Investigating the Mutual Effect of Self and Society Components in the Formation of the Holistic Identity of Language Teacher in Iran: A Grounded Theory Study

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 PhD Candidate, English Language Department, Tabriz Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tabriz, Iran

2 PhD, Assistant professor, English Language Department, Tabriz Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tabriz, Iran

3 PhD, Associate professor, English Language Department, Tabriz Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tabriz, Iran

Abstract

Introductoin: The survival and success of any educational system depend on the knowledge, expertise, ability, and skill of teachers as the core of learning. Regarding the importance of teachers' role in learning English, the present research aimed to study the role of the components that form the Holistic Identity of the Language Teachers (HILT).
Method: The data needed was collected qualitatively, based on Strauss and Corbin's coding model, through consistent semi-structured interviews with the participation of 41 Iranian teachers working in schools, universities, and institutions in Urmia, Iran, with teaching experience between 8 and 18 years. The data extracted from the interviews include three basic questions about the characteristics of the HILT, the factors that create it, and the role of self and society in the formation of the teacher's identity. Then the data were analyzed through open, selective, and axial coding stages observing a Constant Comparative Method.
Results: The present study tries to investigate and analyze the role of self and society as the grounding components of the HILT. By introducing Teacherality as the main core of the HILT, the grounding components of the desirable self and social self, which respectively represent the main concepts of self and society, were identified. Based on this, the first factor, Persona Grata refers to the Self of the teacher, which includes the intra-personal and individualized qualifications, including Language Commanding, Corporeal State, Perceptual Prompt, and Sense Agility. The other factor, Public Persona, consists of socially acquired characteristics of being a language teacher, including Teacher Prestige, Public Life, and Media Person.
Discussion and Conclusion: The main core of this theory revolves around the concept of self, indicating that the characteristics and factors of a person, as well as his various interactions in different situations, would have a direct relationship with the personal, social and professional characteristics of the Self. In addition, the theoretical framework of the concept of HILT  has been extracted from the interviews through which the identity in the concept of HILT has been analyzed in Iran. The findings show that the basis of the HILT comes from the dynamic nature of the individual himself, which includes all social, physical, economic, and professional aspects of the HILT in interaction with society as an environmental component

Keywords

References

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