Teacher Education as Identity Construction: Insights from Action Research
Source: Journal of Education for Teaching International research and pedagogy, Volume 36 Issue 2, (2010). p. 153 – 168.
This article reports on the results of a qualitative study. The study explored the experiences of one group of pre-service English language teachers in Hong Kong as they undertook an action research project as part of their undergraduate teacher training programme.
Grounded in a theory of teacher identity construction as both practice and discourse, the article examines how participation in an action research project in Hong Kong shaped the participants’ experiences of becoming teachers.
The study indicates that as teacher researchers, the trainee teachers contested previously held perceptions about their engagement in teaching, their images of teachers and teaching, as well as their alignment with some aspects of contemporary educational discourse.
Implications for teacher education and future research are also discussed.