A photovoice study on early career EFL teachers’ professional identity construction in Indonesian Islamic primary schools
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.28918/erudita.v5i1.12094Abstract
Even though teacher identity has been globally investigated by previous researchers, early career teacher professional identity construction receives scanty attention. To fill this void, the present photovoice study aims to explore how EFL teachers construct their professional identities during their early career of teaching in Islamic primary schools. Designed in participatory visual research, two early career EFL teachers in Indonesian Islamic primary schools were recruited to participate. Data were collected through photovoice method and analyzed adapting thematic analysis. Study findings demonstrate that the EFL teachers portrayed their practiced identities in their early career. These teacher identities covered teaching-practices and methodologies, socio-cultural context, teacher-student relationship, professional development and support, and personal reflections. The study carries implications for teacher education programs and the professional development of EFL educators in Islamic primary schools. Recognizing the importance of cultural and religious dimensions in teacher identity development, teacher training programs should incorporate strategies to prepare early career teachers for the professional identity construction posed by Islamic educational settings.
Keywords:
References
Ai, B., Li, X., & Li, G. (2022). When city meets rural: Exploring pre-service teachers’ identity construction when teaching in rural schools. SAGE Open, 12(1), 1–14. https://doi.org/10.1177/21582440221079910
Banegas, D. L. (2022). Four spheres of student-teachers’ professional identity formation through learning about curriculum development. Journal of Education for Teaching, 49(3), 370–383. https://doi.org/10.1080/02607476.2022.2105644
Beijaard, D., Meijer, P. C., & Verloop, N. (2004). Reconsidering research on teachers’ professional identity. Teaching and Teacher Education, 20(2), 107–128. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2003.07.001
Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3(2), 77–101. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1191/1478088706qp063oa
Castañeda, J. A. F. (2011). Teacher identity construction: Exploring the nature of becoming a primary school language teacher [Doctoral thesis, Newcastle University]. Newcastle University Repository. https://theses.ncl.ac.uk/jspui/handle/10443/1326
Cobb, D. J., Harlow, A., & Clark, L. (2018). Examining the teacher identity-agency relationship through legitimate peripheral participation: A longitudinal investigation. Asia-Pacific Journal of Teacher Education, 46(5), 495–510. https://doi.org/10.1080/1359866X.2018.1480010
Diasti, K. S. (2021). Constructing professional identity: Investigating stress factors and resilience experienced by EFL novice teachers. Scholaria: Jurnal Pendidikan Dan Kebudayaan, 11(1), 1–10. https://doi.org/10.24246/j.js.2021.v11.i1.p1-10
Dikilitaş, K., & Bahrami, V. (2022). Teacher identity (re)construction in collaborative bilingual education: The emergence of dyadic identity. TESOL Quarterly, 57(4), 987–1012. https://doi.org/10.1002/tesq.3168
Dinham, J., Chalk, B., Beltman, S., Glass, C., & Nguyen, B. (2017). Pathways to resilience: How drawings reveal pre-service teachers’ core narratives underpinning their future teacher-selves. Asia-Pacific Journal of Teacher Education, 45(2), 126–144. https://doi.org/10.1080/1359866X.2016.1204424
Flores, M. A. (2020). Feeling like a student but thinking like a teacher: A study of the development of professional identity in initial teacher education. Journal of Education for Teaching, 46(2), 145–158. https://doi.org/10.1080/02607476.2020.1724659
Garza-Rodríguez, N., Muñoz-Cantúd, L. M., Rodríguez-Bulnes, M. G., & Esparza-Moreno, I. (2021). Professional teacher identity: Methodological alternatives for qualitative research. Revista Lengua y Cultura, 3(5), 108–117. https://doi.org/10.29057/lc.v3i5.7839
Goktepe, F. T., & Kunt, N. (2021). “I’ll do it in my own class”: Novice language teacher identity construction in Turkey. Asia Pacific Journal of Education, 41(3), 472–487. https://doi.org/10.1080/02188791.2020.1815648
Gu, M. M., Jiang, L., & Ou, W. A. (2022). Exploring the professional teacher identity as ethical self-formation of two multilingual native English teachers. Language Teaching Research, 1–23. https://doi.org/10.1177/13621688221117061
Han, I. (2021). Development of professional identity and related metacognitive thinking procedures of English language teachers through spontaneous collaboration for pedagogical problem-solving. SAGE Open, 11(2), 1–13. https://doi.org/10.1177/21582440211009483
Hökkä, P., Eteläpelto, A., & Rasku-Puttonen, H. (2012). The professional agency of teacher educators amid academic discourses. Journal of Education for Teaching, 38(1), 83–102. https://doi.org/10.1080/02607476.2012.643659
Irani, F. H., Chalak, A., & Heidari Tabrizi, H. (2020). Assessing pre-service teachers’ professional identity construction in a three-phase teacher education program in Iran. Asian-Pacific Journal of Second and Foreign Language Education, 5(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40862-020-00100-3
Ivankova, N. V., Creswell, J. W., & Stick, S. L. (2006). Using mixed-methods sequential explanatory design: From theory to practice. Field Methods, 18(1), 3–20. https://doi.org/10.1177/1525822X05282260
Kingery, F. P., Naanyu, V., Allen, W., & Patel, P. (2016). Photovoice in Kenya: Using a community-based participatory research method to identify health needs. Qualitative Health Research, 26(1), 92–104. https://doi.org/10.1177/1049732315617738
Lincoln, Y., & Guba, E. G. (1985). Naturalistic inquiry. Sage.
Mitchell, C. (2011). Doing visual research. Sage.
Mockler, N. (2011). Beyond “what works”: Understanding teacher identity as a practical and political tool. Teachers and Teaching: Theory and Practice, 17(5), 517–528. https://doi.org/10.1080/13540602.2011.602059
Nazari, M., Miri, M. A., & Golzar, J. (2021). Challenges of second language teachers’ professional identity construction: Voices from Afghanistan. TESOL Journal, 12(3). https://doi.org/10.1002/tesj.587
Nguyen, M. H. (2017). Negotiating contradictions in developing teacher identity during the EAL practicum in Australia. Asia-Pacific Journal of Teacher Education, 45(4), 399–415. https://doi.org/10.1080/1359866X.2017.1295132
O’Boyle, A. (2018). Encounters with identity: Reflexivity and positioning in an interdisciplinary research project. International Journal of Research and Method in Education, 41(3), 353–366. https://doi.org/10.1080/1743727X.2017.1310835
Palmer, R. J., Hunt, A. N., Neal, M., & Wuetherick, B. (2015). Mentoring, undergraduate research, and identity development: A conceptual review and research agenda. Mentoring and Tutoring: Partnership in Learning, 23(5), 411–426. https://doi.org/10.1080/13611267.2015.1126165
Pennington, M. C., & Hoekje, B. J. (2014). Framing English language teaching. System, 46, 163–175. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2014.08.005
Schellings, G., Koopman, M., Beijaard, D., & Mommers, J. (2021). Constructing configurations to capture the complexity and uniqueness of beginning teachers’ professional identity. European Journal of Teacher Education, 46(3), 1–25. https://doi.org/10.1080/02619768.2021.1905793
Schutz, P. A., Cross, D. I., Hong, J. I. Y., & Osbon, J. N. (2007). Teacher identities, beliefs, and goals related to emotions in the classroom. In P. A. Schutz, R. Pekrun (Eds.), Emotion in Education (pp. 223–241). Academic Press. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-012372545-5/50014-9
Solari, M., & Martín Ortega, E. (2022). Teachers’ professional identity construction: A sociocultural approach to its definition and research. Journal of Constructivist Psychology, 35(2), 626–655. https://doi.org/10.1080/10720537.2020.1852987
Sutton-Brown, C. A. (2014). Photovoice: A methodological guide. Photography and Culture, 7(2), 169–185. https://doi.org/10.2752/175145214X13999922103165
Teng, (Mark) Feng. (2020). A narrative inquiry of identity construction in academic communities of practice: voices from a Chinese doctoral student in Hong Kong. Pedagogies, 15(1), 40–59. https://doi.org/10.1080/1554480X.2019.1673164
Trent, J., & Decoursey, M. (2011). Crossing boundaries and constructing identities: The experiences of early career mainland Chinese English language teachers in Hong Kong. Asia-Pacific Journal of Teacher Education, 39(1), 65–78. https://doi.org/10.1080/1359866X.2010.540893
Tsui, A. B. M. (2007). Complexities of identity formation: A narrative inquiry of an EFL teacher. TESOL Quarterly, 41(4), 657–680. https://doi.org/10.1002/j.1545-7249.2007.tb00098.x
Walkington, J. (2005). Becoming a teacher: Encouraging development of teacher identity through reflective practice. Asia-Pacific Journal of Teacher Education, 33(1), 53–64. https://doi.org/10.1080/1359866052000341124
Wang, C., & Burris, M. A. (1997). Photovoice: Concept, methodology, and use for participatory needs assessment. Health Education and Behavior, 24(3), 369–387. https://doi.org/10.1177/109019819702400309
Wang, C. C. (2006). Youth participation in photovoice as a strategy for community change. Journal of Community Practice, 14(1–2), 147–161. https://doi.org/10.1300/J125v14n01
Wang, P. (2021). Too many constraints: Five first-year EFL teachers’ professional identity construction. European Journal of Teacher Education, 44(2), 180–199. https://doi.org/10.1080/02619768.2020.1758662
Zacharias, N. T. (2017). A study of three Indonesian teachers’ participation in a US graduate program. Indonesian JELT: Indonesian Journal of English Language Teaching, 12(1), 39–59. https://doi.org/10.25170/ijelt.v12i1.1460
Zare-ee, A., & Ghasedi, F. (2014). Professional identity construction issues in becoming an English teacher. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 98, 1991–1995. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2014.03.633
Zhong, L., & Craig, C. (2020). A narrative inquiry into the cultivation of self and identity of three novice teachers in Chinese colleges---through the evolution of an online knowledge community. Journal of Education for Teaching, 46(5), 646–663. https://doi.org/10.1080/02607476.2020.1775054
Zhu, G., Rice, M., Li, G., & Zhu, J. (2020). EFL student teachers’ professional identity construction: A study of student-generated metaphors before and after student teaching. Journal of Language, Identity and Education, 00(00), 1–16. https://doi.org/10.1080/15348458.2020.1777872
Zhu, J., & Zhu, G. (2018). Understanding student teachers’ professional identity transformation through metaphor: an international perspective. Journal of Education for Teaching, 44(4), 500–504. https://doi.org/10.1080/02607476.2018.1450819
Downloads
Published
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Fachri Ali, Reza Adinul Akbar, Yulianita Listya Dewi
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Erudita: Journal of English Language Teaching is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. An author who publishes in Erudita: Journal of English Language Teaching agrees to the following terms:
- Author retains the copyright and grants the journal the right of first publication of the work simultaneously licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgment of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal
- Author is able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal’s published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book) with the acknowledgment of its initial publication in this journal.
- Author is permitted and encouraged to post his/her work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of the published work (See The Effect of Open Access).
