Reconceptualizing teacher identity development

In this article, we focus on developing a clearer conceptualization of teacher identity. We provide an inclusive definition that integrates three key dimensions of the construct that have been previously underexamined: (1) Teacher identity as part of ongoing, goal-focused, agentic regulating processes, (2) Teacher identity as part of multiple intersecting identities within social-cultural-historical contexts, and (3) Teacher identity negotiated within professional experiences including professional community standards. By foregrounding and integrating these three dimensions that have been underexamined in existing approaches of teacher identity, we aim to provide conceptual clarity, which will allow educational psychologists to better explain the role teacher identity plays in the work and lives of teachers.