Professional Identity Construction of Two EFL Teachers in Vocational High Schools: Evidence from Indonesia

Abstract

While studies on teacher professional identity construction have been extensively documented, there is a paucity of research that explores English as a foreign language (EFL) teachers’ professional identity construction in vocational high school contexts. To address such a gap, this study has two purposes: (1) to investigate how EFL teachers in vocational high school construct their teachers’ professional identity and (2) to investigate how their professional identity is developed over time. The two EFL teachers who participated have been teaching in Vocational High School more than 10 years in different institution and region. Not only that all the participants also received the Indonesian Government’s acknowledgement as “Certificate of Educator.” The woman is a teacher in Pasuruan, and the other is a man who teaches English in Malang. This study was narrative inquiry and the data of this study were primarily garnered through online semi-structured interview with the participants via WhatsApp message and voice note almost 25 to 60 minutes during February to April 2021. In this study, the participants recognized that their identity was pseudonymous, and the data analyzed and presented would not put them in peril. This study also used some artifacts, such as their certificates, photo of their works or activities of the participants to complete the data. After collecting the data, the data analysis was presented by using an iterative process, alternating between listening to interview records, reading the transcripts, coding, categorizing codes into themes, and consulting the themes. The data integrated with the three dimensions of narrative inquiry. They are 1) interaction refers on the participants’ social relationship and interaction with their colleagues (professional community/forum) and students; 2) temporality explains their struggle to reconstruct professional identity on the earlier career, current career and future; 3) situation talks about how their place (school, family) influence their professional identity. The study’s findings suggest that 1) the participants’ teacher professional identity is constructed by social-collegial interaction, school policy enactment, and past experience and future aspirations, and 2) their identity is developed across time geared by family support, gendered perception, engagement with colleagues, and interest in the English language. This paper ends with suggestions for in-service teacher education to design pedagogy that leads teachers into systemic professional identity trainings.