Understanding what is possible across a career: professional identity development beyond transition to teaching

Professional identity surfaces repeatedly as an important underlying factor in teacher development. A sequential explanatory mixed methods design was used to investigate identity development in terms of teachers’ expected and feared possible selves. Teachers (n = 120) representing three career groups (prospect, new, and experienced) participated. The findings reveal differences in possible selves which are detectable based on career group. New teachers exhibited a greater focus on task self-concepts; prospective teachers expressed both task and quality possible selves; and experienced teachers expressed identities more concerned about the quality-focused ones. Our findings also reveal a potential transition path in professional identity development.