The Use of Occupational Images in Counselor Supervision

Counselor supervision occurs during a critical stage when counselors‐in‐training (CITs) are actively developing their career self‐concept as they adapt to professional life and responsibilities. This article provides an application of a narrative approach for supervisors helping CITs understand how their personal occupational images interplay with adjusting to the work environment. With this understanding, CITs are able to identify aspects of the professional career image that they want to develop and portray in their pursuit of a career in counseling.     

Development of Professional Identity for Counseling Professionals: A Mindfulness-Based Perspective

Professional identity development (PID), which involves transformational learning, is crucial for counselors and trainees. However most current training approaches focus more on specific tasks related to PID without focusing on the transformational learning aspect. Mindfulness is an important component for transformational learning; however, limited effort has been focused on its likely impact on PID. This conceptual article describes the need for integrating mindfulness into PID, and explains applications of mindfulness practices in assisting counselors to enhance development of a professional identity in the course of completing transformational tasks through a transformative learning process. Recommendations for future practice and research are included.     

Professional Identity Development of Counselor Education Doctoral Students

The authors used grounded theory to explore professional identity transitions for 23 counselor education doctoral students in a cross‐section sample based on nodal points in their programs. The transformational tasks that doctoral students face involve integration of multiple identities, evolution of confidence and legitimacy, and acceptance of responsibility as the source of knowledge about the profession. The authors offer implications for training doctoral students.     

A Mindfulness Experiential Small Group to Help Students Tolerate Ambiguity

This study explored the lived experiences of 20 counselors‐in‐training (CITs) in a mindfulness experiential small group. Using grounded theory, the authors described a 5‐dimensional model for navigating ambiguity. Findings suggest mindfulness training provides CITs self‐reflection skills and a greater ability to manage cognitive complexity.     

The importance of orientation: implications of professional identity on classroom practice and for professional learning

Previous work on new teacher professional identity has focused on identity as a process of negotiation between individual and contextual factors. These negotiations are often filled with a struggle between personal agency and structures that prevent the enactment of an ideal professional self. This study introduces and discusses three teacher professional identity orientations (self, classroom, and dialogic) and the implications of each orientation on a teacher’s professional identity and classroom practice. While each focal teacher featured in the study drew from similar sources of professional identity (experiences as students, classroom practical experience, and theory/research), the teachers varied in the degree of importance accorded to each identity source. This variation led to differences in approach to their roles as teachers as well as differences in their work with students. Using a qualitative, comparative case study methodology to highlight features of each professional identity orientation, this study provides evidence of discourse related to each orientation and discusses implications of identity orientation in each case study teacher’s classroom practice. After the discussion and analysis of the data, the author offers recommendations for teacher educators (pre-service and in-service) and researchers related to understandings of professional identity development and implications for the work of pre-service teacher education and continuing professional development.     

The teacher as manager in continuing and professional education

This paper presents a model dealing with the teacher as manager of self‐directed and interactive learning programs and discusses the value of this model for educators working within continuing and professional education contexts. It provides a framework for the planning, implementation and evaluation of learning programs which promote self‐directed and interactive learning and comprises an outline of phases of learning programs and the roles of teachers (and learners) in these programs.

Major goals related to the process of continuing and professional education today include: promotion of the learners’ ability to work and interact effectively together, fostering their commitment to lifelong learning and development of their self‐directed learning skills. The model presented in this paper is a means of promoting the achievement of these goals. It emphasises the development of skills of independence, self‐direction, interaction, communication, leadership, group membership and conflict resolution. Such skills can be transferred to the workplace to enable adults to accomplish their tasks effectively, achieve their goals, work co‐operatively in teams as leaders and team members and take greater responsibility for their work and continued learning.     

Making Creative Spaces: The Art and Design Classroom as a Site of Performativity

Rather than taking a transformational role in schools, new art and design teachers quickly become subject to ‘school art’ orthodoxy. Theories of subjectivity and the development of professional identity within communities of practice can feel far removed from the classroom. This article seeks to make clearer the processes by which teacher identity and practice becomes normalised and proposes ways that such processes may be resisted. With reference to Foucault, Lyotard, Bruner, Wenger and Bey, the classroom as a site of performativity is contrasted with alternative heterotopia‐like sites away from the spectre of observation, where different identities and behaviours can be explored. These temporary sites of difference are an antidote to the orthodoxy of the ‘school art’ condition and open up the possibility for teachers, both new and experienced, to implement a more hospitable, participatory pedagogy.     

中小学教师职业认同的阶段发展论

作为中小学教师专业发展的核心内容之一,职业认同是中小学教师自我成长的内在动力。因此,教师职业认同已成为教师教育的热点研究主题。在已有研究结果的基础上,本文提出了中小学教师职业认同的阶段发展理论,将中小学教师职业认同的形成和发展过程分为三个阶段六个时期,并详细分析了各阶段的发展特点、发展任务及制约因素,据此从师范生的选拨和培养,以及教师的入职与在职培训等方面分析了该理论对中小学教师专业成长的启示。     

Profiling teachers’ sense of professional identity

This study shows that professional identity should not be viewed as a composed variable with a uniform structure. Based on the literature and previous research, we view teachers’ job satisfaction, self‐efficacy, occupational commitment and change in the level of motivation as indicators of teachers’ professional identity. Using two‐step cluster analysis, three distinct professional identity profiles have empirically been identified, based on data of 1214 teachers working in secondary education in the Netherlands. These profiles differed significantly regarding the indicators of teachers’ professional identity. Teachers belonging to the found profiles did not significantly differ in their amount of experience.     

Crossing borders to teach English language learners

A teacher’s identity is thought to evolve in a continuous, situated fashion, amidst dynamic interaction between cognitive, affective, social, cultural and political factors. However, the literature provides little insight into the impact on the ongoing identity construction of class teachers when they encounter a few students with English as an additional language (EAL) in their mainstream classes. This paper reports on a year‐long study involving eight class teachers in four different New Zealand primary schools. Data from in‐class observations, interspersed by a series of individual reflective discussions, revealed how the presence of EAL students in the mainstream setting created tensions, the resolution of which shaped class teachers’ professional identities. Tensions surfaced in data on class teachers’ self‐efficacy perceptions, selection of teaching roles, relations with support teachers and professional development priorities. These findings thus provide fresh insights into how new situations may impact on class teachers’ self‐identities. In particular, this investigation suggests the need for schools, teacher educators and policy makers to assist teachers in challenging, and indeed moving outside of the socially prescribed borders that have traditionally defined their professional identities within the school, in order to build shared practices and more collaborative ways of solving problems.     

Legitimacy and identity in teacher education: a micro‐political struggle constrained by macro‐political pressures1

To gain a clear sense of teacher educators at work, we need to look closely at the context in which they practice. Any attempt to address the questions of what works and the nature of evidence must be situated in the macro‐political context that constrains the work of teacher educators struggling for legitimacy and identity within both the university and the professional field of teaching. We characterize the macro‐political context as a set of neo‐liberalist forces that works to undermine the central role universities have played in the development of the nation state. As the university's role has become focused on supporting economic development and global competitiveness, this context is at odds with longstanding agendas of professional responsibility and self‐governance in teacher education. In this policy context, we argue that teacher educators need to engage in rigorous practice‐based inquiry that addresses issues of policy and governance, particularly those that tend toward direct government intervention or professional governance.     

Self‐efficacy,reasoning ability,and achievement in college biology

This study compared the relationships of self‐efficacy and reasoning ability to achievement in introductory college biology. Based on the hypothesis that developing formal and postformal reasoning ability is a primary factor influencing self‐efficacy, a significant positive correlation was predicted between reasoning ability and degree of self‐efficacy to complete biological tasks. Further, reasoning ability was predicted to be more highly correlated with course achievement than self‐efficacy. The study involved pre‐ and posttesting 459 introductory biology students. Both self‐efficacy and reasoning ability increased during the semester. As predicted, self‐efficacy and reasoning ability were positively correlated. Depending on the nature of the achievement measure, reasoning ability accounted for some 15 to 30 times more variance in achievement than self‐efficacy. Also, as predicted, reasoning ability was a strong predictor of self‐efficacy, but self‐efficacy was not a strong predictor of reasoning ability. Self‐efficacy estimates and achievement were higher for the concrete tasks than for the formal tasks and higher for the formal tasks than for the postformal tasks. In general, students tended to overestimate their abilities to carry out the concrete, formal, and postformal tasks. Results support the study's working hypothesis that intellectual development continues for some students during the college years, that a postformal level of intellectual development exists, and that reasoning ability is a primary factor influencing both self‐efficacy and achievement. Student overestimation of their abilities may contribute to complacency, lack of effort, and to less than optimal achievement. Consequently, it may be advantageous early in the semester to provide students with particularly challenging tasks that “shock” them out of their complacency and perhaps increase their effort, their reasoning skills, and their achievement. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 44: 706–724, 2007     

Beyond Discourse to Emancipatory Action: Lessons From an Undergraduate

One undergraduate's transformational story of self‐discovery and personal development frames this discussion of the importance of undergraduate involvement in social justice research.     

Principals in schools with a positive school culture

This study focuses on the profile of principals who seem to be able to shape the school culture to best encourage teaching and learning. Data from a representative sample of primary schools (N = 46) were collected through questionnaires for principals and for teachers (N = 700) and semi‐structured interviews with the principals. Functioning, well‐being and personal characteristics of the principal, structural and cultural characteristics of school, and organisational context are examined. Compared to their opposites, principals in schools with cultures stimulating professional development, combine (1) type A, achievement‐oriented behaviour, (2) transformational leadership, (3) a preference for tasks related to education matters and people management and (4) effective time management allowing them to devote most of their time to their preferred role and task component.     

The development of student teachers’ professional identity

This study focuses on student teachers’ perceptions of their professional identity. The respondents are students enrolled in a three‐year course in secondary education teaching at bachelor level. Questionnaires were filled out by first‐year, second‐year and third‐year students from two colleges. The questionnaire included four scales: commitment to teaching, professional orientation, task orientation and self‐efficacy. In the first five months of the first‐year course, a shift in students’ task orientation was observed: students developed a more pupil‐centred view on teaching. Practical experience with classroom teaching again caused a shift: students focused less on the subject matter, on maintaining order in the classroom, on the long‐term educational qualification targets and self‐efficacy decreased. Students with work placement experience developed a more ‘realistic’ view of learning and teaching compared to students without this experience. A final important difference in professional identity is based on students’ gender: while male students tend to attach more importance to discipline in the classroom, their female counterparts focus more on student involvement.     

Teacher educators working on their own professional development: goals,activities and outcomes of a project for the professional development of teacher educators

This article reports on the professional development of teacher educators within the context of a national project, ‘Professional Quality of Teacher Educators,’ where a professional standard and a standards‐based procedure of (self‐)assessment and professional development have been created and effectively implemented. This project offered a unique opportunity to analyze the goals, activities and outcomes of the process of professional development of teacher educators in a situation in which this development is promoted by the professional group as a whole. In our research, we used 25 completed portfolio's made by teacher educators participating in the standards‐based procedure of (self‐)assessment and professional development. We found that teacher educators, participating in this procedure, prefer the development of their knowledge and skills over the development of their attitudes and beliefs. For their professional development, the teacher educators experiment with new activities within the work‐situation and interact with colleagues within their professional community, more than that they study theory or reflect on their work. The participating teacher educators experience a positive impact at the personal level (change in cognition and behavior). More than one‐third of them share outcomes with others. Above, they report a more positive self‐esteem and more enthusiasm for teacher education. This article may motivate other countries or institutions to invest in the professional development of teacher educators. Further research is necessary on the essence of the professional qualities of teacher educators and the relation of their professional development with student learning.     

Photo essay: The border is …

Based on autobiographical data, the paper describes six ideal types of teacher identities conceived as different patterns of perceiving and coping with professional demands. One hundred and twenty full‐time seventh through ninth grade teachers were selected in a stratified random sample. Teachers’ experience ranged from 5 to 29 years and 12.5% of the selected teachers were female. Data were collected in the form of semi‐structured interviews that started with a short overview of the interviewee's professional biography [Stegreiferzählung]and continued with self‐image and attitudes, social and professional mobility, vocation, start as a classroom teacher, professional competence, best years and burn‐out, professional satisfaction, and social network questions. The first step of data analysis included content and frequency analyses of these topics. In a second step, the Stegreiferzahlungwas analyzed by classifying the different biographical phases and defining biographical types. In a third step, identity‐types were constructed by using the biographical type as an “independent” variable to analyze the systematically explored topics according to Mex Weber's method of forming ideal types. This led to the six ideal types of teacher identity: the stabilization‐type, the development‐type, the diversification‐type, the problem‐type, the crisis‐type, and the resignation‐type.     

A Vygotskian perspective on teacher education

Contemporary teacher education demonstrates the continued use of competency‐based, personality‐based and inquiry‐based approaches. These approaches are commonly regarded as representing alternative paradigms for designing curriculum and pedagogy. From a Vygotskian perspective, characterized by the use of bridging concepts relating individual functioning and personal development to sociocultural process and setting, these approaches may serve to provide elements for a more comprehensive paradigm of professional development. Drawing on Vygotskian theory, a teacher‐education environment offers support to trainee teachers for developing a professional identity. A central element is that trainees explore the practice of teaching for its underlying public meanings and as these meaning relate to their own structures of personal meanings. Such an exploration involves the shaping and testing of personally‐meaningful action in professional practice. Commitment to meanings found to be valid and practicable constitutes the core of professional identity. The task students face in developing professional identity on the basis of an assignment of meaning to teaching needs an appropriate teacher‐education environment. These conditions are worked out from a Vygotskian perspective on professional development.     

Trainee teachers with dyslexia: personal narratives of resilience

This paper tells the stories of two trainee teachers and their personal experiences of dyslexia. Both informants were English and training to be primary school teachers in England. Through drawing on their own experiences of education, the stories illustrate how dyslexia has shaped the self‐concept, self‐esteem and resilience of each informant. The narratives presented in this paper illustrate powerfully the ways in which teachers can have a positive or negative impact on the self‐concepts of students with dyslexia. Both had been inspired by teachers they had met, and these positive role models had given them the confidence to pursue their own ambitions. However, both had encountered teachers who lacked empathy and patience, and these teachers had a detrimental impact on their self‐concepts. For both of these trainee teachers, personal experiences of dyslexia also shaped their professional identities as teachers. Both trainees described themselves as caring and empathic teachers, suggesting that personal experiences of dyslexia had a positive impact on teacher professional identity.     

Understanding the Researcher Identity Development of Counselor Education and Supervision Doctoral Students

Counselor education and supervision (CES) doctoral students play an important role in contributing to knowledge in the counseling profession. CES doctoral students were interviewed to explore their researcher identity, a unique self‐concept that possibly includes research self‐efficacy and interest. Issues critical to facilitating researcher identity development included confidence, the researcher voice, faculty support, and opportunities for research.