Exploring beginner foundation phase teachers' negotiations of professional identity in Johannesburg

Abstract

This research study examines the negotiations of two Foundation Phase (FP) beginner teachers’ professional identities within their communities of practice in relation to their initial teacher training. The study was conducted with two FP beginner teacher candidates during their early years of professional teaching. The theoretical framework consists of a triangulation of the following theoretical aspects: initial teacher training and Wenger’s (2009) theory on communities of practice, which is related to the participants’ context of employment and professional identity. The study focused on the negotiations of the professional identities that take place in the two participants’ communities of practice based on the fact that they both received their teacher training at The Wits School of Education, and that they are both currently teaching in Johannesburg inner city schools. A qualitative research method was undertaken in attaining data, through three semi-structured interviews with the two FP beginner teacher participants. The tool of analysis employed was thematic content analysis which served to identify patterns that emerged from the data sets and which related to the research questions. An analysis of the data obtained revealed a total of eight themes, which can be intrinsically linked to the participants’ actual beginner teaching experiences, connections with their learners and parents, and their teaching methods. The analysis of these themes highlighted the multiple aspects that contributed to the participants’ negotiations of their professional identities, such as their emotions, personal identities and their ability to connect the theory and practice of the content learned during their teacher training. The results strongly suggest that it is essential to explore FP beginner teachers’ negotiations of their professional identities, as they will reveal the shortcomings in teacher training, the challenges in transitioning from student teacher to professional teacher roles, and the factors that hinder the teaching and learning process. These include the disjuncture between theory and practice, communicative language barriers, and the lack of support and guidance from leadership.