Teacher identity and classroom environment. How can teacher identity affect the classroom environment?
In determining an appropriate answer to the question, the first question to address is, “Is the teacher aware of her/his identity?”
In the mainstream educational system, the teacher is likely a member of the majority and as such sees the world normalized through their everyday experiences. They may perceive that their identity/experiences are shared by all and approach the classroom from what may be considered an acultural position. This, in turn, separates them from the experiences of their non-majority students. While they may be well-intentioned, compassionate and caring, they may not appreciate or understand the diverse situations that their students come from. Students, in turn, may perceive that the teacher does not understand or care about their situation; ethnoculturally, socioeconomically, geopolitically or spiritually. The teacher, in an effort to address the needs of all students, may end up addressing the needs of none as they continue to teach from a dominant social position.
If the teacher is not of the majority, then other situations may arise. Is the teacher attempting to present the mainstream position or are they addressing the individualistic needs of their students. Are they aware of their own unique identity to the point that they are comfortable in their own skin or do they view their identity as something to overcome in order to be successful, are they or have they assimilated to the mainstream at the expense of their individuality?
Other considerations to your question are ethnocultural identity, socioeconomic status identity, geographic identity (this may also be related to urban or rural differences), religious/spiritual identity.
However, as important as identity factors are, the relationships that the teacher forms with her or his students are far more important. If an authentic atmosphere of acceptance and care is established, the diversity of identities of the individuals in the classroom can strengthen the classroom community for the benefit of all.
Awareness on Teacher's identity facilitates them to empower, explicitly build upon and challenge their experiences and beliefs.
http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.550.2417&rep=rep1&type=pdf
Learner not as a recipient of disciplinary knowledge, but an agent in the knowledge-making process.
The learner is a maker of meaning, a designer who works with available semantic resources, but who is nevertheless forever redesigning the world of meaning. In the process of redesign, they are adding something of their identity. They redesign the world, and themselves, therefore The Teacher as designer in the new media age should identify appropriately in the making of their learners.
http://newlearningonline.com/_uploads/3_Kalantzis_ELEA_7_3_web.pdf
Hello
Kindly I would recommend to see in my profile some of my papers. You may find some interesting ideas.
Kind regards
NP
Teacher's identity does affect the classroom environment because the teacher sets the tone and culture of the classroom based on his values, attitudes and belief system. The teacher is consistently modifying and remodifying his expectations of learners based on what the learners brought into the classroom and also their expectation.
Teachers identity does affect the classroom environment,especially their world view. see also Eugene okorie in this plaftform.
Dear Dr. Rahimi,
Hi
Based on the model proposed by Cheek, there are four different types of identity orientations: personal, social, relational and collectivel. I suppose there might be a greater probability of a teacher-centered classroom when a teacher's personal identity is of a greater effect than his social identity. Or a teacher's collective identity, including national identity, may also affect the content of to be taught material, management of classroom and also issues such as critical thinking. Of course, we should rember that identity is dynamic and a person might be personally oriented at a specific period of his life but socially oriented at another time.
Identity is direct outcome of one's personality and abilities. And we know personality affects our interactions, which is dominated by authority. I mean a person in authority has more influence on the person with low or no authority. It is true in case of a political leader, religious leader, a boss and a teacher too. In a classroom, teacher directly or indirectly influences the learners with his identity thus introduces some characteristics in his/her personality/identity. But learner is under the influence of more than one teacher at a time and in different times. Consequently, learner's personality is a mixture of different influences. Sometime learner may face a dilemma of opposite influences, which can rather have harming effect. Statistics suggests that students are random collection in a class, so should be almost same every year, but still teachers feel that X batch was better than Y and students may also praise or criticize a same team of teachers. Thus we feel that influence of a teacher's identity on a student as a whole is combination of factors rather than a single dominant factor as such.
Teacher identity does affect the classroom and learning environment. If a teacher is self-aware, he or she is better able to empower students, and therefore enhance learning. One area where self-awareness is particularly important is regarding one's cultural beliefs and biases, which definitely affect teaching effectiveness. To understand one's beliefs and biases requires full understanding of one's own culture. When we understand and appreciate our own heritage, we are better able to understand and appreciate that of others, specifically our students. This ability is increasingly important as our classrooms become more and more culturally diverse - which leads to a broader view of our world, and of each other. And that is an important lesson to teach.
Dear Rahimi.
In my opinion, the teacher identity is essential in the environment achieved in class. I think you can achieve that student understand a difficult concept with a deep knowledge of it to address their doubts, but also with a personality to forward them to their ability to understand. Wonders is achieved by transmitting the power they have to learn. A positive and constructive identity does wonders in a mind that wants to learn.
Thanks.
In extending Vijay's discussion on "authority," the distinction of Lazonov (Suggestopaedia and suggestology--Accelerated Learning) between authoritarian and authoritative has been useful in my experience. In personality theory, the authoritarian personality is insistent, demanding, self-centered, domineering and close-minded in my opinion. The authoritative teacher, by contrast, demonstrates deep background, knowledge and experience that generates an attitude of confidence and appreciation in students. The authoritarian character can be impatient, hostile, abusive and neglectful or oppositional in a dictatorial way, whereas the authoritative personality connects the students'
I think teacher identy effec tclassroom when the student enjoy learning. The teacher. en joyment depent on teacher intelligence, emotionai intelligence and to what extent he or she can motivate them to sucsses
Rahimi, you ask an interesting question and the context for it is not clear to me. I don't happen to subscribe to a theory of psychological identity so I can't answer the question as it is framed.
However, I will say that the teacher and every other person in the classroom affect the environment.
A theory of power relationships would help us uncover that individuals in the environment affect the environment in the different ways depending on who they are and what their roles may be. Cultural-historical or socio-cultural theories help us understand the context for individual relationships in the learning environment. I'm assuming that you are interested in how teachers create positive change and/or create negative changes. If that is the case, what characteristics of the teacher are in play? Critical pedagogy might be useful here and would support a theory of identity. You might look at works by Joe L. Kincheloe or Michel Foucault.
El lenguaje y la tonalidad de la comunicación, las solicitudes y las respuestas son formas d ehacerlo.
Our face is a mirror & the outset the identity of face of a teacher gets reflected in his face no sooner he/she entries the classroom hall. With the knowledge of the teachers of subject ,the method of his presentation & teaching styles with the movement of the expression & sometimes with his smiling approach play an important part & create an everlasting impression for the students.
The teacher of such standing create an everlasting impression among the students & its environment of classroom & there are insistence where the students acquiring his status & career in his life quite often remember such teachers who have planted the roots for the career of the students.
Researcher, I think identity of the teacher has to do with the package made up of language, carriage, manner of speech, level of education and ability to exhibit these in teaching/learning situations, among others. The students' perception of the teacher's identity, most importantly reveals whether the identity desire of the teacher has been made known to them. All these will impact either positively or negatively on the classroom environment. The environment itself is no small aspect, since most times, it determines to what extent the identity of the teacher is revealed. I would prescribe that (a) the psychological (b) the sociological (c) the biological and (d) the aesthetic aspects of the teacher identity impact greatly on environment and learning outcomes.
In determining an appropriate answer to the question, the first question to address is, “Is the teacher aware of her/his identity?”
In the mainstream educational system, the teacher is likely a member of the majority and as such sees the world normalized through their everyday experiences. They may perceive that their identity/experiences are shared by all and approach the classroom from what may be considered an acultural position. This, in turn, separates them from the experiences of their non-majority students. While they may be well-intentioned, compassionate and caring, they may not appreciate or understand the diverse situations that their students come from. Students, in turn, may perceive that the teacher does not understand or care about their situation; ethnoculturally, socioeconomically, geopolitically or spiritually. The teacher, in an effort to address the needs of all students, may end up addressing the needs of none as they continue to teach from a dominant social position.
If the teacher is not of the majority, then other situations may arise. Is the teacher attempting to present the mainstream position or are they addressing the individualistic needs of their students. Are they aware of their own unique identity to the point that they are comfortable in their own skin or do they view their identity as something to overcome in order to be successful, are they or have they assimilated to the mainstream at the expense of their individuality?
Other considerations to your question are ethnocultural identity, socioeconomic status identity, geographic identity (this may also be related to urban or rural differences), religious/spiritual identity.
However, as important as identity factors are, the relationships that the teacher forms with her or his students are far more important. If an authentic atmosphere of acceptance and care is established, the diversity of identities of the individuals in the classroom can strengthen the classroom community for the benefit of all.
In determining an appropriate answer to the question, the first question to address is, “Is the teacher aware of her/his identity?”
In the mainstream educational system, the teacher is likely a member of the majority and as such sees the world normalized through their everyday experiences. They may perceive that their identity/experiences are shared by all and approach the classroom from what may be considered an acultural position. This, in turn, separates them from the experiences of their non-majority students. While they may be well-intentioned, compassionate and caring, they may not appreciate or understand the diverse situations that their students come from. Students, in turn, may perceive that the teacher does not understand or care about their situation; ethnoculturally, socioeconomically, geopolitically or spiritually. The teacher, in an effort to address the needs of all students, may end up addressing the needs of none as they continue to teach from a dominant social position.
If the teacher is not of the majority, then other situations may arise. Is the teacher attempting to present the mainstream position or are they addressing the individualistic needs of their students. Are they aware of their own unique identity to the point that they are comfortable in their own skin or do they view their identity as something to overcome in order to be successful, are they or have they assimilated to the mainstream at the expense of their individuality?
Other considerations to your question are ethnocultural identity, socioeconomic status identity, geographic identity (this may also be related to urban or rural differences), religious/spiritual identity.
However, as important as identity factors are, the relationships that the teacher forms with her or his students are far more important. If an authentic atmosphere of acceptance and care is established, the diversity of identities of the individuals in the classroom can strengthen the classroom community for the benefit of all.
Diversity on behalf of students plays an important role in this as students perceive their teachers from two angles. First one is the exterior (Physical outlook) and the other one is the interior that is the knowledge he or she has. But I have experienced that interior has an upper hand and diversity gets neutralized when interior and expressing that interior effectively is main and ultimate decisive factor of teacher's identity in a classroom. These kind of qualities of a teacher are responsible for his or her success and ultimately identity.
Communication is the negotiation of meaning--according to language and communication experts.
If your identity communicates "I am a caring teacher", "I am an easily irritated-with-silly questions teacher", or "I am an easy going teacher", students will look at their own identity and work to negotiate your behavior to fit their preference. You will try to do the same with them.
It is a subtle tug-of-war. It is what will make dynamics in every class different.
The culture of the school also has an impact on the class environment. Although the study below did not address this issue, it does show how the school culture varies over time and by cohort. This idea could be useful background to your question.
Maxwell, T.W. & Thomas, A. R. 1991. "School climate and school culture." The Journal of Educational Administration 29, 2, 72-82.
Best wishes.
I see the authenticity of teachers rooted in their ability to be able to express their personal thoughts, feelings and knowledge in the classroom. Unfortunately, the way most education systems work does not allow this to happen enough. Most of them dictate curricculum, and demand strict centralised control and asessment, leaving teachers running after these dictates instead of more deeper learning. The added value of teachers is in their ability to express their uniquness in the ways they teach, and their personal points of view regarding the materials being taught. The lack of teachers expressing their identity leave classrooms barren and impersonal. All teachers should be asking themselves "Why me? What is it that I am giving to my students that is only mine to give? What is it that I do so differently and that only I do it this way?" "What do I give that others don't?"
It is very interesting to see two closely related but distinctive themes in the answers to this question. One theme is focused on teacher identity in relation to cultural diversity - clearly this is an important issue, that the teacher is aware of their own cultural identity and its impact on their teaching and relationships with learners. The second theme, which is less represented in the answers so far, is about the teacher's identity in relation to knowledge, to being an expert and to being a learner. These two apparently separate themes are however related because they are both about relationships, because of the relationship between knowledge and power, and because of the way that teachers use 'modelling' as an important strategy in their everyday work. Modelling is a bit complicated but here goes...
Teaching includes an element of modelling. By modelling I mean that the teacher may model being a learner and may also model broader values as well, for example as a citizen. This modelling may be implicit, meaning that the teacher may expect the learners to subconsciously benefit from the teacher's modelling of learner strategies or wider values. Alternatively, some teachers will make their modelling explicit, by 'stepping out' of their teacher role within a classroom and reflecting on their own learning or wider values. In my work I have mainly focused on modelling by teacher educators, who often model 'being a teacher' for the benefit of their student teachers. However, in the attached open access chapter I do speculate that classroom teachers also should consider using explicit modelling of being a learner - for the benefit of their learners. Modelling 'being a learner' might involve modelling being a 'historian' or being a 'scientist' depending on the subject discipline involved - in this case the explicit modelling would involve the teaching 'thinking aloud' about how they approached or thought about the problem that the class is tackling.
Modelling effectively means that a teacher must include 'being a learner' as part of their professional identity. Explicit modelling tends to make a teacher vulnerable - because they are admitting that they are still learning and because they are reflecting and admitting doubt about their knowledge - this might doubt about technical aspects within the subject discipline or doubt about cultural perspectives. This explicit modelling requires teacher confidence and may arguably be suppressed in high accountability settings such as schools, colleges or universities where managerialist approaches have been implemented, such as excessive value placed on simplistic use of student evaluative feedback.
Teaching includes relationships and teachers use modelling, implicit or explicit, as a strategy. This means that teacher identity is critical. Teachers need to develop a strong confident professional identity that includes a clear identity as a lifelong learner - for me this means being a learner within the subject discipline being taught but also being a learner within the field of teaching.
A colleague and I are just writing about teacher identity. We have been researching the mindsets of a small group of teachers who we feel are responsive to the needs of 21st century learners. They are a group of primary and secondary teachers we have been following over two years. One of the qualities we found in common is their adventurous and playful lives. Parker Palmer argues and we agree, that we teach who we are far more than we teach what we know. These dispositions greatly influence the classroom environment.
Hello Gloria, Pete, Bonnie, and ken,
Thank you very much for your profound inspirational thoughts, ideas and viewpoints.
best wishes
ali
It goes a long way to affect the class because one can not give what he/she do not have
Teacher identity discourses: Negotiating personal and professional spaces.
- Engage in culture / community
- Participate / practice
- Individual effort
https://books.google.co.in/books?id=RIiiAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA186&lpg=PA186&dq=Alsup,+J.+(2006).+Teacher+identity+discourse:+Negotiating+personal+and+professional+spaces.+Mahwah,+NJ:+Lawrence+Erlbaum+Associates,+Inc.&source=bl&ots=bQL-ytHYLd&sig=iFp37XtP3Nfi7H1YvDPNpcgTz38&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiPmrelvuvQAhUIO48KHRB0CfsQ6AEIGTAA#v=onepage&q=Alsup%2C%20J.%20(2006).%20Teacher%20identity%20discourse%3A%20Negotiating%20personal%20and%20professional%20spaces.%20Mahwah%2C%20NJ%3A%20Lawrence%20Erlbaum%20Associates%2C%20Inc.&f=false
Negative:
The identity of being teacher is a hindrance to effective teaching, for sharing knowledge as a friend.
Positive: the identity may help you sustain discipline in the class room.
Hello Oluwafemi, Hisham, Krishnan, and Jestin , thank you very much for your ideas and viewpoints ,
I believe teacher identity can have massive influence on classroom environment in terms of students' affective and cognitive characteristics and competencies .
It is the pleasurable atmosphere in the classroom with always attract the student & a teacher performing his responsibility .If students have an liking & effective way of teaching for the student ,student will wait all the time the arrival of teacher in a classroom.
This is my personal opinion
Several aspects of dimensions of teacher professional identity are closely related to teachers' beliefs about instruction.
https://www.tandfonline.com/eprint/QFv8ctj2PZeFSQQhRNWX/full
I think the teacher's identity has a partial effect on the classroom environment, but there are other factors such as the teacher's ability to manage time and answer students' questions, etc.
Best Regards Ali Rahimi
Hello,
Well recently I am also working on a similar topic and i am really interested in your findings.
i am looking forward to work with you
Knowing oneself leads to honest and real teaching.
And it facilitates students to be real in class.
We model for our students.
For example in Psychology of Religion, I asked students who were selected by a lottery, to share their own spiritual experiences and how they understood them psychologically. Not an easy task, but very meaningful. One of their own started his presentation with, "I am an alcoholic." The class paid close attention and learned how a religious experience cured him...he joined the AA chapter at the university.
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