Peer Support in the Construction of English Language Teachers' Identities: Perceptions and Practices

Abstract

This research study was conducted to investigate the roles of peer support in the construction of English language teachers' identities and to explore the perceptions and practices of peer support in different community schools of Banke district. I adopted narrative inquiry as a research approach to carry out this study. I conducted in-depth interviews with the teachers to collect the data for this research work. Furthermore, I analyzed the data by using the thematic approach. After the analysis and interpretation of the data, it was found that peer support in the form of sharing problems and discussion among the colleagues cultivates positive feelings regarding their profession which are directly linked with identity construction of a teacher. Peer support plays significant roles to avoid anxieties raised due to the problems appeared in the classroom and give job satisfaction. Apart from this, it also cultivates the required repertoires to bridge the gap between problems and anxieties and constructs the professional, educative, and ideological identities of a teacher. On the other hand, this study illustrates that the teachers engage in collective efforts to minimize the snags appear in language teaching. This study also deals with different strategies and techniques to promote peer support for professional development in terms of creating teachers' identities. This thesis includes five chapters. The first chapter introduces the study which contains the background of the study, statement of the problem, objectives of the study, research questions, significance of the study, delimitation of the study and operational definition of the key terms. Similarly, the second chapter includes the review of theoretical as well as empirical literature and its implication for the study. Additionally, it also consists of conceptual framework. Moreover, the third chapter contains the methods and procedures of the study which covers design and method of the study, population, sample and sampling strategy, research tools, sources of data, data collection procedures, data analysis procedures and ethical consideration. Similarly, the fourth chapter involves the analysis and interpretation of the data. Eventually, the fifth one integrates the findings and conclusion of the study along with the policy, practice and further research related recommendations based on the study.