Teacher identity has increasingly attracted scholarly attention for its influence on teacher
development and teaching outcomes (Beauchamp & Thomas, 2009; Beijaard et al., 2022; Trend,
2020). Existing studies have primarily focused on the formation processes and influencing factors of
teacher identity across different career stages and subject areas, such as novice teacher identity
(Schellings et al., 2021), language teacher identity (Pennington & Richards, 2016), and comparative
studies of teacher identity development across teacher education systems (Rinne et al., 2023).
However, the identities of teachers in community language schools remain relatively underexplored
(Nordstrom, 2020; Wu et al., 2011). This thesis seeks to amplify the voices of teachers working in a
Chinese community school in Scotland and to address this research gap. It investigates the processes
and characteristics of teacher identity formation in this community school, with particular attention
to the role of context.
Drawing on the Dynamic Systems Model of Role Identity (DSMRI) framework as the theoretical
foundation (Kaplan & Garner, 2017), this study employed purposive sampling to select a large,
historically established Chinese community school as the research site. A total of 22 participants
were recruited, and data were collected through semi-structured interviews. The findings reveal that
teacher role identities in community schools constitute elements within a multi-level hierarchy,
reflecting a complex dynamic system composed of individuals’ multiple role identities. In other
words, participants embodied different role identities—for example, as parents of their own children,
teachers of their students, children of their parents, and colleagues to one another. The results further
show significant consistencies between participants’ parental and teacher role identities in terms of
beliefs, purposes, and perceived action possibilities, which facilitated the development of their
teacher identities. For instance, as parents, participants drew on experiences from their children’s
growth and learning, which fostered empathy and understanding toward their students, thereby
shaping their classroom beliefs and practices.
Using the DSMRI framework by Kaplan and Garner (2017), this thesis also provides a detailed
analysis of participants’ beliefs, goals and purposes, self-perceptions and self-definitions, and perceived action possibilities, as well as the broader influences of context, culture, domain, and
dispositions. The findings align with existing literature on teacher identity by underscoring the
situated nature of teacher role identities. For example, participants enacted the teacher role within the
school setting but stepped out of this role after classes, illustrating the nonlinear and emergent
character of community teacher identities. Moreover, the study demonstrates how prior experiences
shaped participants’ current and imagined role identities, linking past, present, and future to present a
more comprehensive view of the dynamic nature of community teacher identity.
At the macro level, the findings highlight the influence of Scottish society and policy, as well as the
school’s role as a community and a community of practice (CoP), in shaping teacher role identities.
This dynamic interaction between context, personal identity, and professional identity also reveals
the marginalised status of community language teachers, calling for greater recognition and support
from stakeholders. Finally, the thesis outlines theoretical, practical, policy, and research implications
to inform future work in this area. By integrating the DSMRI framework into a community language
school context, this study extends the theorical application of identity research beyond mainstream
educational settings and offers a nuanced understanding of how personal and parental identities
intersect with professional roles. It thus contributes to broadening the scope of teacher identity
studies and provides new empirical evidence for the dynamics of identity formation in
underrepresented educational contexts.
| Date of Award | 15 May 2026 |
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| Original language | English |
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| Awarding Institution | - University Of Strathclyde
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| Sponsors | University of Strathclyde |
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| Supervisor | Inge Birnie (Supervisor) & Angela De Britos (Supervisor) |
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