Teacher Identity as a Dialogical Construction

Abstract

On the basis of Dialogical Self Theory this chapter explores how 14 teachers at Universities of Applied Sciences in the Netherlands and Belgium construct their identity within the context of the European education system. The research question was: ‘How do teachers construct their identity in the midst of contextual demarcations and educational change?’ Data was gathered by means of a web-based questionnaire and semi-structured interviews.This research provides an insight into how teachers construct their unique dynamic composition of positions. Three compositional patterns could be distinguished. In the first place, they exhibit a strong tendency to personalize the job. Secondly, these teachers see themselves as pedagogical mediators. They select information from sources of knowledge, assemble a curriculum and guide the learning process of their students. In this sample they are not involved in knowledge creation. Thirdly, teachers use different dialogical patterns to deal with tension and pressure.