FACTORS IN THE PROFESSIONAL IDENTITY DEVELOPMENT OF ALTERNATIVELY CERTIFIED ENGLISH LANGUAGES TEACHERS (ACELTS)
Article Sidebar
Main Article Content
Abstract
This study investigates the contributing factors that are influential in the professional identity development (PID) of alternatively certified English language teachers (hereafter as ACELTs). 12 English language teachers with alternative teaching certificates participated in the study. The data were collected through self-reflection journals, in-class observations and semi-structured interviews during a 15-week semester. The results obtained from the data revealed that there are two main categories of factors that affect the PID of ACELTs which are the external and the internal factors, that is, the professional identity of ACELTs is a combination of effects of the external and the internal factors. It was concluded that the external factors assume re(shaping) roles whereas the internal ones act as lenses through which the enforcements of the external factors are filtered. Moreover, the findings revealed the existence of a context-bound professional identity of ACELTs which is in search of professional development to break the routines created by the context and the enforcement of the administration.
Keywords: teacher identity, professional development, alternative teaching certificate, alternatively certified English language teachers.
Article Details
Authors retain copyright to their work, licensing it under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License and grant the journal exclusive right of first publication with the work simultaneously and it allows others to copy and redistribute the work for non-commercial purposes, with an acknowledgment of the work's authorship and initial publication in IOJET and provided that no changes were made on the article.
References
Altınkurt, Y., Yılmaz, K., & Erol, E. (2014). Pedagogic formation program students’ motivation. Trakya University Journal of Education, 4(1), 48-62.
Atay, D., & Ece, A. (2009). Multiple identities as reflected in English-language education: The Turkish perspective. Journal of Language, Identity and Education, 8(1), 21-34.
Borg, S. (2011). The impact of in-service teacher education on language teachers’ beliefs. System, 39(3), 370-380.
Check, J., & Schutt, R. K. (2012). Research methods in education. California: Sage.
Cohen, J. L. (2010). Getting recognized: Teachers negotiating professional identities as learners through talk. Teaching and Teacher Education, 26(3), 473-481.
Creswell, J. W. (2014). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative and mixed methods approaches (4th Ed.). London: Sage.
Dörnyei, Z. (2007). Research methods in applied linguistics. New York: Oxford University Press.
Duff, A. P., & Uchida, Y. (1997). The negotiation of teachers’ socio-cultural identities and practices in post-secondary EFL classrooms. TESOL Quarterly, 31(3), 451-486.
Farrell, T. S. C. (2010). Exploring the professional role identities of experienced ESL teachers through reflective practice. System, 39, 54-62.
Flores, M., A., & Day, C. (2006). Contexts which shape and reshape new teachers’ identities: A multi-perspective study. Teaching and Teacher Education, 22(2), 219-232.
Gee, J. P. (2000). Identity as an analytic lens for research in education. Review of Research in Education, 25, 99-125.
Ghasedi, F., & Zareee, A. (2014). Professional identity construction issues in becoming an English teacher. Procedia: Social and Behavioral Sciences, 98, 1991-1995.
Goos, M. (2005). A socio-cultural analysis of development of pre-service and beginning teachers’ pedagogical identities as users of technology. Journal of Mathematics Teacher Education, 8, 35-59.
Gökçe, A. T. (2010). Alternatively certified elementary school teachers in Turkey. Procedia Social and Behavioral Sciences, 2(2), 1064-1074.
Gray, D. E. (2009). Doing research in the real world (2nd Ed.). London: Sage.
Gur, T. (2013). Basic and developmental characteristics of teachers' professional identity. International Journal of Academic Research, 5(2), 192-196.
Johnson, K. E. (1992). The relationship between teachers’ beliefs and practices during literacy instruction for non-native speakers of English. Journal of Literacy Research, 24(1), 83-108.
Kang, Y., & Cheng, X. (2014). Teacher learning in the workplace: A study of the relationship between a novice EFL teacher’s classroom practices and cognition development. Language Teaching Research, 18(2), 169-186.
Kartal, T., & Afacan, Ö. (2012). Examining attitudes of prospective teachers who took pedagogical formation education towards teaching profession. Mehmet Akif Ersoy Üniversitesi Eğitim Fakültesi Dergisi, 12(24), 76-96.
Lave, J., & Wenger, E. (1991). Situated learning. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Mason, J. (2002). Qualitative researching (2nd Ed.). London: Sage.
Matthews, B., & Ross, L. (2010). Research methods: A practical guide for the social sciences. Harlow: Longman.
Miller, J. (2009). Teacher identity. In A. Burns & J. C. Richards (Eds.), The Cambridge guide to second language teacher education (pp. 171–181). New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.
Oruç, N. (2013). Early teacher identity development. Procedia- Social and Behavioral Studies, 70, 207-212.
Packer, M. (2011). The science of qualitative research. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Phipps, S., & Borg, S. (2009). Exploring tensions between teachers’ grammar teaching beliefs and practices. System, 37(3), 380-390.
Pillen, M. T., Brok, P. J. D., & Beijaard, D. (2013). Profiles and change in beginning teachers’ professional identity tensions. Teaching and Teacher Education, 34, 86-97.
Punch, K. F. (2005). Introduction to social research: Quantitative and qualitative approaches (2nd Ed.). London: Sage.
Ruohotie-Lyhty, M. (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.
Scotland, J. (2013). Operating in global educational contact zones: How pedagogical adaptation to local contexts may result in the renegotiation of the professional identities of English language teachers. Teaching and Teacher Education, 37, 33-43.
Seferoğlu, G. (2004). A study of alternative English teacher certification practices in Turkey. Journal of Education for Teaching: International Research and Pedagogy, 30(2), 151-159.
Taneri, P. O., & Ok, A. (2014). The problems of novice classroom teachers having regular and alternative certificates. Eğitim Bilimleri, 39(173), 1-11.
Thomas, G. (2013). How to do your research project: A guide for students in education and applied social sciences (2nd Ed.). London: Sage.
Timoštšuk, I., & Ugaste, A. (2010). Student teachers’ professional identity. Teaching and Teacher Education, 26(8), 1563-1570.
Tural, G., & Kabadayı, Ö. (2014). Pedagogical formation program candidates’ attitudes towards the teaching profession. Anadolu Journal of Educational Sciences, 4(1), 1-12.
Urzua, A. & Vasquez, C. (2008). Reflection and professional identity in teachers’ future oriented discourse. Teaching and Teacher Education, 24(7), 1935-1946.
Varghese, M. (2006). Bilingual teachers-in-the-making in Urbantown. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 27(3), 211-224.
Wellington, J. (2000). Educational research: Contemporary issues and practical approaches. London: Continuum International Publishing Group.