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Characteristics of place identity as part of professional identity development among pre-service teachers

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Abstract

How do pre-service teachers perceive place identity, and is there a connection between their formative place identity and the development of their professional teaching identity? These questions are probed among pre-service teachers who participated in a course titled “Integrating Nature into Preschool.” The design of the course was based on a multidimensional teaching model that yields a matrix of students’ perceptions and the practical aspects derived from them as the students undergo a range of experiences in the course of an academic year. The profile of perceptions uses a mixed-methods analysis that presents statements attesting to four indicators of place identity: familiarity, belonging, involvement, and meaningfulness. These indicators point to a broad spectrum of perceptions arrayed on a continual time axes as well as differences in perception and its complexity. A connection between the development of place identity and that of professional teaching identity is found.

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Acknowledgments

We would like to thank Oranim Academic College of Education, Israel, for supporting this study.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Nature and Science Education Department, Oranim Academic College of Education, 36006, Tivon, Israel

    Michal Gross

  2. Levinsky College of Education, 15 Shoshana Persits St., P.O.B. 48130, 61481, Tel Aviv, Israel

    Nurit Hochberg

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  1. Michal Gross
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  2. Nurit Hochberg
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Correspondence to Michal Gross.

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Gross, M., Hochberg, N. Characteristics of place identity as part of professional identity development among pre-service teachers. Cult Stud of Sci Educ 11, 1243–1268 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11422-014-9646-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11422-014-9646-4

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