Professional identity trajectories of rural EFL teachers and their developmental needs

Abstract

This paper presents a qualitative multiple case study on the professional identity development of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers working at rural schools. The participants of the study as individual cases were five middle school teachers from four different geographical regions of Turkey. The research foci of the study were: (1) understanding the professional identity development experiences of rural EFL teachers, (2) examining the influence of teaching context on the professional identities of rural EFL teachers, and (3) identifying the needs of rural EFL teachers. The data collection tools were field visits, metaphor elicitation tasks, and semi-structured interviews. The findings of the study revealed the challenges of teaching English in a rural school, the training needs of rural EFL teachers, and the impact of teaching contexts on the practices of rural teachers. The findings of the study can be used to design preparation courses for pre-service EFL teachers and to plan professional development activities for rural EFL teachers.