Understanding professional identities : a study of primary head teachers

The purpose of this thesis is to gain new insights into the professional identities of the primary head teacher in England today. The specific focus is upon understanding the intersection between personal, professional and policy factors that shape identities. This exploration takes place against the background of two policy documents, namely Children and Their Primary School: a report of the Central Advisory Council for Education (the Plowden Report) of 1967 and Children/ their World/ their Education Final Report and Recommendations of the Cambridge Primary Review of 2009. The thesis considers the wider literature on the construction of identities from a sociological perspective and also focuses upon the smaller body of literature that addresses the question of what it means to identify oneself as a primary head teacher. This study has developed from real questions that have arisen from my personal experience of working as a primary head teacher and therefore has led me to look for a method that will enable me to make sense of my experience, will assist me to encourage other professionals to reflect upon their lives and practice, and will ultimately be able to glimpse new ways of understanding how the identities of the head teacher might be conceptualised. This thesis has sought to encompass the holistic nature of primary education. The study is placed within the theoretical framework of social constructionism and the use of both biographical research methods and auto-ethnography. The thesis sets out the current reality of the identities of the primary head teacher. The implications of that reality are identified as a basis for the recommendations for action. This study provides professional significance for both the researcher and for those working within the context of primary education.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo