The poster aims to present planned research on professional identity of an alternative school teacher (Schutz, et al.) and try to reflect the toppic in the international context. 

The concept of professional identity became known to the professional public in the 1990s, and at the turn of the millennium, a number of researches on this topic began to be carried out. Despite the twenty-year tendency to deal with the professional identity of teachers, its definition is still very flexible and ambiguous. If the authors agree on something, then it is the longevity and dynamism of the formation of professional identity, as well as the fact that identity is constantly changing and dependent on various factors. Švaříček (2009) explains professional identity as a dynamic and complex process of dialectical response of the personal identity and the teaching profession. However, he places it in the context of personal and social identity, which are closely linked to professional identity, and according to some authors even overlap. 

Pearce and Morrison (2011) divide identity as social and individual. Social is defined by the work environment in which teachers are - school (workplace), colleagues, management requirements and school climate. However, Pearce and Morrison do not understand the individual as influenced internally, but influenced by social and historical concepts or the discourse of teaching. It can also be divided into "core" and "situational" identity or if we want personal and public identity. Beijaard (2000, p. 751) divides the professional identity of a teacher into three sub-identities: the teacher as an expert in his subject (focus on the transmission of knowledge - what I teach), pedagogical expert (moral, ethical authority) and didactical expert (how I teach it).

The main research question is "How the alternative school teacher perceive his/her own profesional identity" By the term alternative school is understand a school that provides alternative aproaches to children and education (compare to common state schools) - such as Montessori or Waldorf school programs (Průcha, 2012).

The subject of the research is the professional identity of alternative school teachers. Research on the professional identity of alternative school teachers is lacking to a greater extent, despite the fact that it is a current topic. I see the research gap not only in the absence of local research reflecting the professional identity of an alternative school teacher. It is also based on the assumption that a teacher at an alternative school will be different from a teacher at a regular school. Malm (2004) demonstrates the difference in professional identity when examining Montessori teachers in Sweden. I see the benefit in looking at professional identity from the perspective of the principles of alternative pedagogy and a deeper exploration of the teachers in alternative education. Although the intention of the work is not to compare the types of teachers, this assumption will be examined through an understanding of the professional identity of teachers.

A qualitative approach will be used for the research (Švaříček, Šeďová 2007). The work will examine the identities of teachers of selected alternative schools using interpretive phenomenological analysis (IPA). IPA focuses on a detailed examination of individual lived experiences that are important for the participants (teachers). IPA allows, as far as possible, the experience to be expressed in participants own terms, as this will give it own meaning (Smith, et al. 2009). It should be an experience that shapes the identity. The qualitative approach is chosen due to an in-depth examination of the issue, and also due to the diversity of informants. The operationalization of professional identity will be based on the theory of dynamic (interactional) identity (Beijaard, 2004). At first there will be an in-depth interview with each informant (Hendl, 2008). It will provide space for full and free expression of the phenomenon. Participants will be given sufficient space to express their experiences and stories. The interview based on the IPA structure answers the research questions secretly, so it is not appropriate to ask questions explicitly. (Smith, 2009) The interview will be partially structured and will rather be based directly on the described experience of the informant. Due to the definition of identity as interactive (dynamic), a video study (Najvar, 2011) will be used after the interview as a tool to record the interaction between students and the teacher. The recorded content will be analyzed by the researcher and situations will be selected from it as a basis for further interview. Subsequently, a reflective interview will be conducted with the same teachers. It will be based on information obtained from the video study. Specific situations will be reflected with the teacher.

The research possibly find out more about constructing professional identity among alternative school teachers, discover some characteristics in links between alternative school and teacher's professional identity. Typology of concrete alternative teachers will be aslo provided.

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