A Discursive Approach in Analyzing Preservice Teachers’ Discourse of Becoming a Science Teacher

Abstract

One objective of many science educators is to recruit more science teachers. Researchers have investigated factors and influences that guide students to choose science teaching as a career. However, few investigations have studied the forms of language available for articulating becoming/being a science teacher. The purpose of this study is to investigate ways of using language to support justifications of becoming a science teacher. Drawing on discursive psychology, the study examines the repertoires preservice teachers use to articulate their future careers as science teachers. The results indicate that preservice teachers mainly draw on formative, performative, and consequential repertoires to articulate their career aspirations, while the potential repertoire is the least used. Implications of this study are discussed.