Project The Personal and the Professional: Narratives of Teacher Identity and Belonging Program Education Term Academic Year 2025 Status Closed Research Area Education Description You have decided to become a K-12 teacher! Hurrah for the world! This study conducts interviews with Purdue University students in the College of Education to explore how teachers develop a professional identity in their teacher education programs. Research has shown that professional teacher identity involves the interconnected aspects of personal and professional identities. Interviews (and narrative reflections) allow student teachers to explore their past experiences as students and their future identities as teachers as they imagine and grow in their practice. To summarise, our understanding of teacher identity is that it is socially constructed, dynamic and hybrid, that is shaped by discourse, narrative and emotions, and influenced by social and organisational contexts. Supervisor Mary Ellen Lennon Mentor Type of work required Scholars are expected to create weekly writing prompts, manage a website, recruit interviewees, and create social media posts for the College of Education. In addition, they will write a research presentation on teacher identity research based on the data acquired during the Fall 2025 interviews. Websites Qualifications Students should be juniors or seniors in good standing in the English Education program in the College of Education. Credit Hours 0 Weekly Hours 4 (estimated)