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Understanding Teacher Ethico-Political Identity Formation from a Foucauldian Perspective

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Title: Understanding Teacher Ethico-Political Identity Formation from a Foucauldian Perspective
Language: English
Authors: Desmond Carswell (ORCID 0009-0000-4926-9180), Paul F. Conway (ORCID 0000-0002-6513-7310)
Source: British Educational Research Journal. 2025 51(1):321-343.
Availability: Wiley. Available from: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030. Tel: 800-835-6770; e-mail: cs-journals@wiley.com; Web site: https://www.wiley.com/en-us
Peer Reviewed: Y
Page Count: 23
Publication Date: 2025
Document Type: Journal Articles
Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education
Postsecondary Education
Elementary Education
Descriptors: Preservice Teachers, Ethics, Political Issues, Self Concept, Elementary School Teachers, Teacher Characteristics, Professional Identity, Foreign Countries, Politics of Education, Preservice Teacher Education
Geographic Terms: Ireland
DOI: 10.1002/berj.4079
ISSN: 0141-1926
1469-3518
Abstract: In recent years, we have seen an increased politicisation and objectification of what teachers should know, what teachers should do and who teachers should be while they are doing it. While evident across the continua of teacher education, such politicised constructions are particularly acute at initial teacher education. Given such attention to constructing what has been described as a 'preferred' teacher identity, this paper explores how prospective teachers construct themselves in ethico-political terms (i.e., how prospective teachers construct the relationship that they have with themselves and how they account for themselves in that regard). Informed by a Foucauldian perspective and using a composite case that draws on interview data (photovoice and semi-structured interviews) from a small sample (n = 4) of prospective Irish primary school teachers at various stages during their final semester of initial teacher education, this paper addresses ethico-political identity in terms of substance, authority sources, self-practices and telos. Findings illuminate prospective teacher ethico-political identity as: (i) substance as the basis for nascent teacher practical knowing-in-action and pedagogical sensitivities; (ii) temporally organised authority sources; (iii) dynamic and interrelated self-practices; and (iv) telos as a form of identity prolepsis that emphasises three major valuational endpoints. The paper concludes by contemplating the generativity of an ethico-political conceptualisation of teacher identity (re)formation for teacher education purposes in terms of its conceptual, contextual, critical and reflective utility.
Abstractor: As Provided
Entry Date: 2025
Accession Number: EJ1460401
Database: ERIC
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  Value: <anid>AN0183978221;bed01feb.25;2025Mar26.05:33;v2.2.500</anid> <title id="AN0183978221-1">Understanding teacher ethico‐political identity formation from a Foucauldian perspective </title> <p>In recent years, we have seen an increased politicisation and objectification of what teachers should know, what teachers should do and who teachers should be while they are doing it. While evident across the continua of teacher education, such politicised constructions are particularly acute at initial teacher education. Given such attention to constructing what has been described as a 'preferred' teacher identity, this paper explores how prospective teachers construct themselves in ethico‐political terms (i.e., how prospective teachers construct the relationship that they have with themselves and how they account for themselves in that regard). Informed by a Foucauldian perspective and using a composite case that draws on interview data (photovoice and semi‐structured interviews) from a small sample (n = 4) of prospective Irish primary school teachers at various stages during their final semester of initial teacher education, this paper addresses ethico‐political identity in terms of substance, authority sources, self‐practices and telos. Findings illuminate prospective teacher ethico‐political identity as: (i) substance as the basis for nascent teacher practical knowing‐in‐action and pedagogical sensitivities; (ii) temporally organised authority sources; (iii) dynamic and interrelated self‐practices; and (iv) telos as a form of identity prolepsis that emphasises three major valuational endpoints. The paper concludes by contemplating the generativity of an ethico‐political conceptualisation of teacher identity (re)formation for teacher education purposes in terms of its conceptual, contextual, critical and reflective utility.</p> <p>Keywords: ethico‐political teacher identity; initial teacher education; prospective teachers</p> <hd id="AN0183978221-2">Key insights</hd> <p></p> <hd id="AN0183978221-3">What is the main issue that the paper addresses?</hd> <p>Within the context of increased politicisation of state‐sanctioned constructions of teacher identity and attendant implications for teacher education, this paper addresses prospective Irish primary school teacher ethico‐political identity formation. Using a Foucauldian‐based framework, we exemplify prospective teacher identity formation as a reactive and interactive ethico‐political process.</p> <hd id="AN0183978221-4">What are the main insights that the paper provides?</hd> <p>Establishing prospective teacher identity formation in terms of substance, authority sources, self‐practices and telos, we argue that an ethico‐political understanding of prospective teacher identity is generative for teacher education purposes in terms of its conceptual, contextual, critical and reflective utility.</p> <hd id="AN0183978221-5">INTRODUCTION</hd> <p>In recent years, as evidenced in the proliferation of codifications of teaching and teacher competence, we have seen the increased politicisation of state‐sanctioned constructions of teacher identity (Carswell & Conway, [<reflink idref="bib14" id="ref1">14</reflink>]; Mulcahy, [<reflink idref="bib55" id="ref2">55</reflink>]; Sachs & Mockler, [<reflink idref="bib21" id="ref3">21</reflink>]; Sfard & Prusak, [<reflink idref="bib66" id="ref4">66</reflink>]; Zembylas, [<reflink idref="bib80" id="ref5">80</reflink>]). Described as 'preferred' (Zembylas, [<reflink idref="bib80" id="ref6">80</reflink>]), this expansive identity construct incorporates teachers' knowing, practice(s) and being/becoming. As such it has significant implications for the governmentality of teacher identity vis‐à‐vis teacher education. Applying Foucault ([<reflink idref="bib27" id="ref7">27</reflink>]), this 'preferred' identity operates as a 'general politics of truth' (1977, p. 131) regarding what constitutes good teaching and what it means to be a good teacher (Carswell & Conway, [<reflink idref="bib14" id="ref8">14</reflink>]). Representative of the 'values and rules of action' (Foucault, [<reflink idref="bib31" id="ref9">31</reflink>], p. 25) that the prospective teacher is incited/invited to enact, it is the object of an entire 'ensemble formed by the institutions, procedures, analyses, reflections, the calculations and tactics' (Foucault, [<reflink idref="bib28" id="ref10">28</reflink>], p. 102) including, for example, ministries of education, regulatory bodies/standards offices and higher education institutions. Objectified and reified in initial teacher education structures/processes (Ball, [<reflink idref="bib4" id="ref11">4</reflink>], [<reflink idref="bib5" id="ref12">5</reflink>]; Ball et al., [<reflink idref="bib6" id="ref13">6</reflink>]; Perryman et al., [<reflink idref="bib60" id="ref14">60</reflink>]; Wenger, [<reflink idref="bib77" id="ref15">77</reflink>]), it has significant performative power in terms of shaping the discursive environment wherein prospective teachers operate, with attendant implications for how prospective teachers constitute themselves. In short, it has significant socialisation, subjectification and qualification implications for the prospective teacher (Biesta, [<reflink idref="bib8" id="ref16">8</reflink>], [<reflink idref="bib9" id="ref17">9</reflink>]) in terms of entry into the profession.</p> <p>Within this context, our concern relates to understanding how prospective Irish primary school teachers construct themselves as teachers and how they account for themselves in that regard. We believe that such an understanding is generative for teacher education purposes vis‐à‐vis an enhanced focus on the 'lived reality' and 'subjective experiences' (Gale & Parker, [<reflink idref="bib32" id="ref18">32</reflink>], p. 738) of 'being' a prospective teacher within the context of 'becoming' a teacher. For example, how do prospective teachers see themselves as teachers and how do they wish to be seen; what inspires prospective teachers and why; what experiences shape how prospective teachers see themselves and in what ways; what values do prospective teachers hold, why do they hold such values and where do these values come from; what are prospective teachers concerned about, why are they concerned about it and how do they engage/manage such concerns. Incorporating prospective teachers' sense of being into objectified processes of becoming, we believe, is beneficial for enhancing prospective teachers' sense of belonging to their own initial teacher education (and indeed to the profession). This, we believe, is an ethico‐political undertaking.</p> <p>Informed by Foucault ([<reflink idref="bib30" id="ref19">30</reflink>], [<reflink idref="bib31" id="ref20">31</reflink>]), our understanding of the ethico‐political is framed by his conceptualisation of both the 'values and rules of action that are recommended to individuals through the intermediary of various prescriptive agencies' (Foucault, [<reflink idref="bib31" id="ref21">31</reflink>], p. 25) and the enactment of 'real behaviour' by 'individuals in relation to rules and values that are recommended to them' (Foucault, [<reflink idref="bib31" id="ref22">31</reflink>], p. 25). Importantly, this 'real behaviour' evidences what Clarke ([<reflink idref="bib16" id="ref23">16</reflink>], p. 196) refers to as 'the social, and therefore ethico‐political, practices of teaching'. Residing in the margins between what is recommended (the political) and what is accepted in relation to such recommendations (the ethical), ethico‐political teacher identity can be understood as a negotiated fusion of the political and the personal (see Hansen, [<reflink idref="bib42" id="ref24">42</reflink>]) or, as argued by Infinito ([<reflink idref="bib44" id="ref25">44</reflink>], p. 160), a 'contingent response' to 'one's existential situation including knowledge of that situation, awareness of its relation to the past, and the skills one has to effect the future of that situation'. In this regard, ethico‐political identity refers to how one relates to oneself vis‐à‐vis the political context one finds oneself in. Unravelling, therefore, how prospective teachers constitute themselves ethico‐politically requires a framework that is sufficiently expansive to cater for sociocultural, contextual and biographical variables and conceptually comprehensive to reveal the complexity of identity formation as a dynamic process. We believe that a Foucauldian‐based framework of ethico‐political identity (Clarke, [<reflink idref="bib16" id="ref26">16</reflink>]; Foucault, [<reflink idref="bib30" id="ref27">30</reflink>], [<reflink idref="bib31" id="ref28">31</reflink>]) is a generative tool for doing so.</p> <hd id="AN0183978221-6">A FOUCAULDIAN ETHICO‐POLITICAL FRAMEWORK</hd> <p>Foucault's ([<reflink idref="bib30" id="ref29">30</reflink>], [<reflink idref="bib31" id="ref30">31</reflink>]) ethical self‐formation is the basis for Clarke's ([<reflink idref="bib16" id="ref31">16</reflink>]) four axes of ethico‐political identity vis‐à‐vis teaching, which we utilise in the context of prospective teacher learning and development. We now outline our use of each of Clarke's ([<reflink idref="bib16" id="ref32">16</reflink>]) axes in terms of their roots in Foucault's ([<reflink idref="bib30" id="ref33">30</reflink>], [<reflink idref="bib31" id="ref34">31</reflink>]) writing.</p> <hd id="AN0183978221-7">Axis 1: The substance of teacher identity</hd> <p>We use Clarke's ([<reflink idref="bib16" id="ref35">16</reflink>], p. 190) first axis 'the substance of teacher identity' to refer to the subjectivities that underlie what it means to be a teacher. For Clarke ([<reflink idref="bib16" id="ref36">16</reflink>], p. 192), the substance of teacher identity is the 'basis upon which we [teachers] constitute our teaching self' (Clarke, [<reflink idref="bib16" id="ref37">16</reflink>], p. 192). It relates to the moral foundations on which one builds one's teacher identity. For Foucault ([<reflink idref="bib31" id="ref38">31</reflink>], p. 26), this substance is 'the prime material of moral conduct' and denotes 'the way in which the individual has to constitute this or that part of himself'. In application, the substance of teacher identity relates to those emphasised aspect(s) of self that give meaning to how one sees oneself as a teacher and, importantly, how one wishes to be seen by others. In many ways, therefore, the ethical substance can be likened to the espoused theories (Argyris et al., [<reflink idref="bib3" id="ref39">3</reflink>]) or the core qualities (Korthagen & Vasalos, [<reflink idref="bib49" id="ref40">49</reflink>]) that underpin the ways one drives and sustains oneself as a teacher. In this regard, we understand the ethical substance of teacher identity as the subjective resources that teachers use to guide/regulate who they are as a teacher and to monitor/measure themselves against. Studies that have applied Clarke ([<reflink idref="bib16" id="ref41">16</reflink>]) illuminate the deeply personal nature of 'ethical substance' including problem areas of self that teachers are concerned with and wish to act upon (Clarke, [<reflink idref="bib17" id="ref42">17</reflink>]), teachers' emotions/emotional judgement (Niesche & Haase, [<reflink idref="bib57" id="ref43">57</reflink>]) and teachers' feelings, desires and behaviours (Guo et al., [<reflink idref="bib39" id="ref44">39</reflink>]).</p> <hd id="AN0183978221-8">Axis 2: Authority sources of identity</hd> <p>We use Clarke's ([<reflink idref="bib16" id="ref45">16</reflink>], p. 190) second axis 'authority sources of identity' to refer to the reasons why one subscribes to a particular ethical substance and who or what influenced that subscription. This axis is concerned with Foucault's ([<reflink idref="bib31" id="ref46">31</reflink>], p. 27) mode(s) of subjection or the 'way in which the individual establishes his relation to the rule [ethical substance] and recognises himself as obliged to put it into practice'. Clarke ([<reflink idref="bib16" id="ref47">16</reflink>], p. 191) approaches mode of subjection by asking the question 'why [teachers] should cultivate certain attitudes, beliefs and behaviours' vis‐à‐vis the 'sources of discursive authority that [teachers] recognise' and 'place value on'. The reasons therefore for cultivating a particular ethical substance are not necessarily because one 'has to' but more because one 'wants to'. Willingness therefore is central to the interrelationship between substance and subjection. Willingness to: (i) subject oneself to the sources of discursive authority; (ii) accept the 'invitation' or 'incitement' (Foucault, [<reflink idref="bib30" id="ref48">30</reflink>], p. 264) to the associated discursive practices; and (iii) work on oneself to 'cultivate certain [associated] attitudes, beliefs and behaviours' (Clarke, [<reflink idref="bib16" id="ref49">16</reflink>], p. 191). As such, and as noted by Gormley ([<reflink idref="bib37" id="ref50">37</reflink>], p. 1497), substance and subjection are 'inseparably linked'. Studies that have applied Clarke ([<reflink idref="bib16" id="ref51">16</reflink>]) illuminate a broad range of authority sources including government documents or community pressures (Niesche & Haase, [<reflink idref="bib57" id="ref52">57</reflink>]), guiding conceptual values and ideals (Clarke & Hennig, [<reflink idref="bib18" id="ref53">18</reflink>]), achievement outcomes and external metrics (Miller et al., [<reflink idref="bib53" id="ref54">53</reflink>]) and academic discourse, social norms and cultural conventions (Guo et al., [<reflink idref="bib39" id="ref55">39</reflink>]).</p> <hd id="AN0183978221-9">Axis 3: The self‐practices of teacher identity</hd> <p>We use Clarke's ([<reflink idref="bib16" id="ref56">16</reflink>], p. 191) third axis 'the self‐practices of teacher identity' to refer to the techniques that one uses to understand and monitor oneself. For Clarke ([<reflink idref="bib16" id="ref57">16</reflink>], p. 191), this axis is concerned with 'the techniques and practices [teachers] use to fashion and shape their teaching selves'. We see self‐practices as sense‐making activities that one uses to interpret the discursive practices that inspired one's ethical substance and one's relationship with one's ethical substance as 'true discourses' that 'exist inside us' (Foucault, [<reflink idref="bib29" id="ref58">29</reflink>], p. 100). In this way, and for Foucault ([<reflink idref="bib31" id="ref59">31</reflink>], p. 27), self‐practices relate to the work that 'one performs on oneself, not only in order to bring one's conduct into compliance with a given rule [ethical substance], but to attempt to transform oneself into the ethical subject of one's behaviour'. In many ways, self‐practices are techniques that are used to manage concern (i.e., a concern about the extent to which one embodies, embeds and enacts the substance of one's identity in one's everyday life). To a large extent, being concerned about who one is and/or how one conducts oneself is the very thing that makes one ethical. Foucault provides some examples of self‐practices including 'listening', 'self‐writing', 'habitual self‐reflection' and 'thought exercises' (Foucault, [<reflink idref="bib29" id="ref60">29</reflink>], pp. 101–102). Studies that have applied Clarke ([<reflink idref="bib16" id="ref61">16</reflink>]) illuminate a broad range of subjective self‐practices that teachers use for 'attending to oneself' (Foucault, [<reflink idref="bib29" id="ref62">29</reflink>], p. 96), including: (i) 'being calm, measured and objective' (Niesche & Haase, [<reflink idref="bib57" id="ref63">57</reflink>], p. 283); (ii) focus, determination and immersion in subject matter (Clarke & Hennig, [<reflink idref="bib18" id="ref64">18</reflink>]); (iii) 'unconventionality and rule‐breaking' (Gormley, [<reflink idref="bib37" id="ref65">37</reflink>], p. 1500); (iv) alignment with established teaching methodologies (Miller et al., [<reflink idref="bib53" id="ref66">53</reflink>]); and (v) 'critical reflection on teaching experiences and problematising mistakes' (Guo et al., [<reflink idref="bib39" id="ref67">39</reflink>], p. 254).</p> <hd id="AN0183978221-10">Axis 4: The telos of teacher identity</hd> <p>We use Clarke's fourth axis 'the telos of teacher identity' to refer to the type of teacher one aspires to become. For Clarke ([<reflink idref="bib16" id="ref68">16</reflink>], p. 191), this axis is concerned with the 'ultimate endpoint, goal or purpose' of being a teacher. Applying Foucault ([<reflink idref="bib31" id="ref69">31</reflink>], pp. 27–28), telos can be viewed in two ways; a static view would see telos as the 'accomplishment' or 'circumstantial integration' of one's ethical substance as a total way of being; a more fluid view would see telos as the pursuit of that 'accomplishment' and 'circumstantial integration'. While in many ways telos is a combination of both, we are using it in this paper in a forward‐moving, fluid manner. In this regard, we see telos as a form of prolepsis—that is, 'the representation of a thing as existing before it actually does or did so' (Webb & Gulson, [<reflink idref="bib76" id="ref70">76</reflink>], p. 87). Telos exhibits distinct proleptic properties: it is future‐oriented (Webb & Gulson, [<reflink idref="bib76" id="ref71">76</reflink>]), it gives meaning to the present (Phelan, [<reflink idref="bib61" id="ref72">61</reflink>]) and it embraces the past (Brescó de Luna, [<reflink idref="bib13" id="ref73">13</reflink>]). Acknowledging the proleptic properties of telos recognises the implications of the past (who one was) and the future (who one wishes to be) on the present (who one is). While we recognise that telos relates to 'a certain mode of being that will serve as a moral goal' (Foucault, [<reflink idref="bib31" id="ref74">31</reflink>], p. 28), we appreciate the reductive value of Brescó de Luna's ([<reflink idref="bib13" id="ref75">13</reflink>]) 'valuational endpoints' as a way of unravelling telos. Using Gergen ([<reflink idref="bib35" id="ref76">35</reflink>]), Brescó de Luna ([<reflink idref="bib13" id="ref77">13</reflink>], p. 287) argues that 'imagined future scenarios' serve as 'valuational endpoints' which, while being future‐oriented, 'constrain and guide present action' (Brescó de Luna, [<reflink idref="bib13" id="ref78">13</reflink>], p. 288). We use such valuational endpoints to understand the telos of prospective teacher identity. Studies that have applied Clarke ([<reflink idref="bib16" id="ref79">16</reflink>]) illuminate the subjective nature of telos, including being 'a respected teacher, a teacher who doesn't scream and shout' (Niesche & Haase, [<reflink idref="bib57" id="ref80">57</reflink>], p. 281), becoming 'a better man who can make this world a better place' (Clarke & Hennig, [<reflink idref="bib18" id="ref81">18</reflink>], p. 86) and 'helping students to grow into something they didn't know they could become' (Gormley, [<reflink idref="bib37" id="ref82">37</reflink>], p. 1487).</p> <hd id="AN0183978221-11">Contribution of conceptualising identity in ethico‐political terms</hd> <p>Ethico‐political identity is a generative conceptual framework. It is an expansive framework that honours multiple perspectives on identity (re)formation (Akkerman & Meijer, [<reflink idref="bib1" id="ref83">1</reflink>]; Beijaard et al., [<reflink idref="bib7" id="ref84">7</reflink>]; Smith & Sparkes, [<reflink idref="bib71" id="ref85">71</reflink>]; Strom & Viesca, [<reflink idref="bib73" id="ref86">73</reflink>]). For example, conceptualising identity in ethico‐political terms provides an insight into the (re)formation of the 'unitary self' that Akkerman and Meijer ([<reflink idref="bib1" id="ref87">1</reflink>], p. 315) argue holds the 'multiplicity of a person' together, as well as insight into the dialogic self‐practices that are used to understand/navigate the existential situations that teachers find themselves in. It is a comprehensive framing tool that complements existing models and frameworks for conducting teacher identity work (Dugas, [<reflink idref="bib24" id="ref88">24</reflink>]; Flores & Day, [<reflink idref="bib25" id="ref89">25</reflink>]; Garner & Kaplan, [<reflink idref="bib34" id="ref90">34</reflink>]; Izadinia, [<reflink idref="bib45" id="ref91">45</reflink>]; Mockler, [<reflink idref="bib54" id="ref92">54</reflink>]; Rodrigues & Mogarro, [<reflink idref="bib62" id="ref93">62</reflink>]; Stenberg, [<reflink idref="bib72" id="ref94">72</reflink>]; Strom & Viesca, [<reflink idref="bib73" id="ref95">73</reflink>]). For example, conceptualising identity in ethico‐political terms illuminates the interface of multiple contexts including, for example: the political, the professional and the personal (Mockler, [<reflink idref="bib54" id="ref96">54</reflink>]); the past, the present and the future (Akkerman & Meijer, [<reflink idref="bib1" id="ref97">1</reflink>]); and 'the unique constellation of teacher–students–pedagogy–content–context' (Strom & Viesca, [<reflink idref="bib73" id="ref98">73</reflink>], p. 221). It enables rich socio‐cultural understandings of teacher identity (re)formation in emic terms. For example, it entices textured teacher identity work in the narrative inquiry tradition (Altan & Lane, [<reflink idref="bib2" id="ref99">2</reflink>]; Beijaard et al., [<reflink idref="bib7" id="ref100">7</reflink>]; Clandinin, [<reflink idref="bib15" id="ref101">15</reflink>]; Schaefer & Clandinin, [<reflink idref="bib65" id="ref102">65</reflink>]). It is an established and effective tool for interrogating teacher identity narratives (Clarke, [<reflink idref="bib17" id="ref103">17</reflink>]; Clarke & Hennig, [<reflink idref="bib18" id="ref104">18</reflink>]; Gormley, [<reflink idref="bib37" id="ref105">37</reflink>]; Gu & Lai, [<reflink idref="bib38" id="ref106">38</reflink>]; Karnovsky et al., [<reflink idref="bib46" id="ref107">46</reflink>]; Miller et al., [<reflink idref="bib53" id="ref108">53</reflink>]; Niesche & Haase, [<reflink idref="bib57" id="ref109">57</reflink>]). It contributes conceptually to existing research concerned with prospective teacher identity in the Irish context (e.g., Brennan & Canny, [<reflink idref="bib12" id="ref110">12</reflink>]; Gallchóir et al., [<reflink idref="bib33" id="ref111">33</reflink>]; Keane et al., [<reflink idref="bib47" id="ref112">47</reflink>]; Kenny et al., [<reflink idref="bib48" id="ref113">48</reflink>]; Murray, [<reflink idref="bib56" id="ref114">56</reflink>]; O'Sullivan & Conway, [<reflink idref="bib59" id="ref115">59</reflink>]; White & McSharry, [<reflink idref="bib78" id="ref116">78</reflink>]). Finally, it is a robust analytical framing for identity work that we believe is applicable to any profession.</p> <hd id="AN0183978221-12">RESEARCH QUESTIONS</hd> <p>The research question that guided the study was: What is the ethico‐political identity of the prospective primary school teacher in terms of ethical substance, discursive authority sources, self‐practices and telos?</p> <hd id="AN0183978221-13">METHOD</hd> <p></p> <hd id="AN0183978221-14">Design and data collection</hd> <p>Framed within the interpretivist paradigm, this paper draws on data derived from multiple rounds of interviews with a small sample of prospective Irish primary school teachers across the closing semester of their initial teacher education. The university research ethics board approved the study and participants were provided with an information letter prior to signing consent to participate. A tripartite framing of time (see St Augustine's, 397/1961 in Conway, [<reflink idref="bib19" id="ref117">19</reflink>]) informed the research design (see Table 1).</p> <p>1 TABLE Method overview.</p> <p> <ephtml> <table><thead valign="bottom"><tr><th align="left">Interview round</th><th align="left">Temporal focus</th><th align="left">Method</th><th align="left">Illustrative examples of line of questioning</th><th align="left">Analysis</th></tr></thead><tbody valign="top"><tr><td align="left">1 (n = 4)</td><td align="left">The past‐in‐the‐present</td><td align="left">Photovoice elicited unstructured interview (Wang & Burris, <xref ref-type="bibr" rid="bibr75">1997</xref>) emphasising autobiographical storytelling (Altan & Lane, <xref ref-type="bibr" rid="bibr2">2018</xref>; Court et al., <xref ref-type="bibr" rid="bibr20">2009</xref>)</td><td align="left">Participants were invited to provide 4 visual images for each of the following questions: (i) Why did you decide to become a primary school teacher? (ii) What does being a primary school teacher means to you?</td><td align="left">Thematic analysis using Braun and Clarke (<xref ref-type="bibr" rid="bibr10">2006</xref>, <xref ref-type="bibr" rid="bibr11">2022</xref>) vis‐à‐vis Clarke's (<xref ref-type="bibr" rid="bibr16">2009</xref>) axes of teacher identity as deductive lenses using the following steps: <list list-type="Bullet"><list-item><p>Aural and textual immersion in the data</p></list-item><list-item><p>Interview transcription</p></list-item><list-item><p>Inductive coding of interview data</p></list-item><list-item><p>Codes developed as latent categories</p></list-item><list-item><p>Latent categories deductively mapped onto Clarke's axes</p></list-item><list-item><p>Aural and textual immersion in the data throughout the reductive process</p></list-item><list-item><p>Narratives, typical to and illustrative of each ethico‐political case, were selected to build the composite case</p></list-item><list-item><p>Composite case audited against emerging findings from each case</p></list-item></list></td></tr><tr><td align="left">2 (n = 4)</td><td align="left">The immediate present</td><td align="left">Semi‐structured interview (Kvale, <xref ref-type="bibr" rid="bibr50">1996</xref>; Kvale & Brinkmann, <xref ref-type="bibr" rid="bibr51">2015</xref>; Roulston, <xref ref-type="bibr" rid="bibr63">2010</xref>)</td><td align="left">Interview questions arose from the analysis of round 1 interviews and pursued the conversational direction emphasised by participants</td></tr><tr><td align="left">3 (n = 4)</td><td align="left">The future‐in‐the‐present</td><td align="left">Semi‐structured interview (Kvale, <xref ref-type="bibr" rid="bibr50">1996</xref>; Kvale & Brinkmann, <xref ref-type="bibr" rid="bibr51">2015</xref>; Roulston, <xref ref-type="bibr" rid="bibr63">2010</xref>)</td><td align="left">Interview questions arose from analysis of round 2 interviews and pursued the conversational direction emphasised by participants</td></tr></tbody></table> </ephtml> </p> <p>The first round of interviews emphasised 'the past‐in‐the present' (Conway, [<reflink idref="bib19" id="ref118">19</reflink>], p. 92); they sought to understand the decision to become a primary school teacher and used autobiographical storytelling (Altan & Lane, [<reflink idref="bib2" id="ref119">2</reflink>]; Court et al., [<reflink idref="bib20" id="ref120">20</reflink>]) via the visual methodology photovoice (Wang & Burris, [<reflink idref="bib75" id="ref121">75</reflink>]). The second round of interviews focused primarily on the 'immediate present' (Conway, [<reflink idref="bib19" id="ref122">19</reflink>], p. 92) and sought to understand 'the lived reality' and 'multiple narratives and subjectivities' (Gale & Parker, [<reflink idref="bib32" id="ref123">32</reflink>], p. 738) arising from and surrounding the initial teacher education experience. The third round of interviews focused primarily on 'future‐in‐the‐present' (Conway, [<reflink idref="bib19" id="ref124">19</reflink>], p. 92) and sought to understand participants' expectations/intentions relating to their projected teacher identity when they enter the profession. Indicative findings from each round of interviews informed the direction of subsequent rounds. The rounds of interview, characterised by high levels of rapport, resulted in extremely rich and complex data.</p> <hd id="AN0183978221-15">Analysis</hd> <p>Each round of data was analysed in the thematic analysis tradition (Braun & Clarke, [<reflink idref="bib10" id="ref125">10</reflink>], [<reflink idref="bib11" id="ref126">11</reflink>]). Interviews were transcribed; transcripts cleaned to remove fillers, colloquialisms and repetition. Transcribed interviews were coded inductively; codes were then developed into latent categories; latent categories were then deductively considered vis‐à‐vis Clarke's ([<reflink idref="bib16" id="ref127">16</reflink>]) ethico‐political axes. Aural and textual immersion in the data was applied as a validity measure throughout the reductive process. Each case revealed ethico‐political identity as a complex, dynamic process characterised by lines of reaction and interaction between and within the axes. As an essential component of our research question, evidencing these lines is a delicate business. Applying Flyvbjerg ([<reflink idref="bib26" id="ref128">26</reflink>]), we found that presenting multiple cases limited 'the force of example' (p. 229) that a 'good case narrative' (p. 237) affords. Applying Willis ([<reflink idref="bib79" id="ref129">79</reflink>]) we found that presenting a single case limited the identity narratives that we could use while maintaining our commitment to anonymity. For the purposes of this paper, therefore, we use indicative examples from one illustrative composite case (Seán) using data typical to each case (verbatim narratives), to evidence our claims (Gleeson, [<reflink idref="bib36" id="ref130">36</reflink>]; Willis, [<reflink idref="bib79" id="ref131">79</reflink>]). We chose the composite as, similar to Willis ([<reflink idref="bib79" id="ref132">79</reflink>]), we did not seek to distinguish between cases in terms of 'comparisons and categorisations' (p. 473) but rather we sought to investigate the ethico‐political identity of prospective teachers as a group of people. In this regard, the claims we make are evident across all cases; for example, ethical substance as nascent pedagogical sensitivity and practical knowing‐in‐action is typical to each case. Similarly, the findings within the axes are typical to each case: for example, substance is overwhelmingly character‐oriented across the cases; authority sources, as an amalgam of retrospective and contemporary experiences, are evident across the cases; self‐practices as practical thought exercises were dominant across the cases; and telos, as multi‐levelled valuational endpoints, is typical across the cases. While the composite conveys what is significant across the cases, not all variations are fully captured. For example, one case emphasised 'worry' as a self‐practice that, while insightful, was atypical and therefore excluded from the composite. We believe that our use of a composite case provides a 'force of example' regarding prospective teacher ethico‐political identity formation which has worthwhileness via the insights it provides and the questions it might prompt.</p> <hd id="AN0183978221-16">FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION</hd> <p>In this paper, we would like to make four claims about prospective teacher ethico‐political identity formation. First, ethical substance informs nascent pedagogical sensitivity and practical knowing‐in‐action (van Manen, [<reflink idref="bib74" id="ref133">74</reflink>]). Second, authority sources, as conflated retrospective and contemporary experiences, inform and shape ethical substance. Third, dynamic and interrelated self‐practices are used to monitor ethical substance and associated discursive practice. Finally, telos, as anticipatory, projective and moral‐orientated, is manifest in three valuational endpoints (i.e., personal, professional and pedagogic). While the analytical framing applied throughout is based on Clarke ([<reflink idref="bib16" id="ref134">16</reflink>]) and Foucault ([<reflink idref="bib30" id="ref135">30</reflink>], [<reflink idref="bib31" id="ref136">31</reflink>]), the framework affords significant opportunity to use the philosophical, theoretical or conceptual work of others to make sense of ethico‐political teacher identity stories. We seek to establish this aspect of ethico‐political identity work. We believe that our claims (Figure 1) go some way towards further validating and developing ethico‐political identity formation as a generative analytical framework for teacher identity work.</p> <p> <img src="https://imageserver.ebscohost.com/img/embimages/rdk/BED/01feb25/berj4079-fig-0001.jpg?ephost1=dGJyMNXb4kSepq84yOvqOLCmsE6epq5Srqa4SK6WxWXS" alt="berj4079-fig-0001.jpg" title="1 Overview of findings [adapted from and vis‐à‐vis Clarke ([16], p. 191)]." /> </p> <p></p> <hd id="AN0183978221-18">The ethical substance of prospective primary school teacher identity</hd> <p>Our analysis reveals that ethical substance shapes 'pedagogical sensitivity' [i.e., the form of teacher 'thoughtfulness and tact, embodied and pathic understanding' (van Manen, [<reflink idref="bib74" id="ref137">74</reflink>], p. 1)] and practical knowing‐in‐action [i.e., 'the practical forms of knowledge that teachers enact in (inter)active situations with their students' (van Manen, [<reflink idref="bib74" id="ref138">74</reflink>], p. 1)].</p> <hd id="AN0183978221-19">Ethical substance as pedagogical sensitivity</hd> <p>Seán's ethical substance (the prime material of his moral conduct) relates to his character as a teacher, which Seán reifies in the learning environment that he facilitates. A key feature of his character is to promote happiness, which he believes enables children to overcome the challenges that they may face: '<emph>if you're not happy and if you can't overcome a challenge, you can't learn</emph>'. In this regard, Seán's character is distinctly Deweyan in orientation and embraces education as a 'process of living' (Dewey, [<reflink idref="bib22" id="ref139">22</reflink>], p. 35) and the 'intrinsic value' (Dewey, 1939 in Dewey & Archambault, [<reflink idref="bib23" id="ref140">23</reflink>], p. 98) of engaging in that process. This is exemplified in Seán's commitment to facilitating a similar viewpoint as an 'essential moral interest' (Dewey, [<reflink idref="bib22" id="ref141">22</reflink>], p. 218) in the children that he teaches:</p> <p> <emph>I just like seeing kids want to come into school to try and improve and maybe realise that school is a process where they just keep turning up and keep giving their best that good things will happen and just being able to facilitate that</emph>.</p> <p>To achieve this, Seán prioritises the learning environment. First, Seán emphasises a 'simplified' (Dewey, [<reflink idref="bib22" id="ref142">22</reflink>], p. 16) environment, which, as noted by Hansen ([<reflink idref="bib40" id="ref143">40</reflink>], p. 272), 'embodies respect for students' present capacities and present powers, albeit with an eye to extending them'. Seán believes that such an environment will counterbalance challenges so that children are happy to attend school and to inspire dispositions such as an interest to learn and to value learning as an intrinsic good. In this regard, Seán's character is underpinned by 'care ethics and relational caring' (Noddings, [<reflink idref="bib58" id="ref144">58</reflink>], p. 771). This is particularly evidenced in Seán's desire to create what Noddings ([<reflink idref="bib58" id="ref145">58</reflink>]) describes as 'a climate for caring' (p. 777), which, as argued by Noddings ([<reflink idref="bib58" id="ref146">58</reflink>], p. 777), should lie 'underneath all we do as teachers' because 'when that climate is established and maintained, everything goes better':</p> <p> <emph>I'm just trying to make a classroom environment where kids want to come. It's not about if they learn something today, I just want the kids to want to come in, want to stay, want to come back tomorrow and they learn something along the way. I think that once they have that like the assessment will come. I think it's just focus on the person and then curriculum, assessment, academic things will come</emph>.</p> <p>Second, Seán advocates for a 'purified' (Dewey, [<reflink idref="bib22" id="ref147">22</reflink>], p. 16) environment, which, as noted by Hansen ([<reflink idref="bib40" id="ref148">40</reflink>], p. 272), 'calls out participants' best thinking, feeling, and conduct' and 'draws out students' open‐mindedness rather than stubbornness, their willingness to listen to others and so forth'. Seán embraces this through democratic principles and engaging his students in 'a spirit of dialogue' (Noddings, [<reflink idref="bib58" id="ref149">58</reflink>], p. 774). For Seán, this environment emphasises social rapport, relationships, togetherness and thoughtful conversation/dialogue between '<emph>human beings</emph>':</p> <p> <emph>I just try and build a classroom environment where kids want to come in, build a social rapport with kids where they want to interact with you and they see you as someone that is approachable as a human being and you be the same to them. Tell them stories about what you're getting up to, where you close the gap in terms of the divide between 'you're the teacher and they're the kids' when you're just dealing with people as people. I'd like that in my class. I'd like just get kids started on a growth mindset along those lines</emph>.</p> <p>Finally, Seán advocates for a 'balanced' learning environment, which, as noted by Hansen ([<reflink idref="bib40" id="ref150">40</reflink>], p. 272), enables children to 'pursue their own educational adventures while also interacting with others in ways that wisen and deepen social sympathies'. As evidenced in the vignette below, and central to this, Seán recognises the importance of taking 'the expressed needs of his students seriously' (Noddings, [<reflink idref="bib58" id="ref151">58</reflink>], p. 776):</p> <p> <emph>I'm just trying to build up their confidence in how I encourage them, how I respond to their work, how I greet them, how I create an environment that is welcoming, make a safe environment for them to feel relaxed and to do, and want to do, their best and in that sense I think confidence will come from them, both confidence in their abilities and in their interpersonal confidence</emph>.</p> <p>Seán draws upon a number of subjective character resources to create the learning environment that, Seán advocates, will help children to improve for themselves and to see that things are not necessarily quite as bad as they might seem. These subjective resources include being authentic, caring, calm, empathic, genuine, fun and level‐headed:</p> <p> <emph>I'm just authentic, what you see is what you get. I'm a genuine dude and I just wanna see people improve for themselves and I think that's something good about me. I've a good sense of humour, I think once I'm in different situations that really helps. I dunno, I see things. I give importance to things that need importance and a lot of things that don't need importance I don't give airtime to. I'm not a very dramatic person in a negative sense in that I won't try and get kids, I dunno, up‐in‐arms about things that they don't need to get up‐in‐arms about. Just help kids realise that things are a lot better, a lot of the time, than people probably say they are and yeah I think I just help kids try and improve</emph>.</p> <p>In summary, Seán's pedagogical sensitivity is evidenced in his ethical substance and embodied in his commitment to education as a 'process of living' (Dewey, [<reflink idref="bib22" id="ref152">22</reflink>], p. 35), his idealised classroom environment, his strong care ethic, the strong relational emphasis in his practice and the subjective resources he uses to assist him in his work.</p> <hd id="AN0183978221-20">Ethical substance as nascent practical knowing‐in‐action</hd> <p>Seán expresses a view that children are not '<emph>comfortable enough being uncomfortable</emph>' and that '<emph>it's through getting them to see the utility in trying to overcome adversity that you can help them cross these bridges to just fulfil their potential</emph>'. As such, Seán's practical knowing‐in‐action seeks to promote a particular 'plasticity' in the children that he teaches (i.e., 'the ability to learn from experience; the power to retain from one experience something which is of avail in coping with the difficulties of a later challenge' (Dewey, [<reflink idref="bib22" id="ref153">22</reflink>], p. 31). Enabling children to have control over their own learning is central to this plasticity:</p> <p> <emph>I don't think kids have enough of an input into their own schooling, they talk about goal setting</emph> [but] <emph>like curriculum it's very outcome orientated and there's very little control the kids actually have in terms of what they learn. It's trying to maybe get kids to find areas that they do have control in and then trying to get them to come up with these goals and set their own goals just to make themselves feel more, not feel more, but make them more autonomous in their learning. I think that this is huge, and then they will be more self‐determined and they'll be more intrinsically motivated to do what they want and they'll know what they want to do</emph>.</p> <p>As latent practice categories (Table 2), Seán's nascent practical knowing‐in‐action is grounded in distinct strategies that further provide insight into his ethical substance.</p> <p>2 TABLE Seán's nascent teacher practical knowing‐in‐action.</p> <p> <ephtml> <table><tbody valign="top"><tr><td align="left">Promoting kindness and acceptance</td><td align="left">'What's really important to me is, and I know this might be cliched, but it literally is just kindness. I try to show as much kindness and acceptance that I can for my students... Make each and every student feel valued by talking to them and getting to know their interests, letting them know that it's ok to be different and that difference isn't seen as a deficit that it's seen as a dividend, that it's a good thing to be different and then just showing them a kindness, creating that positive classroom atmosphere where they feel like they belong, where they feel like they are safe, where they feel like they are cherished and valued.'</td></tr><tr><td align="left">Promoting an awareness of other</td><td align="left">'Everyone is different you know, everyone is different in their own special way, and I suppose as a teacher I can't take that for granted, I can't assume that everyone is the same, just because I think this that they think this, just because I feel this that they feel this, so I suppose the sense of other is definitely very, very, very important especially in the twenty‐first‐century classroom.'</td></tr><tr><td align="left">Realising holistic potential</td><td align="left">'To promote the holistic development of the child, that sense that we are not only developing the academic but there is space to develop social competence, emotional competence and creative competence and those other domains and I'm thinking just to allow each child to reach their full potential.'</td></tr><tr><td align="left">Promoting a sense of wonder</td><td align="left">'I just think the whole idea of play is so important..., it's evoking a child's natural sense of wonder and curiosity that's as simple as what it is really you know they're learning through their own eyes, making sense of the world for themselves.'</td></tr><tr><td align="left">Promoting self‐awareness</td><td align="left">'You have to know when to see opportunities and challenges and you really have to scale yourself back and just take a real bird's eye view and see what's happening and say there are opportunities here for me to improve. We have to see it. But I might not like it right now, but I gotta face up to this, I can just take it as it comes. I won't be able to see the progress right now but sometime in the future when something like this happens again, it'll be a lot easier and I'll have an open‐minded outlook on it. I think just having the self‐awareness to be able to do that is huge to be honest.'</td></tr><tr><td align="left">Promoting a growth mindset</td><td align="left">'If you don't get it today it's fine, if you don't get it tomorrow it's fine, you'll get it someday and when you do fantastic. Just keep going.'</td></tr><tr><td align="left">Encouraging self‐control</td><td align="left">'Showing kids that they have more control in their lives than they may actually think and drawing on like solution‐focused strategies rather than problem focused strategies.'</td></tr><tr><td align="left">Promoting self‐improvement</td><td align="left">'Trying to build a commitment for them to improve themselves and I think that is getting kids to be more autonomous in their own learning.'</td></tr><tr><td align="left">Responding to challenge</td><td align="left">'How you perceive and how you probably sell to the children that there are opportunities in challenge. You just have to find them.'</td></tr><tr><td align="left">Promoting curiosity</td><td align="left">'I think just trying to build a strong curiosity to do or to find out things and I think just explain the relevance of why they do things, why they have to do things in school... I think just explaining the 'why' to kids is massive.'</td></tr><tr><td align="left">Modelling and integrating strength in the face of adversity</td><td align="left">'I think my way of doing it as a teacher is to model my own reaction. I can't force people to be mentally tough I can only model how I would do it and, in that sense, teachers are very much models in a positive sense, well hopefully anyway. It's just how I respond to the challenges and adversity... I just think that all the subjects are opportunities to do it in and I think it's just a very general thing that you can just weave through anything. It's integrated into everything.'</td></tr></tbody></table> </ephtml> </p> <p>In many ways, Table 2 evidences Seán's nascent teacher practical knowing‐in‐action as 'an active intentional consciousness of human interaction' (van Manen, [<reflink idref="bib74" id="ref154">74</reflink>], p. 15). In thinking about this intentionality, we are reminded of Hawkins' ([<reflink idref="bib43" id="ref155">43</reflink>]) 'I, Thou, It' relationship, which emphasises the interdependent working relationship between the teacher ('I'), the child ('Thou') and that which is to be learned ('It'). Each require the other; each define the other. Seán's ethical substance as nascent practical knowing‐in‐action evidences this interdependency. For example, Seán's intent to connect that what is to be learned ('It') through modelling his '<emph>way of doing things</emph>' and the (re)active conversations he has with the children vis‐à‐vis their mutual exploration ('I, Thou' relationship) of whatever 'It' arises during those conversations. While the strategies that Seán uses are broad, there is a distinct recognition that they are redundant without an 'It'. For example, the vignettes in Table 2 evidence Seán's subscription to the view that something must be learned, that Seán's 'investment in the child's life' (Hawkins, [<reflink idref="bib43" id="ref156">43</reflink>], p. 56) is integral to that learning and that Seán's investment 'transforms the interest the child develops spontaneously' (Hawkins, [<reflink idref="bib43" id="ref157">43</reflink>], p. 56). For Seán, therefore, 'It' is everywhere. Acknowledging this, Seán prioritises the 'I, Thou' relationship to equip both himself and the children he teaches to navigate 'It' anywhere, and in whatever form 'It' may arise.</p> <hd id="AN0183978221-21">The authority sources of prospective primary school teacher identity</hd> <p>Our analysis reveals authority sources as retrospective experiences that seed ethical substance and contemporary experiences that crystallise ethical substance.</p> <hd id="AN0183978221-22">Retrospective experiences as the foundation of ethico‐political identity</hd> <p>Our analysis reveals that the major retrospective authority sources that informed Seán's ethical substance fall under the apprenticeship of observation tradition (Lortie, [<reflink idref="bib52" id="ref158">52</reflink>]). These apprenticeships were wide‐ranging, including observing others overcoming challenges and navigating his own challenges (e.g., subject choices at secondary school that did not align with Seán's self‐referenced 'empathetic and more people‐oriented' worldview). Irrespective of context, the focus of the apprenticeships related to the character of the persons involved. In the first instance, it was Seán's observation and memory of his own teachers' 'pedagogical thoughtfulness, pedagogical sensitivity and pedagogic tact' (van Manen, [<reflink idref="bib74" id="ref159">74</reflink>], p. 13) that resonated most. These were observable in characteristics such as altruism, authenticity, care and a determination to be helpful:</p> <p> <emph>I'd say she just she cared about all of the kids. She didn't leave any inclinations or past or prior knowledge or her own biases or whatever get in the way of just wanting the best for a child and she always wanted to give everything that she had in terms of helping the kids. She just seemed so authentic in her motives to help kids and I always like that about people when they're really authentic and when they care so yeah, I just saw her, and I think it just rubbed off well on me</emph>.</p> <p>Similarly, the characteristics of Seán's relationship with his teachers, accented through fun and good humour, also resonated in this regard:</p> <p> <emph>I learned a lot from him in terms of the person he was. I just got on well with him as a person and that probably coloured my view of teachers I'd say... he's just a kinda very bubbly, good‐humoured authentic guy</emph>.</p> <p>In the second instance and relatedly, it was the observed character of the learning environment that informed Seán's ethical substance. In many ways, Seán's apprenticeship of observation during work experience at secondary school prompted his desire to become a teacher but also shaped the type of teacher that Seán wanted to become. Seán's experience of engagement in what could be described as a 'simplified', 'purified' and 'balanced' learning environment (Dewey, [<reflink idref="bib22" id="ref160">22</reflink>], p. 16) during this time significantly influenced Seán's ethical substance in terms of '<emph>focusing on the person</emph>' and creating a classroom where the children, first and foremost, feel that they belong:</p> <p>[It was] <emph>having exposure and continued exposure I'd say to a classroom environment with a really nice class, and it was all these factors that intertwined nicely together and it just worked out well, I think. I just felt comfortable, it didn't seem like work. I dunno, you know when you're with a group of people and they see you and they see your talents and they see you working well and you work well with them and, I dunno, they just kinda treat you as a person and, I dunno, it's kind of hard to articulate right, but it's just more of a feeling than a description you just feel belonging I'd say</emph>.</p> <p>This vignette gives a sense of what '<emph>belonging</emph>' means for Seán (i.e., seeing one another, being comfortable with one another, recognising each other's talent, appreciating each other's work ethic, working with one another towards a collective endeavour and treating others as you would expect to be treated yourself). In thinking about the impact of retrospective authority sources on Seán's ethical substance, we are reminded of Hansen ([<reflink idref="bib41" id="ref161">41</reflink>]) and the 'mindful and emotion‐full self‐formation' (p. 12) implications of 'bearing witness' (p. 7) to the 'deep human values at play in the everyday life of the classroom and school' (p. 13) and the teacher as 'an educator of the human being' (p. 15).</p> <hd id="AN0183978221-23">Contemporary experiences crystallise the ethical substance</hd> <p>Our analysis reveals a distinct and dynamic interrelationship between retrospective and contemporary authority sources. While Seán notes multiple contemporary authority sources that accentuated his ethical substance—including teaching experience, dissertation work and the social experience of college—Seán attributes his study of psychology and philosophy as part of his initial teacher education as the primary contributing factors to his ethical substance. Of note, psychology enabled Seán to understand his ethical substance vis‐à‐vis retrospective experiences. For example, the psychology of mental toughness affirmed an already preformed, yet unnamed, aspect of Seán's ethico‐political identity:</p> <p> <emph>I don't know, the term just kind of hit me. It was real, there was nothing special. They didn't try to make it look pretty or anything. I was like, geez, I really like that. It was like in very simple layman terms and I just thought that I'd love to find out more about this and how would it apply to a primary school setting</emph>.</p> <p>Furthermore, psychology provided Seán with a theoretical understanding of children's experience and behaviour, which, Seán advocates, equipped him with the self‐awareness for understanding children as the basis for helping children:</p> <p>[It provided] <emph>an understanding of kids' behaviours really, why there is a reason for everything. I didn't understand that before but I think now by having the theory and just having the application in both personal life and school life. Once you learn the theory, once you apply the theory to real life by just having a self‐awareness of stuff really like kids' behaviours and why do kids do stuff. Just by listening to lecturers giving us situations, giving us tasks, giving us essays, having to read stuff about it. I just think that I'm more and more well equipped to help kids with maybe difficult behaviours to just try and understand them a bit better and just explain to them that there is no problem with having or experiencing these behaviours</emph>.</p> <p>Importantly, as illustrated above, psychology enabled Seán to understand children's behaviour for the purpose of enabling children to understand their own behaviour. Of note here are the modes of engagement and sense‐making ('<emph>case situations</emph>', '<emph>tasks</emph>', '<emph>essays</emph>', '<emph>reading</emph>') that Seán uses for navigating contemporary authority sources.</p> <p>As a contemporary authority source, Seán's studies in philosophy also resonated with his retrospective sources (particularly his uncertainty during his time at school) and, in many ways, enticed a reflective scepticism about education but also inspired his thinking about his own teaching:</p> <p> <emph>I mean it just explained a lot of things and then I just became really, really interested in all these philosophies and the philosophy of education. I think the whole system is probably not run optimally and then I'm seeing what these guys are offering and their insights seem to be very valid, but they're not being implemented. Why is that? I just want to be a teacher that maybe implements philosophies like theirs to actually just create, or not create, just help kids with a clear perspective, what they maybe want to do and that probably hits on a personal nerve where I didn't come out with knowing exactly what I wanted to do</emph>.</p> <p>The combination of psychology and philosophy accentuated Seán's critical thinking about education vis‐à‐vis teaching practice, which Seán believes '<emph>had to be done to get to the authentic</emph>'.</p> <p> <emph>I think that the philosophy modules and the psychology modules have really made me think about education, even like the curriculum and all the resources and the agendas of how you think in education and I don't think they're absolutely authentic... I think a lot of students come out of schools not knowing what they want to do. I'm already talking personal here, like you learn all these things in a curriculum that doesn't teach you how to properly navigate life</emph>.</p> <p>In many ways, and as is evident, contemporary sources gain their authoritative and performative power through their alignment with ethical substance and valued retrospective experiences.</p> <hd id="AN0183978221-24">The self‐practices of prospective primary school teacher identity</hd> <p>Our analysis reveals that multiple and dynamic self‐practices are used to monitor ethical substance. Seán emphasises three self‐practices as the foundation for the thought exercises that he uses to monitor his ethical substance vis‐à‐vis his experiences: reading, writing and conversation.</p> <hd id="AN0183978221-25">Reading as self‐practice</hd> <p>As a self‐practice, Seán reads '<emph>out of curiosity and wanting to improve situations for kids to just improve, not just for kids but, improve my own experiences with the kids</emph>'. Reading enables Seán to monitor his ethical substance vis‐à‐vis his experience of his practical knowing‐in‐action in several ways. Seán reads from a personal development standpoint to gain an insight into his ethical substance and to understand ways to enact it when he encounters adversity:</p> <p> <emph>I read a lot about people who have overcome adversity and stuff to try to find out how they did</emph> [it] <emph>and just when I come up against adversity, I try to apply that</emph>.</p> <p>As is evident, reading gives Seán greater insight into the experiences of other people whom he sees as broadly sharing his ethical substance and practice and in so doing (re)establishes his relationship with his ethical substance. Reading also has a temporal application, which enables Seán to: (i) name, understand and learn from events that have already occurred; (ii) name and understand events as they unfold; (iii) engage in purposeful action through the application of theory to practice; and (iv) critically and authentically consider future action:</p> <p> <emph>I've been exposed to a lot of different kind of situations myself and I'm always kind of just a curious guy and I'm kind of an observant fella anyway so I think once you start reading things you can connect things to what you've experienced before. I think that's how I kinda do that. I think it's just really applying the theory to practice more so. I dunno, you read these things and like in the moment I don't get how they apply but later I was able to just connect as a teacher now applying all these different concepts and stuff to myself as a teacher and to myself and I think that there's a lot of crossover</emph>.</p> <p>Seán's application of reading evidences the proleptic properties of identity self‐practices (i.e., simultaneously forward‐looking, backward‐looking and inward‐looking).</p> <hd id="AN0183978221-26">Writing as self‐practice</hd> <p>While Seán asserts he is not a writer and prefers to '<emph>keep it to the assignments</emph>', he nonetheless rates the self‐writing that he engaged in as part of his portfolio as '<emph>one of the best things I did over the four years</emph>'. As a self‐practice, self‐writing informed Seán's critical thinking in ways that '<emph>he hadn't done in relation to teaching properly</emph>'. For Seán, this involved '<emph>getting down into the dirty critical thinking of teaching philosophy and why you're actually in this</emph>' and clarity about '<emph>why you're doing something</emph>'. In short, Seán uses self‐writing to critically, and authentically, engage his ethical substance:</p> <p>I think that people are just are very uncomfortable thinking just generally I think. l noticed that about myself for years like and the portfolio really forced me to think especially about something that I was so deep into. I'm so deep into this but so shallow in terms of thinking about it. Then the portfolio just made me get deep about being deep. It just really forced me to really just ask myself these hard questions like without bullshitting myself..., it definitely taught me a lot of lessons in critical thinking. If you're going to be a good teacher you have to critically think cos if you don't do that, how are you going to improve?</p> <p>In many ways, self‐writing sharpens Seán's understanding of his ethical substance and the nascent teacher practical knowing‐in‐action orienting his development.</p> <hd id="AN0183978221-27">Conversation as self‐practice</hd> <p>Seán uses conversation to monitor his practical knowing‐in‐action by probing the question: Is this working for them? Conversation, here, is a tool to monitor his pathic understanding of the child's learning experience:</p> <p> <emph>It's about getting to know them, you know that's the real thing... It's just conferencing with them, having the chats with them, not everything is like 'Do this question/Do that question'. It's about talking about 'How was your weekend?' You know just little things like that and even if they come throughout the day like 'How is your sister? How is your brother?' just little questions like this. Once you get to know them you'll be able to pick up little things. It's surprising how much children give you when you're not even trying in just general chit‐chat conversation</emph>.</p> <p>In many regards, Seán values the children that he teaches as experts of his teaching subjectivity. Subsequently, the ongoing conversations focus on embracing the children's reception of his practical knowing‐in‐action as an integral component of it:</p> <p>... constantly checking up on them and reflecting on me as a teacher... conferring with them: 'How did you find this?' 'Do you think I can do this better?' 'How do you think I could do this better to help you better?'</p> <p>Seán's deliberate use of ongoing conversation resonates with van Manen ([<reflink idref="bib74" id="ref162">74</reflink>], p. 20) and points to Seán's intent to make visible 'the corporeal, relational, temporal, situational, and actional kinds of knowledge' that arise in the lived everyday experiences of the children that he teaches.</p> <hd id="AN0183978221-28">The telos of prospective primary school teacher identity</hd> <p>Our analysis reveals telos as a form of identity prolepsis that incorporates three valuational endpoints: personal, professional and pedagogic. The telos of Seán's teacher identity as 'unified', yet fluid, moral purpose is encapsulated in the following vignette:</p> <p> <emph>I just think that I'm a fairly well‐rounded person. I'd say I'm just fairly genuine, honest kinda guy that just wants to have kids develop for themselves rather than for any other kind of agenda. I just like seeing kids want to come into school to try and improve and maybe just have kids realise that school is a process where they just keep turning up and keep giving their best that good things will happen and just being able to facilitate that. I think that I can contribute to helping kids realise and fulfil their potential in a very genuine manner</emph>.</p> <p>Here we can see elements of Seán's ethical substance (e.g., '<emph>seeing kids want to come school to try and improve</emph>'), Seán's nascent practical knowing‐in‐action (e.g., '<emph>have kids realise that school is a process where they just keep turning up and keep giving their best that good things will happen</emph>') and the subjective equipment that Seán uses to do so (e.g., '<emph>a well‐rounded person</emph>', '<emph>fairly genuine honest kinda guy</emph>'). We can also infer how the retrospective and contemporary sources (e.g., '<emph>develop for themselves rather than for any other kind of agenda</emph>') have influenced this. While the relationship between substance (moral essence) and telos (moral purpose) is in many ways ubiquitous, we believe that valuational endpoints (Brescó de Luna, [<reflink idref="bib13" id="ref163">13</reflink>]; Gergen, [<reflink idref="bib35" id="ref164">35</reflink>]), as proleptic properties of telos, provide greater clarity in relation to the specifics of that moral purpose.</p> <p>In terms of valuational endpoints, as evidenced in Table 3, Seán's telos can be explored through personal, professional and pedagogic valuational endpoints.</p> <p>3 TABLE The telos of Seán's identity as valuational endpoints.</p> <p> <ephtml> <table><tbody valign="top"><tr><td align="left">Personal valuational endpoint</td><td align="left">Referring to a conversation with a primary school teacher: 'He was saying that people would be watching him in college when he was teaching and the day he got to close his door and no one would come in. I'm looking forward to that day that's probably one of the biggest things I'm looking forward to just to bring out your own person and put your own stamp on what you want to do, in a good way, to try and help kids. So I'd say that's something that I'm looking forward to and just enjoy teaching kids.'</td></tr><tr><td align="left">Professional valuational endpoint</td><td align="left">'If another teacher has had similar experiences maybe just to let me be able to bounce questions after I'm in a situation or whatever. Maybe just hear me out on whatever ideas I might have to try and help kids develop. If it's some kind of framework for say the mental toughness kind of stuff that I'd be into that they would hear me out on why I think it's important. If maybe they would allow it or maybe resource it or maybe get me, let me carry out something in that regard, just hear me out and support me in whatever I'd like to do.'</td></tr><tr><td align="left">Pedagogic valuational endpoint</td><td align="left">'I'd love to have a class the same class for a number of years to be able to cause I know that this whole thing I'm going on about, it's not an overnight thing, it's a complete process and that's the only way to go about it. It is not having the expectation, and that's why I think that the whole curriculum thing shouldn't be outcome based, if you view things as a process, there's no date, and there's no time and then there's no sense of, not that there's no sense of urgency, but there's no deadline and no pressure to improve. It should be a naturally occurring and intrinsically motivated thing to do.'</td></tr></tbody></table> </ephtml> </p> <p>As illustrated, each valuational endpoint has considerable temporal depth. In each vignette, we can see any axis, and indeed all axes, but only because we appreciate the narrative detail of each axis. In many ways, therefore, ethical substance and telos can be seen as two ends of a temporal bridge: resting at one end, perhaps more past–present in its orientation, lies substance (moral essence); resting at the other end, perhaps more present–future in its orientation, lies telos (moral purpose). Arguably, in between are the sources of discursive authority and the self‐practices that in many regards function like an experiential metronome fluctuating between the two temporal poles, making sense of each while also (re)forming both.</p> <hd id="AN0183978221-29">CONCLUSION: THE INTEGRATIVE UTILITY OF AN ETHICO‐POLITICAL CONCEPTUALISATION OF PROSPECTIVE T...</hd> <p>We believe that an ethico‐political conceptualisation of prospective teacher identity is generative for teacher education purposes in terms of its integrative utility: (i) conceptually; (ii) contextually; (iii) critically; and (iv) reflectively.</p> <p>An ethico‐political conceptualisation of identity integrates multiple concepts. Our analyses of substance (subjectivities, pedagogical sensitivities/tact, practical knowing‐in‐action), authority sources (temporally organised contextual experiences), self‐practices (dynamic and interrelated) and telos (moral purpose vis‐à‐vis valuational endpoints) demonstrate the integrity of the axes as standalone analytical categories. Similarly, our analysis reveals lines of interaction and reaction between the axes; this enables an appreciation of teacher identity as an amalgam of who one was (and why), who one is (and why) and who one wishes to be (and why). The axes, and their interrelationship, are wholly useful integrative concepts for teacher education and teacher reflection purposes, particularly for framing portfolio work.</p> <p>An ethico‐political conceptualisation of identity integrates meaningful experiences across context and time and, in so doing, emphasises the agency and autonomy of the prospective teacher as the author of their own identity (re)formation. For example, our analysis, which reveals the temporal and contextual interrelationship between substance, authority sources and telos, goes some way towards evidencing the integration of formative life experiences on teacher identity formation. This entices critical awareness/analysis of contexts and situations that arise (or have arisen or might arise), contingent responses to such situations and the implications that those responses have on the relationship that one has with oneself. This awareness, we believe, is valuable for framing professional conversations for teacher development purposes.</p> <p>An ethico‐political conceptualisation of identity enables integrative critical thinking to make sense of experiences within, and across, the axes. Our analysis demonstrates how the work of others can be applied to make sense of ethico‐political identity formation. For example, we could see Dewey ([<reflink idref="bib22" id="ref165">22</reflink>]), Hawkins ([<reflink idref="bib43" id="ref166">43</reflink>]), Lortie ([<reflink idref="bib52" id="ref167">52</reflink>]), Hansen ([<reflink idref="bib40" id="ref168">40</reflink>], [<reflink idref="bib41" id="ref169">41</reflink>], [<reflink idref="bib42" id="ref170">42</reflink>]), van Manen ([<reflink idref="bib74" id="ref171">74</reflink>]) and Noddings ([<reflink idref="bib58" id="ref172">58</reflink>]) in Seán's ethico‐political identity formation. Assisting prospective teachers to see the philosophical, theoretical and conceptual in their own nascent teacher practical knowing‐in‐action and pedagogical sensitivities affords rich opportunity for increasingly deeper modes of self‐conceptualisation/self‐reflection, necessitating multiple modes of understanding and multi‐disciplinary thinking tools. An ethico‐political conceptualisation of identity entices such integrative critical thought and provides the conceptual vocabulary for articulating that thinking.</p> <p>An ethico‐political conceptualisation of identity is potentially transformative for teacher reflection purposes. For example, facilitating prospective teachers to see initial teacher education as an ethico‐political project provides opportunity for robust interrogation of nascent teacher practical knowing‐in‐action vis‐à‐vis the wider political context as reified in the initial teacher education experience (and beyond). Our analysis reveals the significant depth that an ethico‐political interrogation of identity formation affords—that is, it is simultaneously inward‐looking (substance), backward‐looking (retrospective authority sources), outward‐looking (contemporary authority sources and substance) and forward‐looking (telos). As such, ethico‐political identity work enables valuable integrated reflective questions: What type of teacher do I want to be (and why)? What do I champion in my teaching (and why)? What knowledge sources am I drawn towards (and why)? What inspires me (and why)? What am I working towards (and why)? How am I progressing towards my goal (and why)? Such questions afford opportunity to facilitate increasingly more complex interrogation of the wider political context in ethico‐political terms. For example, and applying Salton et al. ([<reflink idref="bib64" id="ref173">64</reflink>]): What aspects of the wider political context align with my teacher self (why/how)? What aspects do not (why/how) and what aspects do I adapt (why/how)? In short, an ethico‐political conceptualisation of teacher identity accentuates what it is to be a prospective teacher in the process of becoming a teacher.</p> <p>Finally, and noting Shulman ([<reflink idref="bib67" id="ref174">67</reflink>], [<reflink idref="bib68" id="ref175">68</reflink>], [<reflink idref="bib69" id="ref176">69</reflink>], [<reflink idref="bib70" id="ref177">70</reflink>]), we believe that an ethico‐political conceptualisation of identity has transferability to other disciplines and professions, particularly those that are bound by frameworks of knowing, practice and being/becoming, but contingent on the contribution of autonomous and innovative individuals to exercise, with authority, their own reasoned and reflective action in diverse and uncertain situations.</p> <hd id="AN0183978221-30">ACKNOWLEDGEMENT</hd> <p>Open access funding provided by IReL.</p> <hd id="AN0183978221-31">FUNDING INFORMATION</hd> <p>The first author would like to acknowledge conference funding received from Mary Immaculate College, Limerick, Ireland for the presentation of findings at the ESAI Conference 'Education, change and democratic societies: New imperatives and creative responses', Stranmillis University College, Belfast on 30 May/1 April 2023.</p> <hd id="AN0183978221-32">CONFLICT OF INTEREST STATEMENT</hd> <p>The authors report no conflict of interest in undertaking this research.</p> <hd id="AN0183978221-33">DATA AVAILABILITY STATEMENT</hd> <p>Research data are not shared.</p> <hd id="AN0183978221-34">ETHICS STATEMENT</hd> <p>This research was undertaken with the approval of the Ethics Committee of the University of Limerick, Ireland.</p> <ref id="AN0183978221-35"> <title> REFERENCES </title> <blist> <bibl id="bib1" idref="ref83" type="bt">1</bibl> <bibtext> Akkerman, S., & Meijer, P. 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  Data: Understanding Teacher Ethico-Political Identity Formation from a Foucauldian Perspective
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  Data: English
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Desmond+Carswell%22">Desmond Carswell</searchLink> (ORCID <externalLink term="https://orcid.org/0009-0000-4926-9180">0009-0000-4926-9180</externalLink>)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Paul+F%2E+Conway%22">Paul F. Conway</searchLink> (ORCID <externalLink term="https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6513-7310">0000-0002-6513-7310</externalLink>)
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="SO" term="%22British+Educational+Research+Journal%22"><i>British Educational Research Journal</i></searchLink>. 2025 51(1):321-343.
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  Data: Wiley. Available from: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030. Tel: 800-835-6770; e-mail: cs-journals@wiley.com; Web site: https://www.wiley.com/en-us
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  Label: Peer Reviewed
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  Data: Y
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  Label: Page Count
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  Data: 23
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  Label: Publication Date
  Group: Date
  Data: 2025
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  Label: Document Type
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  Data: Journal Articles<br />Reports - Research
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  Label: Education Level
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="EL" term="%22Higher+Education%22">Higher Education</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="EL" term="%22Postsecondary+Education%22">Postsecondary Education</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="EL" term="%22Elementary+Education%22">Elementary Education</searchLink>
– Name: Subject
  Label: Descriptors
  Group: Su
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Preservice+Teachers%22">Preservice Teachers</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Ethics%22">Ethics</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Political+Issues%22">Political Issues</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Self+Concept%22">Self Concept</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Elementary+School+Teachers%22">Elementary School Teachers</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Teacher+Characteristics%22">Teacher Characteristics</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Professional+Identity%22">Professional Identity</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Foreign+Countries%22">Foreign Countries</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Politics+of+Education%22">Politics of Education</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Preservice+Teacher+Education%22">Preservice Teacher Education</searchLink>
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  Label: Geographic Terms
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Ireland%22">Ireland</searchLink>
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  Group: ID
  Data: 10.1002/berj.4079
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  Label: ISSN
  Group: ISSN
  Data: 0141-1926<br />1469-3518
– Name: Abstract
  Label: Abstract
  Group: Ab
  Data: In recent years, we have seen an increased politicisation and objectification of what teachers should know, what teachers should do and who teachers should be while they are doing it. While evident across the continua of teacher education, such politicised constructions are particularly acute at initial teacher education. Given such attention to constructing what has been described as a 'preferred' teacher identity, this paper explores how prospective teachers construct themselves in ethico-political terms (i.e., how prospective teachers construct the relationship that they have with themselves and how they account for themselves in that regard). Informed by a Foucauldian perspective and using a composite case that draws on interview data (photovoice and semi-structured interviews) from a small sample (n = 4) of prospective Irish primary school teachers at various stages during their final semester of initial teacher education, this paper addresses ethico-political identity in terms of substance, authority sources, self-practices and telos. Findings illuminate prospective teacher ethico-political identity as: (i) substance as the basis for nascent teacher practical knowing-in-action and pedagogical sensitivities; (ii) temporally organised authority sources; (iii) dynamic and interrelated self-practices; and (iv) telos as a form of identity prolepsis that emphasises three major valuational endpoints. The paper concludes by contemplating the generativity of an ethico-political conceptualisation of teacher identity (re)formation for teacher education purposes in terms of its conceptual, contextual, critical and reflective utility.
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  Data: 2025
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  Data: EJ1460401
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      – SubjectFull: Preservice Teachers
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Ethics
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      – SubjectFull: Political Issues
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Self Concept
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