Abstract:
In 2010 I gave a presentation signaling the beginning of the my PhD (Education) research into the academic identity of students in field-based early childhood initial teacher education (FBITE) in Aotearoa New Zealand. With the completion of the research I would like to take this opportunity to present the overall findings from my research. The overall aim of the research was to critically examine the nature and significance of academic identity for students in early childhood FBITE in Aotearoa New Zealand. Student academic identity is defined as the appropriation of academic values and practices within a sense of self, reflecting the willingness and commitment to the practices of the academic community (Dunham, 2016; White & Lowenthal, 2011). As such, academic identity is an important aspect of becoming academically literate. Within this research student academic identity was identified as consisting of five elements: self-theory, achievement indicators, agency-beliefs, motivation and dispositions. Questions explored how students experienced academic identity; the multiple identities of students and their relationship to student academic identity; the multiple contexts of learning and their relationship to student academic identity; and finally the significance of student academic identity. This research is significant due to the limited research presenting a holistic view of student academic identity, examining all of these five elements, and the lack of literature focusing specifically on this issue for students in FBITE. A structural-constructivist approach was used to investigate the significance of context on personal experiences of academic identity. Within this theoretical framework an interpretive qualitative research design was used with participation from four tertiary providers of FBITE as well as from Associate Teachers from the early childhood community. Data were collected from students, Teacher Educators and Associate Teachers utilising open-ended questionnaires, group and individual interviews, in conjunction with documentary analysis. Data was analysed using the principles of thematic analysis. The findings show that, for students in FBITE programmes, engagement in academic ways of being, knowing and doing is ultimately driven by a desire to achieve professional credentialing standards. As such student academic identity is intertwined with emerging professional identities, which hold precedence. It was identified that the development of a student academic identity is complex, influenced by learning contexts and the conflicting roles and commitments held in addition to being a student. The research findings have implications for curriculum design, programme development, student academic literacies and regulation of programmes of initial teacher education.