Professional Voices - Building Professional Teacher Identity in an Initial Teacher Education Programme - Study Findings

Oct 15, 2026

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Very few professional areas in Australia attract as much political, media, and community attention as teaching, and similarly initial teacher education receives intense scrutiny. The study investigates how secondary preservice teachers’ professional skills and nascent identities develop through informal curriculum, including preservice teacher organisations and focus groups. Using thematic analysis, findings show identity formation opportunities through focus groups, collaborative feedback, peer-led professional learning, and a preservice-teacher social and professional community.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages16

Reading Time40 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Introduction

Developing Teacher Professional Identity

Findings

Professional Voices: Building Professional Teacher Identity in an Initial Teacher Education Programme Jennifer Shand University of Western Australian Abstract: Very few professional areas in Australia attract as much political, media and community attention as teaching, and by association, few areas ofprofessional training attract as much attention as initial teacher education. Recently, the Next Steps: Report of the Quality Teacher Education Review (Department of Education, Skills and Employment, 2022) has drawn attention to the need for preservice teachers to develop professional skills as a way to ensure‘classroom readiness’ before graduating. Research in the higher education sector and within initial teacher courses indicates that nascent professional identities can support the transition from university to profession. Using a thematic analysis approach, this study investigated secondary preservice teachers’perspectives on informal curriculum, such as involvement in preservice teacher organisations and focus groups in an initial teacher education course. Findings indicate that opportunities for teacher identity formation emerged from focus groups and collaborative course feedback, professional learning developed by preservice teachers for preservice teachers and a preservice teacher led social and professional community. Key Words: Preservice teacher identity development; preservice teacher voice; informal curriculum; initial teacher education. Introduction In Australia, secondary initial teacher education (ITE) is provided by both the university and private sectors where students can undertake a postgraduate Master of Teaching or an undergraduate Bachelor of Education. Central to these courses are skills and knowledge framed as: “Know students and how they learn”,“Plan teaching and learning” and“Create and maintain supportive and safe learning environments” as outlined in the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers (AITSL, 2011) . The recent Next Steps: Report of the Quality Teacher Education Review (Department of Education, Skills and Employment, 2022) has drawn attention to the need for preservice teachers to graduate as ‘classroom ready’in areas such as reading instruction, evidence-based practices, cultural responsiveness, and working with parents and carers (pp 41-47). Beijaard (2019), Izadinia (2013) and Wilks et al.(2019) have drawn attention to contribution of ITE programs in developing teacher professional identities which Beijaard et al. (2004) described as central in decisions about teaching practices, teaching content and teacher student relationships. In this respect, ITE programs are an important first environment in teacher professional identity development (Flores, 2020; Izadinia, 2013) . Teacher professional identity development is important as graduates are entering the profession at a time of challenge and change and a nascent professional teacher identity may go some way in assisting preservice teachers prepare for the complexities of the profession (Beauchamp & Thomas, 2011; Mansfield et al., 2014) . Research by Beijaard et al. (2022) draws attention to the need for identity formation to exist alongside teaching and content knowledge and skills development. This is important as identity formation is in part shaped by preservice teachers integrating personal values, beliefs and understanding of previous educational experiences with expectations of their role as educators and responsibilities, practices and realities in schools (Beijaard, 2019), something which can be a source of tension and uncertainty (Beijaard et al., 2004; Flores & Day, 2006) . Research by Flores (2020, 2014) and Beijaard et al. (2022) identify that informal curriculum such as voluntary professional learning offers an opportunity for nascent preservice teacher identity formation. Additionally, the exercise of a preservice teacher voice and agency within ITE programs may support this formati

FAQs

What problem does the study address in initial teacher education?

The study examines the need for preservice teachers to develop professional skills and a nascent professional teacher identity before graduating, especially in relation to classroom readiness expectations.

What approach and data sources does the study use?

The study uses thematic analysis to investigate secondary preservice teachers’ perspectives, including perspectives shaped by informal curriculum such as preservice teacher organisations and focus groups.

How does informal curriculum support teacher identity formation?

Informal curriculum supports identity formation through focus groups and collaborative course feedback, preservice-teacher-led professional learning, and building social and professional community among peers.

Oct 15, 2026

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