Communities of practice and identity construction of teacher educators in a continuing teacher education program

ABSTRACT

This article is part of a research project which investigates the effects of a teacher education program on the identity constructions of university professors who acted as advisors in the program. The Educational Development Program (Programa de Desenvolvimento Educacional - PDE) is provided by the Paraná State Department of Education (Seed-PR) to public school teachers. We draw on the concept of communities of practice, and the idea of imagined communities and investment. We analyzed the trajectories of two university teachers, and how their identities are impacted by the advisory process in the PDE program, through semi-structured interviews and a questionnaire. Results show diverging positions, which are related to different forms of alignment, imagination, and engagement.

KEYWORDS:
professional identity; communities of practice; imagined communities; investment