Dominant or Underrepresented: How Social Position and Program Context Impact Teacher Candidates’ Professional Identity Formation
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Authors
Gabhi, Mandeep Kaur
Date
2024-09-26
Type
thesis
Language
eng
Keyword
Teacher education program , Professional identity development , Preservice teacher candidates , Underrepresented teacher candidates , Teacher Identity
Alternative Title
Abstract
While Ontario classrooms have increasingly diverse student populations, underrepresented groups remain poorly represented in the teaching workforce and in many teacher education programs (Holden & Kitchen, 2018). The purpose of this qualitative study was to examine how teacher candidates (TCs) from underrepresented and dominant groups negotiate the process of professional identity formation in the sociocultural context of their teacher education program. The data for this study was collected using three semi-structured interviews over the course of the consecutive education program at Ontario University (OU). The participants were purposely sampled TCs from the dominant group (N=6) and underrepresented group (N=5) (Fraenkel & Wallen, 2003). My study was informed by phenomenological approach to qualitative inquiry and used multiple qualitative methods embedded in the social-constructivist paradigm (Guba & Lincoln, 1989. The phenomenological approach allowed me to study and understand the underlying structures that influence the professional identity formation for TCs by focussing on their experiences in the context of their program (Merriam & Tisdell, 2016).
The findings from this study brought forth the distinct uniqueness that TCs from each group bring with them while starting the program; guided by their social position and lived history. The teacher education program and its context (coursework, educators, practicum placements etc.) over the course of the program implicitly or explicitly impacted the process of professional identity formation for the TCs. While the TCs from dominant group perceived their engagement in the program as only partially beneficial due to their existing knowledge about the profession and rather a means through which they were able to re-affirm their perceptions of self as teachers; TCs from underrepresented groups experienced the program as a cautionary tale of potential experiences of bias and discrimination due to their ethnicity, accent, disability, sexuality, immigration history etc. Overall, the findings from the study bring forth the role of teacher education programs beyond the sites for preparing the next generation of teachers but also a site for the negotiation of identity formation that accompanies the process of learning in the teaching community that supports and perpetuates the dominant structures and ideology.
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ProQuest PhD and Master's Theses International Dissemination Agreement
Intellectual Property Guidelines at Queen's University
Copying and Preserving Your Thesis
This publication is made available by the authority of the copyright owner solely for the purpose of private study and research and may not be copied or reproduced except as permitted by the copyright laws without written authority from the copyright owner.
Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International