The construction of teacher identity in an alternative education context

The focus of this article is the construction of teacher identities in an alternative school setting. Using a sociocultural theoretical understanding of ‘identity’ development based on the notions of ‘relational agency’ (Edwards, 2007) and ‘relational equity’ (Boaler, 2008), an adaptation of Burke's (1945) dramatic ‘pentad’ is used to analyse teacher interview scripts about being and becoming a teacher. Findings suggest that teachers construct multiple identities in an alternative schooling context that are focused on their perceived role within the school – teacher, co-learner, principal. Three formats of teacher identity – replacing, blending, privileging - are offered to explore teacher identity