A Narrative inquiry into the professional identity formation of second career EFL teachers

Download

index.pdf

Date

2016

Author

Aslan, Reyhan

Metadata

Show full item record

Item Usage Stats

501
views

292
downloads

This study aims to have a clearer understanding of the motivations of second career teachers for pursuing teaching as a career, the role of attributes they bring from their previous careers in their teaching practices and the challenges they face after their transition to teaching. Another aim of this study is to investigate the perceptions of second career EFL teachers coming from diverse disciplinary backgrounds in relation to their professional identity and the factors shaping their perceptions about their professional identities. As a narrative inquiry, the data were collected via personal data questionnaire, interviews, in-class observations and outsider comments (students or colleagues). The results of this study revealed that the motivations of participants to choose teaching as a new career path were dissatisfaction with their previous job, life-changing events, personal influence and pragmatic and altruistic reasons. Another result was that the challenges of second career teachers after their transition to teaching were primarily related to teaching materials, time and classroom management, and insufficient knowledge about English language learning and teaching. The results also indicated that participants could establish connections between their background and teaching. Besides, the study found that all of the participants spoke about the changes in their perceptions about teaching as they learned to be a teacher. Finally, the study showed that there are contextual and personal factors playing a pivotal role in shaping participants’ perceptions about teaching.

Subject Keywords

Career changes., English teachers., Occupational mobility., English teachers, English teachers

URI

http://etd.lib.metu.edu.tr/upload/12620360/index.pdf
https://hdl.handle.net/11511/26042

Collections

Graduate School of Social Sciences, Thesis

Suggestions

OpenMETU
Core

An Exploratory case study of pre-service EFL teachers' sense of efficacy beliefs and perceptions of mentoring practices during practice teaching Rakıcıoğlu Söylemez, Anıl Ş; Eröz Tuğa, Betil; Department of English Language Teaching (2012) Although practice teaching is a central component of teacher education, there are still a number of organizational and practical problems encountered which have attracted considerable research. For instance, the nature of the relationship among pre-service and cooperating teachers; how this relationship plays a role in shaping pre-service teachers’ learning to teach during practice teaching are issues we still know little about (Borg, 2011). In order to understand the interwoven relationship between experie...
The perceptions of pre-service EFL teachers on their professional identity formation throughout practice teaching Taşdemir, Hanife; Seferoğlu, Gölge; Department of English Language Teaching (2016) This qualitative case study aims at exploring the pre-service EFL teachers’ opinions on the essentials of teacher professional identity, their own professional identity development throughout practice teaching, and the effects of practice teaching and reflection on their understanding of their professional identity. Thirty-one pre-service EFL teachers, enrolled to the second course of the practicum component FLE 404 Practice Teaching, participated in the study. Data were gathered through pre-practice teachi...
An Investigation into Turkish english language teachers’ perceived professional development needs, practices and challenges Korkmazgil, Sibel; Seferoğlu, Gölge; Department of English Language Teaching (2015) This phenomenological research study seeks to explore English language teachers’ professional development needs, practices and challenges that they experience in their professional growth. Data were collected from 41 English language teachers working at public schools in 14 different cities in Turkey through semi-structured interviews conducted in 2012. The findings suggested that highest level of needs were indicated with regard to developing teachers’ English language proficiency and speaking skills, impr...
A Case study on pre-service english language teachers‟ cognitions and practices regarding most commonly experienced in-class challenges Çimen, Şeyda Selen; Daloğlu, Ayşegül; Department of Foreign Language Education (2017) This study explores cognitions and practices of pre-service English language teachers in relation to dealing with most commonly experienced in-class challenges in foreign language teaching, the influences that shape their cognitions and practices, and the relationship between their cognitions and practices. Adopting qualitative research design, a case study was conducted to provide an account of pre-service English language teachers’ cognitions and practices. Data for this study were collected in two main s...
The experiences of students with disabilities in an english language teacher education program: a case study on preservice teachers with visual impairments Çınarbaş, Halil İbrahim; Karaman, Abdullah Cendel; Department of English Language Teaching (2016) This qualitative case study aimed to explore the experiences of two pre-service teachers with visual impairments in an English language teaching teacher education program in terms of inclusive practices, accessibility, need accommodation, and institutional issues. Two pre service teachers with visual impairments, four teacher educators, six peers, and three administrators participated in this study. The data were collected through individual and focus group interviews, observations, reflective journals, and...

Citation Formats

R. Aslan, “A Narrative inquiry into the professional identity formation of second career EFL teachers,” M.S. - Master of Science, Middle East Technical University, 2016.