Social Capital Perspective of English Teachers’ Professional Identity in an Online Community

Abstract

A considerable amount of research explores social capital and teacher professional identity, and yet little research has been conducted to examine the relationships between these two concepts in an online community. This research study determined the kind of English teachers the participants aspire to become in an online course, how the online community performs as its social capital among teachers, and recognised participants’ engagement to establish professional identity. The researcher used the narrative inquiry in presenting the lived experiences of the participants. Results revealed that teachers remain true to the school’s mission-vision and teaching philosophy despite pandemic and they believe that social capital can be strengthened if all members of the online community will value the communal familial where everyone is given a chance to be heard, participate and collaborate.