A Case Study Analysis of Preservice Technology Education Students’ Professional Identity Transition

Abstract

This thesis investigates the factors that shape the professional identity of preservice Technology Education (TE) students who are transitioning from trade and technical workplaces to university in order to become secondary TE teachers. During the period that this research was undertaken, TE underwent major curriculum changes and this succession of curriculum change generated high levels of tension and confusion in TE (Seemann, 2003), resulting in a change in identity for secondary TE teachers (Harfield, 2014; Williams, 2012) and a resistance to further TE curriculum changes (Howard & Mozejko, 2015). As such, the challenges associated with professional identity development must be addressed to enable the effective transition of a preservice TE student to a TE teacher. This study focuses on the professional identity changes required to support the modifications to the TE curriculum and seeks to identify a way to promote professional identity transition. This study utilises six case studies. The data was collected during the first semester of preservice teachers study in a TE Foundation course. The data was collected through entry folios that were compiled to gain entry into the Initial Teacher Education (ITE) programme, entry and exit concept maps, and observation of authentic activity, online reflective journaling, and semi-formal interviews. The use of multiple case studies allowed both micro and macro data analysis to discern similarities and differences in the results across all participants involved (Creswell, 2009). A comprehensive cross-case analysis enabled an in-depth comparison to be conducted.