Exploring How COVID-19 Shapes the Professional Identities of South African Student Teachers

Abstract

This article contributes to the literature on teacher identities by exploring how the pandemic affected the professional identities of final year student teachers at a South African university. The researchers collected journals and interviews from seven participants, and analysed the data through thematic analysis. The findings show that the participants' professional identities were enhanced or negatively affected by teaching in a pandemic. The participants whose professional identities were strengthened became more caring and hard working to support learners who had missed several months of school. Other participants, whose professional identities had been negatively affected by the lack of teaching practice, felt less confident and prepared to become teachers. While all the participants struggled with a heavy teaching load, one participant felt that the sheer amount of work prevented him from becoming a "relational" teacher. Schools and universities might strengthen pre-service teachers' professional identities development by discussing what support student teachers require to enact their preferred professional identities during the COVID-19 pandemic.