In many countries across Europe (and beyond) a relatively homogeneous body of teachers teaches an increasingly diverse group of students (Brunold et al. 2017). While this is widely discussed, we want to reflect on this matter against the background that educational institutions serve as one of the sites where identities are negotiated, contested, and defended (Martin & Van Gunten 2002). Although there is consensus on the importance of teacher identity in literature (Cochran-Smith, 2010), we still lack information on the content of teacher identity and its formation process, i.e., how they perceive themselves as teachers and what factors contribute to these perceptions (Beijaard et al., 2000). Teachers’ complex identities and their addressing in teacher education programs thus are particularly relevant. Moreover, also developments such as teacher shortages, increasing numbers of lateral entrants, and challenges related to retention pose further challenges to the diversity of the teaching body and its consideration in education programs.

This panel discussion consequently aims at discussing the intersections and complexities of teacher identities. The background of the session is the Circle U. funded WIIIDE project (Working on Inclusive Identities, Intersectionality & Diversity in Teacher Education) with partners from the Universities of Belgrade, Oslo, and Vienna. The panel thus includes teachers and researchers from Austria, Norway, and Serbia and invites other researchers and educators to engage in a discussion and reflection on the relevance of considering diverse teacher identities for inclusive education contexts.

At the core of the panel discussion lies the question of how we deal and how we should deal with teacher identities (e.g., regarding social class, race, gender, life stage, profession, training, and role) in teacher education across Europe and beyond. With current ever-growing relevance and impact of inclusive education, reflection spaces are necessary to explore their intersectionality with aspects such as democracy (in the age of climate and nature crises), special needs education (in times of performance pressure and unequal opportunities), and other intersectionalities that arise in the context of inclusive education.

To address these challenges and provide room for discussion and reflection, we recognize that individuals may share commonalities on one dimension but belong to different categories on another, thus contributing to the inclusiveness of our identities (Espinosa et al. 2018). Moreover, we must “first demonstrate that vulnerability ourselves” (Paz Ortiz et al. 2018) and explore how societal messages about different groups have shaped our views of ourselves and others, before asking students to be vulnerable themselves. For teachers to actively address oppression, it is thus necessary to become aware of the fluidity, interconnectedness and contextual situatedness of their identities (Alcoff 1988; Maher & Tetreault 1994).

One focus of both, the project and this intended exchange, thus lies in the discussion and reflection of valuable and innovative approaches that can be used in both research and teaching to explore identities, sensitize for the topic, and foster the reflection of one's own (teacher) identity (e.g., critical incident, narrative method, photovoice). Drawing upon experiences and exchanges during a three-day workshop with teacher educators, teachers, and teacher students from the three partner countries scheduled in June 2024 in Belgrade, we will share our responses to the following questions:

• What kind of teacher identities do we foster through teacher education?

• How do we consider teacher identities in current teacher education programmes?

• How could we tackle teacher identities in their complex and uncertain contexts through teacher education?

Moreover we will share questions and dilemmas that arose during the practice-infused workshop and aim to further explore and reflect on teacher identities in an inclusive and intersectional perspective with the panelists’ chair, authors, and attendants.

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