Constructing, reconstructing and developing teacher identity in supportive contexts

Abstract

Teacher identity has been one of the recent topics that has created a perspective to investigate teachers’ development by reflecting on who they are and how they do what they do in a certain context, namely an Asian context in this paper. This qualitative research exploring a language teacher’s identity development of a novice English language teacher was carried out as a case study. A triangulation model using semi-structured interviews, observations, narratives, and/or reflective writing brought together data from a longitudinal perspective involving 6-month monitoring of Derviş’ knowledge, beliefs, and practices. Derviş’ practices and reported beliefs were documented and analysed over six months. The research concluded that a novice language teacher constructed and developed his identity from behaviourist perspective into socio constructivist one within a supportive context where professional development is key part of the language programme. © 2019 Asian E F L Journal Press. All Rights Reserved.