The Definition and Maintenance of Self in Primary Teaching

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Abstract
A study by interview and observation of 99 graduate teachers in English infant and junior schools suggested that many of them had entered teaching with a strong sense of personal identity and a firm commitment to personal values. Few had, however, identified as ‘teachers'; the majority saw themselves as ‘persons‐in‐teaching’ and adopted strategies to defend their sense of self. Reference groups, in particular, are discussed, in terms of critical theory, as the cause and effect of individualistic values within the profession.