Session Information
13 SES 06 A, Parallel Paper Session
Parallel Paper Session
Contribution
The concept of subjectification such as defined by Foucault (2005) and posteriorly elaborated by Deleuze and Guattari (2004) introduces the possibility of aesthetical and ethical ways of existing. If we consider, with Deleuze (1995), that subjectification it’s not a form of identity (a subject) but a process, if the ‘self’ is not a person but a relation (to oneself), then different ways of existing can be established and new possibilities for life can be invented and constantly recreated. In contrast to the dominant representations of the modern and late modern teacher this perspective challenges the concepts of teacher ‘professional identity’ and ‘professional development’.
Research on teachers’ professional identity has been directly connected with the process of the “professionalisation” of teaching. This discussion has led to a focus on teacher education and further professional development for teachers and has promoted the preeminence of the discourses and policy measures surrounding lifelong learning and teaching competencies. The growing body of educational research on teacher identity seems to oscillate between an emphasis on methods, skills and techniques – the skill-focused competence approach – and critical and post-structuralist perspectives, which highlight the way in which instrumentalist and normative discourses of teacher education, practice and professional development constrain teacher identity by normalising the language of “professionalism” (Sachs, 2007). Between the cultural, social and political narratives of teaching and the situated nature and the contingency of all teaching practices emerges the question of the teaching self. This self tends to be referred to in terms of “effectiveness” (Flores & Day, 2006) and as a “classroom manager,” “organizational [sic] leader and manager,” “facilitator,” “forensic worker” (McWilliam, 2008) or “lifelong learner” (Falk, 1999). Within this framework, the qualification and socialisation of teachers in terms of these managerial identities (McWilliam, 2008) may be hindering teachers’ subjectification as ethical and autonomous selves (Biesta, 2011).
As such, the narratives of the “effective teacher” (Flores & Day, 2006) and the “excellent teacher” (McWilliam, 2008) may be confronted with other emergent, disruptive narratives of teaching. The figure of the “curious/caring teacher” as it is proposed by Geerink, Masschelein and Simons (2010), the “ignorant schoolmaster” proposed by Ranciére (2002) and the “democratic educator” proposed by Freire (1996) represent emerging narratives which express the limitations of the normalising discourses by proposing new ways of thinking about the role of teachers and the ethical/public dimension of education. These narratives transgress the normative discourses of teaching by opening up other possibilities.
We argue that, while teachers’ identity and professional development are descriptive concepts that prescribe pedagogical practices and define linear developmental pathways; theories about the “curious/caring teacher” (Geerink, Masschelein and Simons, 2010), “the ignorant schoolmaster” (Rancière, 2002) and the “democratic educator”(Freire, 1996) are expressionist approaches as they allow engaging in ethical and aesthetical modes of (teachers’) existence.
Within this framework, our paper discusses the concepts of teachers’ professional identity and professional development and explores possible futures for teachers’ modes of existence.
Method
Expected Outcomes
References
Biesta, G. J. J. (2011). The future of teacher education: Evidence, competence or wisdom? Keynote lecture presented at the 2010 conference: The Future of Teacher Education, Vienna, 2‐3 March 2011. Deleuze, G. (1995) Negotiations: 1972␣1990. New York: Columbia University Press. Deleuze, Gilles and Félix Guattari (2004). A Thousand Plateaus. London and New York: Continuum. Flores, M. A., & Day, C. (2006). Contexts which shape and reshape new teachers’ identities: A multi-perspective study. Teaching and Teacher Education, 22, 219-232. Foucault, M. (2005). The hermeneutics of the subject.Lectures at the College de France 1981–1984. (transl. by G. Burchell, introd. by A. I. Davidson). New York: Picador. Freire, P. (1996). A pedagogia da autonomia [Pedagogy of autonomy]. Retrieved from: http: // www.sabotagem.revolt.org Geerink, I., Masschelein, J., & Simons, M. (2010). Teaching and knowledge: A necessary combination? An elaboration of forms of teachers’ reflexivity.Studies in Philosophy and Education, 29, 379-393. McWilliam, E. (2008). Making excellent teachers. In A. Phelan, & J. Sumsion (Eds.), Critical readings in teacher education. Provoking absences (pp. 33-44). Rotterdam: Sense Publishers. Rancière, J. (2002). O mestre ignorante. Cinco lições sobre a emancipação intelectual [The ignorant school master. Five lessons in intellectual emancipation].Belo Horizonte: Autêntica. Sachs, J. (2007). Teacher professional identity: Competing discourses, competing outcomes. Journal of Educational Policy, 16(2), 149-161.
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