Research into teachers’ professional identities is important because it: i) furthers understandings of the work of teachers in different policy, work and personal settings at different times in their lives; ii) probes relationships between the cognitive and emotional dimensions of teachers’ work; and iii) has the potential to investigate associations between identity, well being and effectiveness.

This paper will draw from the results of a large scale longitudinal, mixed methods study with 300 teachers in different phases of their careers in a range of 100 elementary and secondary schools. The research found that teachers’ sense of identity was a key factor in this; and that their ability to manage the sometimes stable, sometimes unstable personal and work spaces in which they found themselves was a key factor in sustaining their sense of well being and effectiveness.

Day, C., Sammons, P., Stobart, G., Kington, A. and Gu, Q. (2007) Teachers Matter: Connecting: Connecting work, lives and effectiveness. Maidenhead: Open University Press. Miles, M. B. & Huberman, A. M. (1994) Qualitative Data Analysis: an expanded sourcebook (2nd edition). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications Inc.