Constructing and enacting language teacher identities: Distinctive pathways and divergent practices

Abstract

The aim of this study was to explore how English language teachers construct and enact their teacher identities. The data was collected through semi-structured interviews with four in-service English language teachers at Turkish public schools. The findings revealed certain identity stabilizers: the fascination with subject and the job, caring for students and the relationships with students and former teachers. Although the teachers took two distinctive pathways—the meant to be route and the higher education route—the job experiences of those taking the same route to teaching were quite different. Varying levels of exersion of teacher agency to attain alignment between imagined and actual identities and rare opportunities for legitimate participation and job socialization were effective in the actualization of personal and professional values distinctively. The findings enhance our understanding of how teacher identity is contextually and relationally constructed and offer implications for teacher education and sustainable identity-oriented professional learning.