"I am tilting at windmills": Tensions in teacher professional identity from the perspective of the Model of the Agonistic Self

Abstract

In this paper, we present an exploratory study on tensions in teacher professional identity based on the Model of Agonistic Self. The sample comprised nine class and subject teachers employed at two primary schools in Belgrade. The research was conceived as a multiple-case study in which thematic analysis was used as an auxiliary method for analyzing the data obtained via a semi-structured interview. The criterion for the selection of tense situations was the presence of one of the four types of tense relations in the agonistic self: acceptance with critique, productive tension, acute conflict, and permanent conflict. These relations were interpreted as different forms of psychosocial dynamics and ways of resolving psychological tension among participants. Subsequently, we thematically categorized the selected situations. We identified nine themes in relation to which our participants had professional dilemmas. Our findings indicate that the same professional dilemma within a teacher’s self can manifest itself in different kinds of tense relations. This suggests that it is not sufficient to direct research attention towards the content of the narratives about professional dilemmas, but that it is also necessary to explore different mechanisms of psychosocial dynamics through which these tensions develop and get resolved. This perspective on teachers’ professional dilemmas represents a contribution to the creation of new models and the refinement of existing models of teacher professional development.

U ovom radu predstavljamo eksplorativno istraživanje u čijem su fokusu tenzije u profesionalnom identitetu nastavnika, koje smo koncipirali oslanjajući se na model agonističkog selfa. U istraživanju je učestvovalo devet nastavnica predmetne i razredne nastave iz dve beogradske osnovne škole. Istraživanje smo dizajnirali kao višestruku studiju slučaja u kojoj smo kao pomoćnu metodu analize podataka, dobijenih putem polustrukturisanog intervjua, koristili tematsku analizu. Kao kriterijum selekcije tenzičnih situacija koristili smo prisustvo jednog od četiri tipa tenzičnih odnosa u agonističkom selfu: kritičko prihvatanje, produktivna tenzija, akutni sukob i trajni sukob. Ove odnose interpretirali smo kao različite načine odvijanja psihosocijalne dinamike i rešavanja psihološke tenzije učesnica. Selektovane situacije smo, potom, tematski kategorisali. Identifikovali smo 9 tema u vezi sa kojima nastavnice imaju profesionalne dileme. Naši rezultati ukazuju na to da se ista profesionalna dilema u selfu nastavnika manifestuje kroz različite tipove tenzičnog odnosa, što sugeriše da nije dovoljno usmeriti istraživačku pažnju na sadržaj narativa o profesionalnim dilemama već i na različite mehanizme psihosocijalne dinamike putem kojih se date tenzije odvijaju i razrešavaju. Ovakvav pogled na profesionalne dileme nastavnika predstavlja doprinos za osmišljavanje novih i unapređivanje postojećih modela profesionalnog razvoja nastavnika.