The overarching goal of this book volume is to illuminate how research on science teacher identity has deepened and complicated our understanding of the role of identity in examining teacher learning and development. The collective chapters, both theoretical and empirical, present an array of conceptual underpinnings that have been used to frame science teacher identity, document the various methodological approaches that researchers have implemented in order to study science teacher identity within various contexts, and offer empirical evidence about science teacher identity development. The findings of the studies presented in this volume support the argument that teacher identity is a dynamic, multidimensional and comprehensive construct, which provides a powerful lens for studying science teacher learning and development for various reasons. First, it pushes our boundaries by extending our definitions of science teacher learning and development as it proposes new ways of conceptualizing the processes of becoming a science teacher. Second, it emphasizes the role of the context on science teacher learning and development and pays attention to the experiences that teachers have as members of various communities. Third, it allows us to examine the impact of various sub-identities, personal histories, emotions, and social markers, such as ethnicity, race, and class, on science teachers’ identity development. The book aims at making a unique and deeply critical contribution to notions around science teacher identity by proposing fresh theoretical perspectives, providing empirical evidence about identity development, offering a set of implications for science teacher preparation, and recommending directions for future research.

The overarching goal of this book volume is to illuminate how research on science teacher identity has deepened and complicated our understanding of the role of identity in examining teacher learning and development. The collective chapters, both theoretical and empirical, present an array of conceptual underpinnings that have been used to frame science teacher identity, document the various methodological approaches that researchers have implemented in order to study science teacher identity within various contexts, and offer empirical evidence about science teacher identity development. The findings of the studies presented in this volume support the argument that teacher identity is a dynamic, multidimensional and comprehensive construct, which provides a powerful lens for studying science teacher learning and development for various reasons. First, it pushes our boundaries by extending our definitions of science teacher learning and development as it proposes new ways of conceptualizing the processes of becoming a science teacher. Second, it emphasizes the role of the context on science teacher learning and development and pays attention to the experiences that teachers have as members of various communities. Third, it allows us to examine the impact of various sub-identities, personal histories, emotions, and social markers, such as ethnicity, race, and class, on science teachers’ identity development. The book aims at making a unique and deeply critical contribution to notions around science teacher identity by proposing fresh theoretical perspectives, providing empirical evidence about identity development, offering a set of implications for science teacher preparation, and recommending directions for future research.

In this edited volume, science education scholars engage with the constructs of identity and identity construction of learners, teachers, and practitioners of science. Reports on empirical studies and commentaries serve to extend theoretical understandings related to identity and identity development vis-à-vis science education, link them to empirical evidence derived from a range of participants, educational settings, and analytic foci, examine methodological issues in identity studies, and project fruitful directions for research in this area. Using anthropological, sociological, and socio-cultural perspectives, chapter authors depict and discuss the complexity, messiness, but also potential of identity work in science education, and show how critical constructs–such as power, privilege, and dominant views; access and participation; positionality; agency-structure dialectic; and inequities–are integrally intertwined with identity construction and trajectories. Chapter authors examine issues of identity with participants ranging from first graders to pre-service and in-service teachers, to physics doctoral students, to show ways in which identity work is a vital (albeit still underemphasized) dimension of learning and participating in science in, and out of, academic institutions. Moreover, the research presented in this book mostly concerns students or teachers with racial, ethno-linguistic, class, academic status, and gender affiliations that have been long excluded from, or underrepresented in, scientific practice, science fields, and science-related professions, and linked with science achievement gaps. This book contributes to the growing scholarship that seeks to problematize various dominant views regarding, for example, what counts as science and scientific competence, who does science, and what resources can be fruitful for doing science.

Understanding teachers’ professional identities and their development is key to unpacking teachers’ professional lives, the quality of their instruction, their motivation and commitment to teach, and their career decision-making. This book features a number of scholars from around the world who represent a variety of disciplines, scientific paradigms, and inquiry methods in researching teacher identity. By bringing these chapters together, this volume initiates active scholarly conversations and extends the boundaries of teacher identity research and practice. This collection of chapters provides significant insight into teacher identity and will be essential reading for pre-service and in-service teachers, teacher educators, school administrators, professional developers, and policy makers at various levels.

Before today’s teachers are ready to instruct the intellectual leaders of tomorrow, they must first be trained themselves. Every teacher experiences an induction process that can make their early years as an educator nerve-racking. Focusing on this period of time in a teacher’s career can lead to greater teacher retention and success. Examining the Teacher Induction Process in Contemporary Education Systems addresses the construct of teacher induction through theoretical and empirical research. It also provides an in-depth conceptualization of being a novice teacher through micro-political realities of teaching in different geographical and cultural regions. While highlighting topics including adaptation challenges, mentor-mentee interaction, and teacher retention, this book is ideally designed for school administrators, early career teachers, educational researchers, educational professionals, and academicians seeking current research on early career educator adaptation and practices.

"This study considered the complex nature of professional identity development among post-induction urban science teachers. These teachers were navigating multiple reform efforts, both in the teaching and learning of science, and in the neoliberal sense of helping to "turnaround" an urban high school under threat of closure by the state for its "underperforming" status. The state asked a local research university to establish an Educational Partnership Organization and become the school's governing body to guide reform efforts. Research highlighting teacher voice in such reform contexts is rare, particularly for post-induction urban science teachers; this multiple case study addressed this gap. Holland, et al.'s (1998) construct of Figured Worlds was used to operationalize identity to credit cultural contexts and teacher agency. Phenomenological interviews with teachers, classroom observations of their instruction, video-stimulated debriefs, and lesson artifact collection informed data collection. Classroom observations were analyzed using the Reformed Teaching Observation Protocol (RTOP) (Sawada et al., 2000) to assess reform-based practices, along with the Inquiry Science Observation Protocol (ISIOP) (Minner & DeLisi, 2012) to assess teachers' verbal practices. Data were analyzed using abductive analysis and Atlas.ti software to facilitate coding and theme development of individual cases as well as across cases. A theory of emerging identity elements was developed within the complex ecologies of reform. This theory informed analysis efforts to explore the ways teachers understood, appreciated, accepted, and committed themselves to reform-minded science practices as well as their confidence and competence (UAaCCC) in enacting such practices. Key findings included learning how collaboration, a culture of "all-in," and high stakes testing significantly shaped participant teacher identity. This study offers useful methodological implications for studying professional science teacher identity in the context of reform."--Pages xiii-xiv.

Through the interpretation of data sources including interviews, observation notes, portfolio assessments, and inquiry groups, I present the experiences, identities, and values in setting goals for assessments that four early-career science teachers shared. Across these data sources, I draw attention to findings around a) the language and positioning that the participants shared as they grew into their roles as science teachers; b) the ways that participant identities informed their goals for assessments and student learning, and c) the ways that teacher-designed formative assessments represented the identities of four early-career middle and secondary school teachers. I conclude with implications for teacher education strategies for building responsive and reflective assessment practices, for teacher education support for science teacher identity construction, and future research around identity in teacher education portfolio assessments.