The three other papers in this proposal symposium frame the analysis of early identity formation of school principals with a conceptual perspective that will be presented in this paper. A summary of the conceptual paper proposal follows. It is assumed that identity is influenced by cultural, class, race and gender factors, that there is a profound connection between identity and practice, between values, attitudes, aspirations for practice and identity and that identity may be identified through the construction of narratives. Our analysis is indebted to Wenger’s (1999) theory of learning and Bourdieu’s theory of practice (Bourdieu & Wacquant 1992).