Teacher Identity under Reconstruction: Positional Analysis of Negotiations in an International Teacher Education Programme

Abstract

This paper explores the international learning experiences <br/>of Indonesian teachers participating in a Finnish master’s degree <br/>programme as an identity reconstruction process. We study the <br/>participants’ experiences based on dialogical identity construction to <br/>explore the positioning and repositioning occurring during an <br/>international learning experience. Given the conception of this <br/>experience as a boundary experience, repositioning is a way to create <br/>continuity and support the multiplicity of identity. From the narrative <br/>analysis of the participants' stories about the programme, we found <br/>that the participants' repositioning during the programme involved<br/>negotiation with temporality, sociality and spatiality. Throughout this <br/>process, the participants' understanding of their identities and <br/>practices evolved. The post-conflict and post-disaster context in Aceh, <br/>Indonesia, manifests itself through a unique constellation of <br/>positionings and stimulates new understandings of its impact on <br/>teaching and learning processes. This study contributes to <br/>understanding the international teacher programme as a <br/>repositioning process for teacher identity reconstruction that supports local meanings and has practical consequences.