A teacher’s identity trajectory within a context of change
CITATION: Oswald, M. & Perold, M. 2015. A teacher’s identity trajectory within a context of change, South African Journal of Education, 35(1):Art. # 1046, doi:10.15700/201503070012.
The original publication is available at http://www.sajournalofeducation.co.za
Article
This article examines the effects of political, socio-economic and educational change on a South African teacher’s identity trajectory. Our research was conducted at a primary school in a historically disadvantaged community in the Western Cape Province, South Africa. We applied a cultural-historical activity theoretical (CHAT) lens to explore the identity trajectory of one of the teachers. Our findings suggest that a teacher’s identity is a social product, drawn from social history, actively internalized and re-authored in response to new circumstances. This was especially evident during the transformation at the macro-political, educational and institutional levels in South Africa since 1994.