2016.1185819

Details

Primary Language

English

Subjects

Other Fields of Education

Journal Section

Research Article

Authors

Fatma Kaya ^*
0000-0002-4040-0194
Türkiye

Publication Date

July 31, 2023

Submission Date

January 3, 2023

Acceptance Date

June 4, 2023

Published in Issue

Year 2023 Volume: 7 Number: 14

DOI

https://doi.org/10.31458/iejes.1228795

IZ

https://izlik.org/JA68ND78CU

APA

Kaya, F. (2023). Identity (Re)Construction of Turkish Pre-service Language Teachers during the Practicum. International E-Journal of Educational Studies, 7(14), 243-256. https://doi.org/10.31458/iejes.1228795

AMA

1.Kaya F. Identity (Re)Construction of Turkish Pre-service Language Teachers during the Practicum. IEJES. 2023;7(14):243-256. doi:10.31458/iejes.1228795

Chicago

Kaya, Fatma. 2023. “Identity (Re)Construction of Turkish Pre-Service Language Teachers During the Practicum”. International E-Journal of Educational Studies 7 (14): 243-56. https://doi.org/10.31458/iejes.1228795.

EndNote

Kaya F (July 1, 2023) Identity (Re)Construction of Turkish Pre-service Language Teachers during the Practicum. International e-Journal of Educational Studies 7 14 243–256.

IEEE

[1]F. Kaya, “Identity (Re)Construction of Turkish Pre-service Language Teachers during the Practicum”, IEJES, vol. 7, no. 14, pp. 243–256, July 2023, doi: 10.31458/iejes.1228795.

ISNAD

Kaya, Fatma. “Identity (Re)Construction of Turkish Pre-Service Language Teachers During the Practicum”. International e-Journal of Educational Studies 7/14 (July 1, 2023): 243-256. https://doi.org/10.31458/iejes.1228795.

JAMA

1.Kaya F. Identity (Re)Construction of Turkish Pre-service Language Teachers during the Practicum. IEJES. 2023;7:243–256.

MLA

Kaya, Fatma. “Identity (Re)Construction of Turkish Pre-Service Language Teachers During the Practicum”. International E-Journal of Educational Studies, vol. 7, no. 14, July 2023, pp. 243-56, doi:10.31458/iejes.1228795.

Vancouver

1.Fatma Kaya. Identity (Re)Construction of Turkish Pre-service Language Teachers during the Practicum. IEJES. 2023 Jul. 1;7(14):243-56. doi:10.31458/iejes.1228795

Cited By

Linking College Satisfaction, Professional Identity, and Work Motivation Among Female Ultra-Orthodox Undergraduates: Evidence From an Israeli Campus Survey

International Journal of Educational Methodology

https://doi.org/10.12973/ijem.12.1.19

21067 33654 33674

We would like to share important news with you. International e-journal of Educational Studies indexed in EBSCO Education Full Text Database Coverage List H.W. Wilson Index since January 7th, 2020.
https://www.ebsco.com/m/ee/Marketing/titleLists/eft-coverage.pdf

IEJES has been indexed in the Education Source Ultimate database, which is the upper version of the Education Full Text (H.W. Wilson) and Education Full Text (H.W. Wilson) database, from 2020 to the present.

https://www.ebsco.com/m/ee/Marketing/titleLists/esu-coverage.htm

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.