Beginning to Identify and Understand the Dominant Shaping Influences on Teacher Educators’ Identities: an Irish Contribution

Author(s):

Maeve O'BrienCiaran SugrueCatherine Furlong

Conference:

ECER 2008

Network:

10. Teacher Education Research

Format:

Paper

Session Information

10 SES 07D, Research on Development of Professional Identity through Teacher Education

Paper Session

Time:

2008-09-11

15:30-17:00

Room:

A1 332

Chair:

Peter Gray

Contribution

It appears from international literature that student teachers’ identities have been the focus of considerable research endeavour, frequently conducted by teacher educators (Connelly and Clandinin, 1999, Danielewicz, 2001, Robinson, and McMillan, 2006). In undertaking this work, researchers, while frequently providing evidence of the lack of influence on student teachers of initial teacher education, and pointing up the more significant shaping influences of biography, schooling and socialisation leading to robust ‘lay theories’ of teaching, they have ignored, down-played or marginalised, their own identities, and their positioning within this unfolding drama. The proposed paper sets out to redress this significant lacuna in the literature. The paper is at the beginning of an intended longitudinal study of the life histories of teacher educators. The paper is organized in four parts. Section one draws on selected literature on identity formation with particular reference to teachers and teacher educators (Dillabough, and Acker, 2002, Lafferty, and Fleming, 2000, Mahony, and Zmroczek, 1997, Alsup, 2005, Shain and Gleeson, 1999). Section two reviews recent empirical evidence on the identities of teacher educators, particularly from the perspective of dominant influences (Nixon, Marks, Rowland, and Walker, 2001, Bullough, 2005). Section three briefly outlines the manner in which this initial foray into this territory has been designed and argues that a life history approach has potential to shed light on a relatively neglected aspect of the teacher education landscape (Wortham, 2001, Cochran-Smith, 2005, Erben, 1998, Goodson, 2000). Section four provides a thematic analysis of life history interviews of six teacher educators—2 newly appointed teacher educators, 2 experienced and 2 veterans. This is not a representative but rather a purposive sample to reflect different areas of expertise within the field of teacher education in the Irish context. Some tentative conclusions are drawn and these indicate possible lines of inquiry that will both deepen and broaden this study as it progresses, while seeking simultaneously to identify international partners in the study. Possible areas for future research will focus on gender, care and identity (Noddings, 2003, Lynch, 2007), promotions, performativity and identity (Alvett and Wilmott, 2002, Halford and Leonard, 2001) and leadership roles and teacher educator identities (Lynch, Devine and Grummell, 2007, Weber and Mitchell, 1995).

Method

Qualitative methodology using a life history approach to enable interviewees to tell stories of their experience and their understandings around their identities as teacher educators (Holloway and Jefferson, 2001). Data was gathered using taped interviews, subsequently transcribed verbatim and analysed for main themes and categories.

Expected Outcomes

Findings re main factors in the construction of teacher educator identities to be related back to theoretical literature on identity in a modern/postmodern context (Foucault, Giddens, Beck and Beck-Gernsheim, Noddings, Nussbaum, Bourdieu). Issues of class, gender and cultural inheritance may be significant.

References

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Author Information

Maeve O'Brien

St Patrick's College

Education

Dublin

Ciaran Sugrue

University of Cambridge

Faculty of Education

Cambridge

Catherine Furlong

St Patrick's College, Ireland (Republic of)

Education

Dublin 9

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