Understanding teacher’s identity conflicts : narrative inquiry of teachers’ experiences

Teacher identity and identity conflict has been a researched area in the educational field. Few studies, however, explicitly illustrate how the teachers experienced the conflicts and how they solved them. To fill in this gap, this study aims to provide insight into what identity conflicts the teachers have encountered during their teaching experiences and how they managed the situation. Identity is defined as narrative in the present study. Using biographic narrative interviews, the study captures identity conflicts through four Taiwanese teachers and two Finnish teachers’ narratives. Results show that the teachers encountered conflicts when their ideal disagrees with the reality, the environment, or other stakeholders’ values. Sometimes conflicts may occur within the teaching domain or across different ones, such as work or private life. To solve the conflicts, some teachers chose to resort to their core identity or reconstruct one. They might also keep the conflicting identities or choose to go with the reality instead of their own ideal. Regardless of which strategy the teachers have taken, these conflicts could also be seen positively influencing the identity construction of the teachers. In spite of the conflicts, these teachers consider teaching as enjoyable and satisfying. The study provides useful implications and suggestions for student teachers, teacher educators, and in-service teachers. One of the main implications is the importance of having an integrated higher identity that serves as a core value when conflicts occur. When teachers are more aware of the core identity, they will be more prepared and stable when facing conflicts. Learning from happy and successful teachers also helps future and current teachers evaluate and reflect on their identities. As a result, teachers can benefit from one another’s narratives