Becoming a teacher of young children : student teachers' understanding of professional learning and professional identity

This paper explores how student teachers construct the notion of teacher professional identity in relation to their understanding of their future role as teachers of young children. Qualitative data were collected consisting of 61 open-end questionnaires and 5 personal semi-structured interviews. The major findings show that there is an obvious connection between the student teachers’ prior work experiences and their choice of being teacher of young children. In describing their view on teacher profession and professional learning, the student teachers of primary school early years emphasize learning of subject matter and pedagogical knowledge; while student teachers of pre-school focus on the importance of ethic of care and knowledge of child development, and they prefer to identify themselves as pedagogues rather than as teachers. The results also indicate a common sense of viewing teacher’s work as an important, multiple and challenging profession by both groups of student teachers.