Novice language teacher identity construction: similarities, differences, and beyond

Abstract

Abstract Scholarship on novice language teachers has often overlooked how novices comparatively develop personalized trajectories in the initial years. This study views novice-ness through the lens of identity construction and examines how three Iranian English language teachers in the first, second, and third years of teaching comparatively constructed their teacher identities. Data were collected from semi-structured interviews, classroom observations, post-class discussions, and reflective journals. Data analyses revealed that the teachersʼ identity construction featured similarities (emotion labor, agency conflicts, and identity standard tensions) and differences (sense of belonging, future selves, and resistance). The study demonstrates that novice teachers’ identity construction is influenced by power relations and contextual discourses as well as particularities, which collectively, underscore the importance of reconceptualizing novice-ness in light of teachers’ identity-related professional development.