International Study of Teacher Professional Identity

Abstract

Introduction. The article is devoted to the international research project “Professional Identity of a Modern Teacher” (2013–2018). Formed professional identity is the key to self-realization and professional and personal development. As well as a developed and formed professional identity ensures successful professional activity, which is very important for the development of society. The purpose of the article is to reveal the content of the professional identity of the modern teacher. Materials and Methods. The main stages and empirical base of research are presented. Based on the analysis of the results of the survey according to the method “Professional Identity of a Higher School Teacher” and taking into account the specifics of the work of a school teacher, in 2017. The structural model of the teacher’s PI content was clarified, the content of the structural components of the model was adjusted, and the teacher’s Professional Identity methodology was created (authors A. Shpona, M. Widner, E. Ermolaeva, T. Bogdanova, S. Silchenkova) Statistical methods were used to analyze the data obtained: a comparison of the groups of respondents by the components under study using the Mann – Whitney U-test, correlation analysis, descriptive statistics, tabular and graphical methods. Results. The main results are given: a teacher’s professional identity model, its structural components, average values of professional identity by blocks for Latvian, Russian and Belarusian samples. Discussion and Conclusions. An international study showed that many Russian and Latvian teachers work with the awareness of the high mission of their professional activities, are aimed at developing students’ competence, cultural and value orientations, and set themselves the task of raising the level of education in society as a whole.