Qualitative Analysis of the Professional Identity of Pre-Service Teachers

Abstract

The professional teaching identity is a construct in continuous evolution. The university stage is the period in which pre-service teachers come into contact with the field in which they will later develop their professional practice. This article focuses its analysis on objectives such as the impact of the vocation on the professional teaching identity and the influence that the environment exerts on the professional identity of future teachers. For this, a qualitative investigation has been carried out, in which 23 students of the Infant Education degree have been interviewed. The content analysis and speech analysis have been carried out through the Nvivo 12 Plus software. which provided clues that have allowed examining the professional identity of Early Childhood Education teachers. Results corroborate the incidence of aspects such as experiences in the first years of life and the formation of attitudes in relation to others in the formation of the teaching vocation. As well as other stories such as the student's personality, the stimulation of the environment or the existence of teachers with good practice in the construction of identity in aspiring teachers. The relevance of the university stage in the initial training in the profession is highlighted, especially the realization of practices in schools (practicum) as critical aspects in the identity construction of the participants, impacting on their professional decision, in the construction of their conception of education and teaching in addition to influencing a prospective view of the teacher who wishes to become.