Teacher identity ambiguity and where to find it? A narrative inquiry of ELT teachers in rural areas

Bibliographic Data

ID21728153
AuthorsBich‐Phuong Thi Nguyen (0000-0003-1836-4403, Vietnam National University Ho Chi Minh City, corresponding author), M Tesar (0000-0001-7771-2880, University of Auckland)
Year2026
Volume24
Issue4
Pages556-579
Publication date2026-07-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenuePolicy Futures in Education (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1478-2103 • E-ISSN: 1478-2103
PublisherSAGE Publications (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/14782103241266906
OpenAlexW4400956036
LanguageEN
Citations received4
References cited72

Commitment and efficiency of teachers are supposed to closely link with the perception of their own identity, which determine their working motivation and job satisfaction. The past few years have seen many teachers, particularly those in less developing regions, leaving their profession due to low pay regardless of affluent nations, such as the United States and the United Kingdom, or developing countries like Vietnam. In fact, the problem could only be addressed when the root cause is revealed. Using the narrative inquiry approach with semi-structured interviews and researchers’ voice on eight English teachers, this study positions and examines the identity of rural language teachers in various intertwined interactions at personal and societal discourses. Research results unveiled the dominance of external factors in shaping and shifting teacher identity, including students, policies, school leadership and socio-cultural systems. Also, personal identity was more likely to be suppressed while professional identity was vaguely expressed. A comprehensive understanding of teacher identity would give policymakers and teacher educators some justification to revisit current policies and teacher training programs by taking into account individual identities, experiences, and concerns of rural teachers

Ambiguity · Narrative · Narrative inquiry · Pedagogy · Political science · Sociology · Teacher education · EFL/ESL Teaching and Learning · Global Education and Multiculturalism · Psychology · Teacher Education and Leadership Studies

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