The changing identities of history teachers in an Irish school

Abstract

This article explores how the nature of history as a subject has shaped the subcultural identities of the eight teachers in the History Department of an Irish post-primary school. Using a biographical, cultural and micropolitical framework popular within symbolic interactionism, this case study is based on data gathered over three years from classroom observation and from interviews and interactions with these history teachers. It questions whether changing attitudes to the subject have altered the professional craft knowledge they apply in the classroom and concludes that as these teachers grow older and the subject loses its significance within the curriculum, a crisis of identity becomes perceptible. © 2004 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.