The fragility of teacher identities
Written by: Hayley Murphy
6 min read
HAYLEY MURPHY, DIRECTOR OF TEACHING AND LEARNING, EVERSFIELD PREPARATORY SCHOOL, UK
Teacher identities are shaped by the complex interplay between personal values, professional experiences and educational contexts. These identities are shaped as teachers interact with policies, colleagues, students and school cultures, influenced by accountability measures. Teachers navigate shifts in professionalism, adjusting their identities to accommodate changes and challenges within their roles (Skinner et al., 2021). The work of Sachs (2001, 2016), Ball (2003; 2017) and Keddie (2017) is drawn upon to put into context how performance technologies (methods of monitoring and evaluating teacher performance) potentially create fragile teacher identities, due to challenges at both policy and practice level. To examine teacher identities amid changes in educational policy, I also refer to the two types of teacher professionalism identified by Sachs (2001). One type is democratic professionalism, wher
Join us or sign in now to view the rest of this page
You're viewing this site as a guest, which only allows you to view a limited amount of content.
To view this page and get access to all our resources, join the Chartered College of Teaching (it's free for trainee teachers and half price for ECTs) or log in if you're already a member.
- Ball SJ (2000) Performativities and fabrications in the education economy: Towards the performative society? Australian Educational Researcher 27(2): 1–23.
- Ball SJ (2003) The teacher’s soul and the terrors of performativity. Journal of Education Policy 18(2): 215–228.
- Ball SJ (2016) Neoliberal education? Confronting the slouching beast. Policy Futures in Education 14(8): 1046–1059.
- Ball SJ (2017) The Education Debate, 3rd ed. Bristol: The Policy Press.
- Ball SJ and Olmedo A (2013) Care of the self, resistance and subjectivity under neoliberal governmentalities. Critical Studies in Education 54(1): 85–96.
- BERA (2014) Research and the teaching profession: Building the capacity for a self-improving education system. Available at: www.bera.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/BERA-RSA-Research-Teaching-Profession-FULL-REPORT-for-web.pdf?noredirect=1 (accessed 6 August 2024).
- Bernstein B (1996) Pedagogic Symbolic Control and Identity: Theory, Research, Critique. London: Falmer Press.
- Foucault M (1979) Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison. London: Penguin Books.
- Freire P (1996) Pedagogy of the Oppressed. London: Penguin Books.
- Hargreaves A (2000) Four ages of professionalism and professional learning. Teachers and Teaching: Theory and Practice 6(2): 151–182.
- Keddie A (2017) Primary school leadership in England: Performativity and matters of professionalism. British Journal of Sociology of Education 38(8): 1245–1257.
- Keddie A, Mills M and Pendergast D (2011) Fabricating an identity in neo-liberal times: Performing schooling as ‘number one’. Oxford Review of Education 37(1): 75–92.
- OECD (2012) Does performance-based pay improve teaching? PISA in Focus 16. Available at: www.oecd-ilibrary.org/docserver/5k98q27r2stb-en.pdf?expires=1731933306&id=id&accname=guest&checksum=BDA0BE1115258C4023FF9535872AD2EF (accessed 18 November 2024).
- Ofsted (2023) Education inspection framework (EIF). Available at: www.gov.uk/government/publications/education-inspection-framework/education-inspection-framework (accessed 19 August 2023).
- Ozga J (2000) Policy Research in Educational Settings: Contested Terrain. Berkshire: Oxford University Press.
- Perryman J, Ball SJ, Braun A et al. (2017) Translating policy: Governmentality and the reflective teacher. Journal of Education Policy 32(6): 745–756.
- Sachs J (2001) Teacher professional identity: Competing discourses, competing outcomes. Journal of Education Policy 16(2): 149–161.
- Sachs J (2016) Teacher professionalism: Why are we still talking about it? Teachers and Teaching 22(4): 413–425.
- Skinner S, Leavey G and Rothi D (2021) Managerialism and teacher professional identity: Impact on well-being among teachers in the UK. Educational Review 73(1): 1–16.
- Spielman A (2018) HMCI commentary: Curriculum and the new education inspection framework. Ofsted. Available at: www.gov.uk/government/speeches/hmci-commentary-curriculum-and-the-new-education-inspection-framework (accessed 14 August 2024).
- Wilkins C (2015) Educational reform in England: Quality and equity in the performative school. International Journal of Inclusive Education 19(11): 1143–1160.
What an interesting study. How true, the vast expanse of influences on teacher professionalism. The mechanisms and real life entities that become actualised through our agency are shaping teacher pedagogy and not always for the best. Teachers have to endure a battleground of such influences. This article is not only well written but gives an illuminating insight into the changes and developing pressures our profession is experiencing.