Personal and contextual factors: Striving for self- 123docz.net

II. Discussion of the key findings

II.2. Factors that contribute to identity construction and the interaction between these

II.2.1. Personal and contextual factors: Striving for self-affirmation and dealing with

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When Mai struggles to establish teaching and learning conditions consistent with her task perception, which means she was striving for self-affirmation and looking for a sense of self-efficacy (Kelchtermans and Ballet, 2002). The four incidents presented in the section 3.1.2 indicated two important features of Mai‟s stories.

Firstly, all the instructional techniques she managed to employ in her teaching practice were consistent with her task perception. Secondly, Mai experienced satisfaction with the successful application of some instructional activities (being able to establish desirable teaching and learning conditions) and with some achievements with students (being able to be motivated to interact in English).

These two features connected her directly to the experience of self-efficacy which, in turn, generated her positive self-esteem, thus contributing strongly to her self- affirmation as a competent teacher.

It was inevitable that all of the positive emotions that are mentioned in section 3.1.3 (Social Recognition), though to different extents, and at different times, were significantly and symbolically valuable for Mai because they all opened up chances to connect her with her students. This close connection was crucial for a novice teacher. Moreover, it was also worthwhile to note that her acceptance of the gift seemed to assume more of symbolic than materialistic significance as it sent an important message - she was genuinely accepted by the students. Although successful students were not the direct results of her own efforts, these incidents triggered the positive emotions followed by a sense of belonging which was strong enough to create her positive self-esteem and job motivation. These, in turn, confirmed herself as a teacher (Rots, Kelchtermans, and Aeltermans, 2012).

When dealing with vulnerability (section 3.1.4), she had acquired another type of identity. In the first incident when she had to turn to the textbook-based instructional style, Mai found it insecure to apply the interactive and communicative instructional style in the face of lack of confidence and of knowledge of students.

Similarly, in the second incident when she shifted back to the traditional, non- communicative instructional style, she found it impossible to change the status quo.

In the same way, in the incident of entering marks, she had no other choice but follow the well-established rule of the school regarding recording marks for students. In these three incidents, the only one thing Mai had to do to respond to the circumstances was to switch to conservative and submissive actions. However, in the incident regarding dealing with students‟ disruptive behavior, Mai noticed signs of fear from students, and she immediately chose to use confrontation as a strategy.

In addition, when dealing with visibility, the fact that Mai cope with those three incidents (coping with lessons for observation, substitute lessons, and students‟

questions) (section 3.1.5) affirmed the link between visibility and vulnerability. As Kelchtermans and Ballet (2002) claimed, teacher‟s high degree of visibility increased vulnerability.

Additionally, other institutional elements such as school facilities, and various instructional materials and time pressures exerted a profound impact on Mai‟s professional identity development, which kept surfacing throughout her first year.

To sum up, through the influence of the above-mentioned personal and contextual factors, Mai‟s professional identity was formed as a competent teacher who had strived for self-affirmation and had been able to use different strategies to deal with different situations occurred in classroom practice (Norton, 2006).

Personal and contextual factors: Striving for self-affirmation and dealing with

Social professional relationships with mentors

Social professional relationships with colleagues