Belonging, becoming, owning: the interplay between identity and self-esteem in trainee teachers in post-compulsory education and training

Abstract

ABSTRACT This longitudinal study of trainee teachers in post-compulsory education and training was conducted over an 18-month period and explores the interplay between identity and self-esteem in trainees’ professional development. The study contributes to the developing body of work on trainee teachers’ professional identities and serves to offer new insights on the interplay between their identity and self-esteem in the context of post-compulsory education and training. The study draws on a variety of data collected in three phases, including narratives prompted by graphical elicitation and semi structured interviews. It explores the development of trainee teachers during their teacher education course and into their first year of employment, post-qualification. Findings show that the interplay between identity and self-esteem is complex, shifting and overlapping. The way that trainees are shaped by this, leads to differences in their sense of belonging, professional competency and sense of self as a teacher.