Female Teachers' Perceptions Of Professional Identity In Primary Schools In Shanghai

With the contribution of the society environment and itself condition,the frequent education revolutions have changed the teaching nature greatly and overturned teachers' previous identities.However,teachers' sense of their professional and personal identity is a key variable in the research of teachers' motivation and commitment to change.Due to the limit resource,female teachers in primary schools in Shanghai and the theory of teacher knowledge are taken for the study so as to analyze the changes and reasons of the teachers' professional identity in the reform process.The main contents in this study are included:1.Describe female teachers'(n=115) current and prior perceptions of their professional identity in primary school in Shanghai and analyze the difference between the different teachers(such as age,academic disciplines,professional and educational background etc.)2.Collect the important study and work experience related to the teachers' professional identity and analyze its' importance to the different types of teachers.3.Analyze contextual,belief of education and biographical factors that might influence these perceptions.The results and conclusions are as followed:1.44.3%teachers regarded their professional identity as simple and single in the beginning.However,nearly 60%teachers changed their idea and became a comprehensive teacher.And almost of them emphasize the importance of the "experience" to their development.2.50%teachers reported that current perceptions of their professional identity were different from their prior perceptions.However,this didn't show statistical difference.This indicates that teachers haven't formed a clear and exact identity and they are in a dilemma of reality and ideal.3.On the basis of their current perceptions of their professional identities,five groups of teachers could be divided.These groups have more or less similar learning experiences for each aspect of expertise.Statistically,five groups of teachers didn't show the difference on the other two sides except on the education.This points that teachers have very different views on the "education",and this is a very important part of teacher's personality and also the most difficult part that can be described,transferred and extended.4.The differences among the groups in the teachers' current perceptions of professional identity have nothing to do with contextual,belief of education and biographical factors that might influence these perceptions.This demonstrated that teachers' professional identity could be affected by the environment and individual experience regardless of teachers' type.It is the interacted outcome of teachers' individual experience,the society and public environment.