teacher identity

The present research aimed to conceptualize the construct of Teacher Assessment Identity (TAI) by designing and validating a questionnaire in the Iranian EFL context. In so doing, a tentative scale with 96 items was piloted on 340 novice and experienced Iranian EFL teachers using Exploratory and Confirmatory Factor Analysis (EFA, CFA). The results of the analyses led to the removal of 33 items, leaving the questionnaire with 61 items on a five-point Likert scale. Moreover, the results revealed that the construct of TAI has 12 factors including assessment “knowledge”, “beliefs”, “attitudes”, “skills and confidence”, “practices”, “use assurance”, “feedback”, “rubric/criteria”, “consistency and consequence”, “grading/scoring”, “question-types”, and “roles”. Likewise, the convergent validity and reliability of the instrument to measure the construct of concern was statistically confirmed (p>.05). The findings have various implications for EFL teachers, teacher trainers, course designers, and language researchers by raising their awareness of assessment identity and its underlying components.

The notion of teacher professional identity has become a regular fixture in numerous theoretical and empirical studies in both mainstream and L2 teacher education. Consequently, a number of scales have been designed and developed to quantify this construct. To be sure, the extant instruments are general with regard to both context and subject matter, and this line of inquiry has not addressed the quantification of the concept in the ELT profession. The present study was, therefore, an attempt to provide a (re)conceptualization of L2 teachers’ professional identity through exploring its underlying components. To this end, an initial 61-item, self-assessment questionnaire was developed using a comprehensive review of the related literature and experts’ opinion. The trial scale was then administered to a sample of 676 ELT teachers. Results of exploratory factor analysis reduced the instrument to 42 items, leading to a six-factor model which indicated that L2 teacher identity includes: researching and developing one’s own practice; language awareness; institutional and collective practice; engaging learners as whole persons; appraising one’s teacher self; and sociocultural and critical practice. Confirmatory factor analysis substantiated the resultant six-factor model as a robust and valid tool for measuring ELT teachers’ professional identity.

The term ‘teacher emotions’ is defined as feelings and affections teachers experience in their professional practice. Teacher identity, as the beliefs, values, and perceptions that teachers hold about themselves and their roles, holds paramount importance in the realm of education as it profoundly shapes the teaching and learning process. This study sought to delve into modeling EFL teachers’ emotionality and identity. In so doing, a quantitative correlational design was used. The participants employed included 200 Iranian male and female EFL teachers who were selected from different language institutes of Iran through convenient sampling. To collect the data, the Teacher Emotionality Questionnaire and the Revised Identity Style Inventory (ISI-5) were used. To analyze the data, Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) was run. As unveiled by the results, positive emotionality (i.e., enjoyment, responsiveness, emotional support and flexibility) was a direct and significant predictor of informational identity. Positive emotionality was a negative and significant predictor of diffuse-avoidant identity. Negative emotionality (i.e., anxiety and burnout) was a significant and negative predictor of informational and normative identity. Negative emotionality was a significant and positive predictor of diffuse-avoidant identity. Congruent with the findings, it is concluded that Iranian EFL teachers are exposed to different kinds of positive and negative emotions. The results also lead to the conclusion that diffuse-avoidant identity aspect is weak in teachers who experience positive emotions. In sum, it is concluded that emotionality and identity aspects are interrelated in EFL teachers. EFL teachers should make attempts to experience more positive emotions than negative ones so that their identity is developed in a positive and authentic direction.

The term ‘teacher emotions’ is defined as feelings and affections teachers experience in their professional practice. Teacher identity, as the beliefs, values, and perceptions that teachers hold about themselves and their roles, holds paramount importance in the realm of education as it profoundly shapes the teaching and learning process. This study sought to delve into modeling EFL teachers’ emotionality and identity. In so doing, a quantitative correlational design was used. The participants employed included 200 Iranian male and female EFL teachers who were selected from different language institutes of Iran through convenient sampling. To collect the data, the Teacher Emotionality Questionnaire and the Revised Identity Style Inventory (ISI-5) were used. To analyze the data, Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) was run. As unveiled by the results, positive emotionality (i.e., enjoyment, responsiveness, emotional support and flexibility) was a direct and significant predictor of informational identity. Positive emotionality was a negative and significant predictor of diffuse-avoidant identity. Negative emotionality (i.e., anxiety and burnout) was a significant and negative predictor of informational and normative identity. Negative emotionality was a significant and positive predictor of diffuse-avoidant identity. Congruent with the findings, it is concluded that Iranian EFL teachers are exposed to different kinds of positive and negative emotions. The results also lead to the conclusion that diffuse-avoidant identity aspect is weak in teachers who experience positive emotions. In sum, it is concluded that emotionality and identity aspects are interrelated in EFL teachers. EFL teachers should make attempts to experience more positive emotions than negative ones so that their identity is developed in a positive and authentic direction.

Social identity plays a significant role in the professional life of teachers; however, the social identity of English as a foreign language (EFL) teachers is an under-investigated research area in general and in the context of Iran in particular. This study aimed to explore Iranian primary-level EFL teachers’ perceptions toward social identity. To this end, phenomenological design was adopted. Participants included 15 teachers (7 males and 8 females) from private language schools of Tehran and Tabriz who were selected through convenience sampling. Data were collected through face-to-face semi-structured interviews. Based on the results of the thematic analysis, five main themes were identified: social communication skills, professional development experiences, using collaboration, group activities, and negotiation strategies to understand students’ social identity, effect of social identity on teaching profession, and effect of social identity on teacher interactions. This study has some implications for primary-level EFL teacher educators and primary-level EFL teachers. Primary-level EFL teacher educators should use the findings to train pre-service teachers on the construction and reconstruction of their social identity. Besides, primary-level EFL teacher teachers should be attentive to the reconstruction of their social identity based on the insights taken from this study.