Collaborative identity development during a global pandemic: exploring teacher identity through the experiences of pre-service high school teachers in England

Rushton, Elizabeth A. C.; Gibbons, Simon; Brock, Richard; Cao, Ye; Finesilver, Carla; Jones, Jeffrey M.; Manning, Alex; Marshall, Bethan; Richardson, Christina; Steadman, Sarah; Suh, SooYeon; Towers, Emma

doi:10.1080/02619768.2023.2175663

Cited by 5 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 39 publications

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“…Although there is plenty of literature that considers identity work within specific fields such as in teacher education, school practice, and even in new and changing educational landscapes and policy contexts, we contend that bridges linking identity research across these fields and into policy making continue to be needed. This may be, in part, because teacher identity remains largely undervalued in teacher education and educational policy (Beijaard et al, 2022; Rushton et al, 2023). This situation remains puzzling, given the importance of developing a positive teacher identity to maintaining a healthy and sustainable teaching workforce.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The policy context featured in much of the literature included in this systematic review (Day et al, 2005; Findlay, 2006; Huang & Asghar, 2018) and yet teacher identity remains largely absent in discussions and dialogue focused on policy initiatives that respond to persistent challenges, such as teacher retention and recruitment (Rushton et al, 2023). In the systematic review, research focused on the ways in which different policy contexts and educational reform shaped teachers' identities, including highlighting tensions between professional beliefs, values and sense of purpose with policy goals (Cohen, 2008; Day et al, 2005; McNally et al, 2008).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Understanding teacher identity in teachers' professional lives: A systematic review of the literature

Rushton,

Rawlings Smith,

Steadman

et al. 2023

Review of Education

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This article presents a systematic review of a substantial body of literature that considers the ways in which the concept of teacher identity has been used to understand and explore teachers' professional lives. The aim of the review was to go beyond the limitations of specific areas of teachers' practice to explore the broad and rich field of teachers' professional lives. Drawing on 412 articles from 2000–2021, the review demonstrates the growth in teacher identity research, particularly since 2010. Results from the review are categorised into seven thematic groups that span key areas related to teachers' professional lives: (1) Models and frameworks of professional lives; (2) Narratives of professional lives; (3) Becoming a teacher; (4) Contexts; (5) Communities; (6) Change, transition and conflict; and (7) Subject specialisms. The review reveals gaps in teacher identity research, such as: few research studies from Global South countries; a limited number of studies focusing on non‐core curriculum subjects, including arts, history, geography and physical education; fewer studies focusing on primary school and early years teacher identities; and a divide between identity scholarship and research, and policy and practice. The article concludes with a call for teacher identity research to be expanded and broadened with the aim to facilitate the progress of identity work in scholarship, policy and practice. Context and implicationsRationale for this studyIn the context of a growing body of research on teacher identity, particularly in the last decade, there remains a paucity of identity‐focused systematic reviews. Existing systematic reviews tend to focus on specific fields such as subject specialisms, teacher education and beginning teachers. However, far fewer reviews span the broader field of teachers' professional lives; this article responds to this gap in the literature.Why the new findings matterThe findings from this review are important in highlighting the most commonly explored areas in teacher identity research as it relates to teachers' professional lives. As such, the findings can inform policy and practice for teacher education and professional development at local, national and international scales. The findings also highlight gaps in the literature and the implications this may have on teacher identity scholarship.Implications for educational researchers and educatorsFirstly, educational researchers can identify key themes arising from existing teacher identity research studies. This can help them to focus on specific areas that would benefit from further research as well as providing them with a single space from which to draw on the existing corpus of research studies. Secondly, teacher identity research is important for the professional lives and practice of educators and this review provides educators with an opportunity to understand the teacher identity scholarly landscape and, in turn, apply findings from the research to their own professional practice.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Understanding teacher identity in teachers' professional lives: A systematic review of the literature

Rushton,

Rawlings Smith,

Steadman

et al. 2023

Review of Education

Self Cite

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show abstract

“…This project took place at a time when Initial Teacher Education (ITE) in England experienced two waves of significant and sustained disruption. The first was the Covid‐19 pandemic, which comprised a series of national lockdowns during 2020–2021 in countries all over the world including England, which meant that many educational institutions were closed, and teaching and learning moved online (Ofsted, 2020; Rushton et al, 2023).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Space as a lens for teacher agency: A case study of three beginning teachers in England, UK

Rushton,

Bird

2023

The Curriculum Journal

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Drawing on conceptualisations of space, we explored the ways three beginning teachers in England experienced and developed agency during the first three years of their careers. We completed a series of interviews with the same three teachers during their year of Initial Teacher Education and subsequent two years as Early Career Teachers; a total of 15 interviews over three years). Our findings demonstrated that the key barrier to agency beginning teachers experienced was a rigid curriculum, with reduced opportunities for innovation at a classroom and/or department level. Participants highlighted enablers of agency including demonstrations of professional trust; opportunities to develop their pedagogies and subject knowledge and their own recognition of the temporal and dynamic nature of agency. Through engaging with conceptualisations of space, we have shown how some teachers were able to identify spaces of agency, move between different spaces of agency and even create spaces of agency where none previously existed. We argue that in addition to the widely understood emergent, dynamic, and temporal facets, conceptualisations of teacher agency as a phenomenon can be extended through the lens of space. Space helps us understand agency as a messy entanglement of the cultural, material, and relational conditions and qualities of agency made explicit in the ecological approach. Through space, we can explore these entanglements as multiple, non‐linear, loose connections which teachers bring together when they achieve agency. We contend that the lens of space may support more nuanced understandings of teacher agency in research and policymaking worldwide.

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How exactly do teachers’ identities develop in the study travel?—A grounded theory study from China

Yue,

Yan,

Yang

2024

Teaching and Teacher Education

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Collaborative identity development during a global pandemic: exploring teacher identity through the experiences of pre-service high school teachers in England

Cited by 5 publications

References 39 publications

Understanding teacher identity in teachers' professional lives: A systematic review of the literature

Understanding teacher identity in teachers' professional lives: A systematic review of the literature

Space as a lens for teacher agency: A case study of three beginning teachers in England, UK

How exactly do teachers’ identities develop in the study travel?—A grounded theory study from China

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