Professional identity development of teachers: Does a safe environment help or hinder?

Teachers are constantly undergoing change and development to enhance their practice, and must manage this amidst a multitude of tasks and responsibilities. This can be difficult due to personal challenges, and there are concerns within teaching communities about teachers’ well-being due to the varied and multiple roles of the job. Their personal professional identity can be complex, influenced by their school environment and can change and deepen depending on culture and nurture within the school throughout their careers. Creating a ‘safe space’, one where teachers can flourish and thrive based on their needs being met, could be one area to enable positive identity development and enhance their practice. This book chapter discusses the ‘safe’ school, one which enables physical safety for the teacher, but also the emotional and psychological aspects which are paramount for professional growth and healthy change. Using Boostrom’s (1998) ‘Safe Spaces,' a case study was conducted with a sample of trainee and experienced teachers. Participants completed questionnaires and attended focus groups. The results were mapped against assumptions based on identity (Rodgers & Scott, 2008). Results revealed that trainee and experienced teachers both linked their teaching context for a safe working place for staff to the same areas of identity. It was concluded, in order for growth of a ‘safe’ space, based on the teacher’s emotions, the construction of new stories over time, and being dependent upon involvement in an array of contexts, are necessary. Mapping trainee and experienced responses to Kegan’s developmental stages of ‘conception of self’ (1980, 1982, 1994), clearly show, with increased expertise, that the teacher makes more sense of the experience. If teachers are to psychologically shift how they perceive their work over time, this must be in an environment which enables and supports identity formation, as this would be a foundation for facing challenges proactively and enabling development of a teacher’s practice.