Being a Teacher in China: A Systematic Review of Teacher Identity in Education Reform

Xiaoyi Liu, John Trent

Abstract


Within times of education reform, teacher identity is expected to undergo changes or development, which in turn exerts influence on various aspects of their professional life. As such, teacher identity in education reform context has received strong attention in literature in the last decade or so. This article aims at providing a systematic and critical review of the empirical research published after 2010 on Chinese teachers’ identity construction. It is an attempt to conceptualize teacher identity construction in times of education reform and the factors mediating this process. A thematic synthesis is adopted to undertake the review of 28 articles. Guided by Wenger’s identity theory, this review synthesizes and discusses three types of teacher identity trajectories: contrive to thrive, adjust to survive, and alienate to wither; three distinctive factor themes: power relations, agency, and emotion. This contextualized review unfolds stories and mediators of teacher identity construction against the backdrop of education reform in China, through which implications for enhancing strong teacher identities are drawn.

https://doi.org/10.26803/ijlter.22.4.14


Keywords


teacher identity; education reform; systematic review

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References


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