IDENTIDAD PROFESIONAL DOCENTE: ¿QUÉ SIGNIFICA SER PROFESOR?

Abstract

The teacher’s identity is a heterogeneous composition of representations that give heed to differentiation or identification with other professional groups. It is conceived as the definition that a teacher does of himself and, at the same time, of his professional group. It extends from and to his/her personal and social experiences in specific contexts of development. Thus, this concept gives an answer to the question ¿what does it mean to be a teacher? The main goal of this research was to evaluate the teacher’s conceptions of the Chemical Biological Sciences Department of the University of Sonora, México about their teacher identity as a mean to acknowledge potential elements of a formative program. In order to do that, we used the qualitative methodology and the narratives technique in a representative sample of 15% of the population. The main acknowledged elements were associated with the involvement of the teacher in the teaching and learning process, the social commitment within, the affective associations that arises and the pedagogical and disciplinary training that demands the higher education. These elements stress the need to consider the update and contextualization of educational matters, and the motivation and pedagogical training in a potential formative program that strengthens the teacher’s identity as an integrative competency.