Journal for Christian reflections in the context of social sciences and humanities

Caritas et veritas 2023, 13(2):113-122 | DOI: 10.32725/cetv.2023.027

A Narrative Inquiry about Teachers’ Professional Identity – Stories of Lived Experience

Marco Paulo Maia Ferreira
Instituto Superior de Educação e Ciências, ISEC Lisboa, UIDEF, Instituto de Educação, Universidade de Lisboa

This research study aims to understand teachers’ professional identity based on autobiographical narratives. The study falls into the qualitative research paradigm, based upon social constructionist practices, where the narratives help to understand how people have understood events and experiences, including their hopes and plans. The participants were fourteen secondary school teachers with five to eleven years of teaching experience. The data collection method was storytelling, and the data analysis was based on a thematic analysis procedure. Three themes emerged from the data analysis, and we can conclude that the desire to be a teacher starts before one’s University days; the internships taken during the bachelor course constitute one of the main factors in developing teachers’ professional identity; and being a teacher means availability to lifelong learning.

Keywords: narrative inquiry, teacher’s professional identity, qualitative research methodology, thematic analysis, continuous professional development

Accepted: May 3, 2024; Published: May 18, 2024  Show citation

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Ferreira, M.P.M. (2023). A Narrative Inquiry about Teachers’ Professional Identity – Stories of Lived Experience. Caritas et veritas, 13(2), 113-122. doi: 10.32725/cetv.2023.027

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