The development of teacher interpersonal competence throughout the career : professional identity

Aiming at a better understanding of teacher burn out and attrition, the main object of this study is the development of teacher interpersonal expertise , with a special focus on the professional identity development, one of the components of teacher expertise. Two other main components, interpersonal behavior and knowledge, are discussed elsewhere. Drawing upon the concepts of the Dynamic Systems Theory, teacher identity is seen as a system of continuous processes of change and is measured on two interrelated time-scales, micro and macro. The research will focus on the characteristics of the interpersonal component of identity and will explore how this is related by work characteristics and personal variables. The personal as well as the professional identity are object of research. In this longitudinal mixed method study, in-depth interviews and semi-structured questionnaires are conducted and analyzed according to the grounded theory approach, from which identity portraits will be constructed. Analyzing teacher’s narratives this way will enable us to gain insight in the complexity of becoming, being and staying a teacher