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ERIC Number: EJ1473814
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2025
Pages: 15
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-2369-4211
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: 0000-00-00
"How" Not "What": The Significance of Tensions and Discourse on Identity Transformation during a TEAL Teaching Practicum
Karen Densky
BC TEAL Journal, v10 n1 p1-15 2025
Becoming a teacher involves more than the acquisition of a new set of skills and knowledge. It involves a change in one's identity, and this change is often precipitated by tensions experienced during a teaching practicum (Mezirow, 2000). This multiple case study explores the points of tension experienced by 18 student teachers during practicum in a Teaching English as an Additional Language (TEAL) certificate program at a university in British Columbia to better understand identity transformation when one becomes a teacher. The study aims to address two questions: "What are the points of tension experienced by student teachers during their practicum?" and "What are the discourses they engage in to talk about these tensions?" The results indicate that student teachers experience personal, interpersonal, knowledge, cultural, pedagogical, and methodological tensions. However, more significantly, four discourses (blaming, explaining, questioning, and problem-solving) were identified and explored for their transformational potential. Recommendations for developing a teacher education practice that supports transformational discourses are presented.
Association of BC Teachers of English as an Additional Language. #206 - 640 West Broadway, Vancouver BC, V5Z 1G4, Canada. Tel: 604-736-6330; Fax: 604-736-6303; e-mail: admin@bcteal.org; Web site: https://ojs-o.library.ubc.ca/index.php/BCTJ
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Canada
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A