Reimagining teacher identity in the post-Covid-19 university: becoming digitally savvy, reflective in practice, collaborative, and relational

Abstract

ABSTRACT Objective Through the crisis of Covid-19 university teachers have been pushed into the realm of emergency remote teaching (ERT), familiar ways of living, working and being, brought unprecedented additional uncertainty and vulnerability to an already highly complex context. The purpose of this narrative review was to look at how these transformations affected teacher identity and the ways relationality shifted during this time. The intention was to bring relationality, care, collaboration, and excellent teaching possibilities, into the centre of our thinking. Whilst recognising the pandemic as a traumatic experience for many, it is a hopeful paper. Method An examination and thematic analysis of literature published from March 2020–November 2020 on ERT. Results The crisis and corresponding shift to teaching online demanded faculty to overcome their bias against online delivery, reimagine teaching, resulting in increased innovation and unexpected positive experiences which continue to rise. Conclusion Teachers already engaging with student-centred approaches, relational pedagogies, reflective practice, community networks, and/or digital technologies managed the transition to online teaching and learning more effectively. Future teacher training requires effective online education, how to design and deliver, how to collaborate, and how to make relational connections with others, and access to resources. KEY POINTS What is already known about this topic: Teacher identity is complex and always changing where fluctuating valence forces a re-evaluation of one’s identity. Teachers experience tension between their “core” ideal teacher identity such as the care and commitment to students and their occasional identity as adapters to external factors. Covid-19 has resulted in a rapid change emergency remote teaching with additional uncertainty and vulnerability. What this topic adds: Skills that enabled teachers to adapt to the rapid shift to remote teaching more effectively were student-centred approaches, relational pedagogies, reflective practice, community networks and/or digital technologies. Teacher identity was reimagined through emergency remote teaching as they worked remotely. Suggestions for further teacher development and support to enhance teacher effectiveness when responding to change and working remotely include strategies to strengthen and maintain digital competence to ensure teachers identity and their core values are recognised.