A Narrative Inquiry Into The Shaping And Reshaping Of Teacher's Professional Identity In Changing Contexts-A Case Study

It is argued that teachers'sense of professional identity becomes a key variable in their motivation and commitment to change and a key factor to an effective teacher. Therefore, a growing recognition and celebration is attached to the importance of teachers and teachers'professional identity. There is much literature about the construction of a teacher identity in relation to pre-service and in-service teachers. However, there appears to be less research into the complexity of this process for those who enter new school settings with one or more previous teacher'identities'. Triggered by my own puzzles in teaching experiences, I intended to investigate how the teachers who enter a new school setting with one or more previous'identities'in other contexts shape and reshape their professional identity and the factors that influence the construction process.A case study, spanning one semester, was conducted to investigate a teacher named Sherry who has spent one year in a senior middle school and two years in a college. The research methods adopted in the study were narrative inquiry and case study. Data were collected in various ways including interview records, conversations, biography, students'and colleagues'emails and so on.Narrative inquiry was adopted in this study based on the idea that professional identity is "stories to live by". By telling the four stories of Sherry:1) Sherry's biography; 2) I want to be intimate; 3) I scare the score no more; 4) I still feel lonely, the complex process of shaping and reshaping Sherry's professional identity was emerging. Sherry reshaped her professional identity through reflection. She successfully transformed her role from a middle school teacher to a college teacher which benefit both of her self and her students. Four main factors which influenced the process of shaping and reshaping teachers'professional identity were also listed. Biography including personal background, learning experiences as a pupil and former teachers etc. all had positive or negative influence on her sense of being a teacher. Different school cultures in both schools also played a key role in facilitating or hindering Sherry's construction of professional identity. Good teacher-student relationship gave Sherry intrinsic motivation to teach and gave her the confidence in teaching. However, lacking of support from colleagues prevented Sherry's professional development.All in all, teachers'personal and professional histories, school culture and leadership, students and colleagues emerge as stronger mediating influences in determining the kinds and relative stability and instability of professional identities which teachers develop in different school settings and thus the kinds of teachers they become.