PanSIG 2026 - Building Language Competencies through Community

Pre-Service Teachers’ Imagined Identities in Teaching Philosophy Statements

May 23, 2026, 12:20 PM

25m

0号building/8-806 (Chukyo University)

A. Research-oriented Oral Presentation (25 minutes) TD: Teacher Development 806

Speakers

Beibei Ren Jining Han

Description

Pre-service teachers’ imagined identities play a significant role in mediating their professional development. Findings show that EFL pre-service teachers constructed positive and nurturing identities of themselves as future teachers, and they envisioned challenges they might encounter as a future teacher, which were multifaceted.

Keywords

Pre-service teachers
Imagined identities
Teaching philosophy statement
EFL

Abstract

The teaching philosophy statement (TPS) is a key written genre that allows teachers at all stages to articulate their teaching beliefs, engage in reflective practice, and envision their future professional roles. For pre-service teachers with limited classroom experience, the TPS can serve as a site for the construction of imagined teacher identities. While previous research has explored pre-service teachers’ identity construction and transformation, how this group of teachers’ imagined identities are constructed through TPSs remains underexplored. To address this gap, this study draws on multiple sources of data, including TPSs and semi-structured interviews, to investigate how nine EFL pre-service teachers construct their imagined identities and the challenges they anticipate encountering in order to attain the imagined identities. Findings reveal that all participants construct positive and nurturing visions of themselves as future teachers, emphasizing roles such as being a teacher that fosters students’ social skills, personal growth, and global mindset. However, they also demonstrate an awareness of the challenges that might exist in concretizing the imagined identities. The challenges are multifaceted, including, but not limited to student characteristics, and the constraints imposed by the education system. The study concludes with implications for pre-service teacher training and professional identity development.

Short summary

Pre-service teachers’ imagined identities play a significant role in mediating their professional development. Findings show that EFL pre-service teachers constructed positive and nurturing identities of themselves as future teachers, and they envisioned challenges they might encounter as a future teacher, which were multifaceted.