Teacher identities in a research‐led institution: In the ascendancy or on the retreat?

Abstract

This article explores how teacher identities are negotiated within a research‐led institution in the UK. Over the last decade a wide range of initiatives has been introduced to promote teaching in higher education. Research has shown, however, that these initiatives have met with limited success in terms of changing predominant values and culture. This article focuses on the formation of teacher identities in a research‐led institution—a setting that offers significant resistance to cultural change. It draws on in‐depth interviews with 11 members of university staff who want to improve their teaching to explore the under‐researched notion of ‘teacher identity’. The data revealed a complex picture. Some people are pursuing a teaching identity with clear intent, drawing on personal values to inform their teaching and feeling relatively untroubled by external constraints. Others are committed to changing prevailing culture and attitudes. There are examples of significant ‘identity struggles’ as people attempt to juggle personal commitments to teaching with the realities of the research culture. The article identifies three main teacher identities: ‘teaching specialists’, ‘blended professionals’ and ‘researchers who teach’. Variation within and across these categories suggests that teacher identities cannot be read off simply from formal role descriptions.