Abstract
There have been studies on topics related to teacher identity (Beijaard et al., 2004; Bauer & McAdams, 2004; Varghese et al., 2005), however, these researchers do not examine the shift in professional identity of Non-Native English Speaking Teachers (NNESTs). Thus, this research-based paper is aimed at filling this gap. This study, which is my M.Ed. thesis at Monash University, explores the shift in professional identity of Indonesian English as a Foreign Language (EFL) educators currently studying at Monash University, particularly the influence of English language and cultural immersion on how these people perceive themselves prior to returning to Indonesia. Specifically, this study examines the identity formation of NNESTs; what professional identities Indonesian EFL educators bring with them, the identity changes during the period of their studies at Monash University; whether there is a professional identity shift happening for these people within the time range of arriving in, staying in and leaving Australia, and its influences on identity transformation.
Keywords: NNEST, identity, professional identity, immersion
1. Introduction
In the Indonesian Formal Education System, English classes are conducted as foreign language programs. Following the identification of English as a Foreign Language (EFL), English educators in Indonesia are mainly categorised as ‘native speaker’ or NEST and ‘local’ or NNEST. Labels are put on each category of educators, resulting in two different professional identities for the two categories. In Indonesia, appreciation given to the NNEST is somewhat lower than that given to NEST, as can be seen from various parameters such as salary and acknowledgement of expertise.
The Indonesian EFL educator context is an example of how society shapes professional identity. The professional identity of the Indonesian NNEST (addressed in this research) is problematic. Intrinsically, NNESTs often encounter changes that are contradictory to their individual as well as cultural desires. In the process of professional identity formation, NNESTs in Indonesia have to continuously integrate their existence with their historical and social tradition as a part of society. Their immersion in English, in terms of the language as well as Western culture, has to be negotiated with their cultural and societal backgrounds as Indonesians.
It is the professional identity of Indonesian EFL educators that is the focus of this study. This is a case study conducted with them on their immersion in the language and culture while undertaking the Masters of Education TESOL International at Monash University, Australia within the time frame of arrival, stay and departure.
2. Literature review
This paper draws heavily on two theories of identity, by Dan P. McAdams and Stuart Hall that provide a relative balance between the personal and social aspects of identity. This was expected to provide a logical framework for an explanation of the case studies that I wanted to investigate – the professional identity of Indonesian EFL educators in relation to language and culture immersion. A ‘life story model’ by Bauer and McAdams (2004, p. 583) was employed, with reference to three events – prior to coming to Australia, staying in Australia and upon returning to Indonesia.
Stuart Hall elaborates a comprehensive understanding of the connection between language, identity and cultural difference and argues that they are closely connected, thus cannot be separated from each other. In other words, they are somehow interrelated, making them impossible to discuss as individual units. This is exactly how Hall tries to cover those concepts – by exploring them as a unity.
The contexts of culture and society play significant roles in shaping personal and professional identity. Summarising diverse ideas elaborated by various experts, the definition of professional identity adopted is an ever changing being and becoming of an individual considering his/her psychosociohistorical aspects of personal, professional and societal lives related to his/her profession.
The adoption of various concepts for similar substances of ‘self” and ‘identity’ makes research in the field of teacher professional identity troublesome. Sometimes the term ‘professional identity’ is not even defined in such research; just the characteristics of the identity itself are defined. According to Beijaard, Meijer, and Verloop (2004, p. 125), either various definitions have been used or no definition of professional identity exists at all. Further, several experts suggest various definitions: ‘teachers’ concepts or images of self”, ‘teachers’ roles and conceptions and expectations of other people’, ‘accepted images in society about what a teacher should know and do’, and ‘what teachers themselves find important in their professional work’ (Beijaard et al., 2004, p. 108).
Varghese et al (2005, pp. 21-44) looked at how language teacher identity is related to a theory by reviewing studies on three perspectives. The three reviewed studies indicated ‘identity as multiple, shifting, and in conflict; identity as crucially related to social, cultural, and political contexts; and identity being constructed, maintained, and negotiated primarily through discourse’.
In whatever ways the term is defined, I would say that professional identity is relational rather than stable. There is a tension in identity formation between the influences of the individual’s own agency and the societal structure. According to Cauldron and Smith (1999 in Beijaard et al., 2004, p. 113) the term agency accommodates the ‘personal dimension in teaching’, whereas the term structure covers what is ‘socially given’. Thus, a teacher’s professional identity depends on the context, setting and situation in which he/she is involved. Adopting this understanding of professional identity, a ‘professional’ teacher will exhibit a good quality of teacher’s relation to others, his/her responsibilities, acts and knowledge (Beijaard et al., 2004, p. 125).
Discussion of identity is unavoidably related to the notion of essence of ‘self’. In understanding the ongoing configuration of the collective as well as individual ‘self’, historical reconstruction involving ideology plays a significant role. As McAdams has suggested, self investigation is to be carried out ‘in retrospect and in prospect’ (McAdams, 1985, p. 35). Moreover, identity is not merely ideology, rather ideology leads into identity (McAdams, 1985, p. 36).
As mentioned above, the concept of ‘self” cannot exist by itself, rather it has to be socially developed. This is in line with Mead (Mead, 1934 in Beijaard et al., 2004, p. 107), who has asserted that ‘self” can only occur in ‘a social setting’. The same case also applies to the existence of identity, including professional identity. Personal as well as social aspects play important roles in the manifestation of professional identity (Beijaard et al., 2004, p. 113).
In terms of Indonesians in general, I strongly believe that other people mostly drive actions in close relationships, such as parents, siblings, and spouses. This is in line with the ‘conjoint model’ proposed by Markus and Kitayama (2003, p. 7), which states that ‘good actions’ are determined in relationship with an ‘outside-in’ flow of ideas reflecting interdependence and responsiveness in relation to other people. The concept of collectivism is strongly held in this context, with an emphasis on family and societal over individual opinions. As suggested by Markus and Kitayama (2003, p. 10), ‘interdependent selves’ are experienced with ‘social relations’ as the most important aspect.
In Indonesian ideology, the human being is believed to be an individual as well as a social creature. Thus, a person is expected to act as individual with his/her own rights, but at the same time to prioritise the needs and demands of society. In other words, the idea of agency in the Indonesian context relies heavily on the interaction one carries out with other people. This is in line with the idea of the ‘conjoint model’, which states that ‘agency can and does manifest itself in and through networks of interactions’ (Markus & Kitayama, 2003, p. 17). This leads on to a major question of what NNESTs in Indonesia base their actions on. Historically, it is clear that these educators are involved in a ‘conjoint model’. The fact that they are then immersed in a ‘disjoint model’ in Australian society and are furthermore exposed to globalisation has thrown up the so far unanswered question of which identity or identities they would adopt and how they would cope with this identity or these identities in their lives. After all, according to Markus, Mullally, and Kitayama (1997, p. 15), people are ‘culture-specific’ and how they adjust to their environment is both ‘individual and cultural’ at the same time.
As relationships with other people are strong determinants of how identity is formed, language and culture are closely interrelated with identity. This is supported by some experts who have stated that a study of a group’s interaction can also be understood as a study of the ways in which the group keeps its collective identity (Richards, 2006, p. 47) and that identity can be inferred as a relational rather than absolute phenomenon (Beijaard et al., 2004, p. 108).
Since culture is produced and reproduced over time, then it is not something that is constant. Culture itself is recognized as a particular way of how people live as individuals, communities, nations or social groups involving concepts, ideas, emotions and feelings. Due to the varieties of these aspects, culture is not something homogenous in nature. In fact, it also deals with the past, present and future. Consequently, one cannot just put aside one culture and create a new one.
I can then argue that immersion in culture apparently influences the psychological motivation of an individual, that later results in the cultural adaptation or even cultural transformation. The transformation of culture practiced by an individual indeed depends on the framework of the action construction adopted, which usually is influenced by his/her cultural background. From the perspective of cultural psychology, ‘cultural practices and meanings structure psychological processes, which in turn generate, perpetuate, and transform these cultural practices and meanings’ (Markus & Kitayama, 2003, p. 6).
Indeed, in my opinion, language itself is a social and cultural practice, which is put into discourses. Covering beliefs and values, languages play a very significant role in identity and culture. A classificatory system places languages as representatives of relational identities, as shown in various social roles and the status reflected by languages used.
Being a representative of a certain culture with a certain language is not absolute or fixed. Closely related to culture, the past-present-future time frame and the ever-changing characteristics play important roles in the development of professional identity. Professional identity is in fact changing, developing and transforming over time.
A study by Bauer and McAdams (2004, pp. 573-602) tried to elaborate the relationship between life transition and personality development. The study inferred that people who emphasise acquiring new knowledge tend to be more mature in terms of social-cognitive levels, whereas those who emphasise concerns that are intrinsically meaningful have higher well-being levels. Another prominent result is that those who prioritise learning about relationships are in fact happier.
In the context of human beings as social creatures, Richards argued that identity is ‘an interactionally constructed representation that serves our social needs’ (Richards, 2006, p. 37), which are personal, institutional and social (2006, p. 201). The formation of an identity, then, is not a simple and purely concrete process. Identity is developed through a non-linear process, and is formed and reformed based on interactions within and across individuals.
Based on my perception of identity formation and supported by experts’ ideas, I would argue that identity formation depends on situation, context, society, self and culture. In other words, negotiations are undoubtedly happening during the whole process of identity formation, including professional identity. In terms of research on self and identity, Gecas and Burke (1995, p. 42) have provided four approaches: ‘situational, social structural, biographical-historical, and intrapersonal’. In his book, Erikson asserted (1973, p. 27) that ‘a sense of identity means a sense of being at one with oneself as one grows and develops; and it means, at the same time, a sense of affinity with a community’s sense of being at one with its future as well as its history’. This idea is strongly supported by the late modern approach, with an additional note of a reminder of ‘how much change has taken place and the reasons for those changes’. Considering these approaches, a discussion on how culture relates to identity and how language influences identity formation is very relevant for this study, as this study deals with Indonesian EFL educators whose professional identity is investigated as related to language and culture immersion.
My study explores the professional identity of Indonesian English as a Foreign Language (EFL) educators currently studying at Monash University, particularly the influence of English language and cultural immersion on how these people perceive themselves prior to returning to Indonesia. The study examines the identity formation of the NNEST, what professional identities Indonesian EFL educators bring with them, the identity changes during the period of their studies at Monash University and whether there is a professional identity shift happening in these people within the time range of arriving in, staying in and leaving Australia.
Identity, even as a general concept, is such a new topic in the Indonesian context. This has caused difficulties in finding support or ideas of identity in the perspective of Indonesian experts. It is the intention of this study to reveal a new strain of research in Indonesia – professional identity, especially in educational contexts. As the question of identity in an Indonesian educator context is highly salient, I am using available theories that in a sense belong to the Western perspective to critically analyse the professional identity of the Indonesian participants. The main aim is to fill in the missing understanding of how professional identity is formed and transformed that has not been covered by the available Western theories.
There have been studies on topics related to teacher identity (Bauer & McAdams, 2004; Beijaard et al., 2004; Varghese, Morgan, Johnston, & Johnson, 2005), but none of these researchers have investigated the shift in professional identity of the Non-Native English Speaking Teacher (NNEST). The research by Beijaard, Meijer and Verloop (2004, pp. 107-128) was conducted as a response to previous studies. In their study, it is suggested that there has never been a homogenous definition of professional identity. Furthermore, they asserted that four essential features of teachers’ professional identity could be used as a general framework for follow up research.
Indeed, professional identity is potentially ever changing, is never fixed, as it keeps on developing and growing. Putting this claim in another way, some experts support this idea by stating that professional identity is a complex and dynamic equilibrium (Volkmann & Anderson, 1998 in Beijaard et al., 2004, p. 113), which by nature is multifaceted (Cooper & Olson, 1996 in Beijaard et al., 2004, p. 113). According to Mishler (1999, p. 8), sub-identities are possibly included in a professional identity, either those in line or contradictory to each other. He elaborates his idea by using the metaphor of ‘our selves as a chorus of voices, not just the tenor or sopranos list’.
A two way configuration of ‘self-in-the-adult-world’ identity was proposed, suggesting that identity synchronically integrates various potentially conflicting roles and relationships and diachronically integrates time (McAdams, 2001, p. 102). McAdams also suggests that identity refers to the understanding of how the ‘self’ is configured, not merely similar to the concept of ‘self’ (2001, p. 102). Thus, I look upon McAdams’ idea of identity frequently, especially professional identity, in carrying out this study.
In his life story model of identity, McAdams has argued that identity in the form of a story includes setting, scenes, character, plot and theme (McAdams 1985, 1993, and 1996 in McAdams, 2001, p. 101). More elaboration was given in six episodes proposed by Bauer and McAdams: ‘decision’, ‘turning point’, ‘conflict event’, ‘encounter with another person’, ‘projected future’ and ‘reflection’. Implementing this theory, Bauer and McAdams (2004, p. 583) conducted a study in which the participants are asked to think about the topic, then choose a specific time of event and finally write about the event covering who, what, where, when and how the occasion actually drove the participants to think and feel. McAdams’ life story model is applicable in my investigation on Indonesian EFL professional identity, through reference to three specific times of events – prior to coming to Australia, staying in Australia and upon returning to Indonesia.
3. Method
3.1. Research design
This study is a qualitative study. A research design and its modification within the process of research needed to be developed to maintain harmonious relationships among aspects of this research. Adapting from Maxwell (1994, pp. 72-73), Hitchcock and Hughes (1995, p. 79), and Sarantakos (1998, pp. 193-195) my research design expressed as a mind-map was as follows:
The time framework and matrix of participant representation were also developed in carrying out this research. The two instruments below are meant to facilitate the conduct of this study.
Matrix of participants
|
Gender |
Marital Status |
Male, married |
Female, married |
Male, single |
Female, single |
3.2. Participants
As required by the regulations, prior to recruitment of participants, the study proposal was presented before the Ethics Committee to get an approval. It was after the approval was granted that the recruitment process was begun. The participants involved in my research included Indonesian EFL lecturers and teachers, both male and female, who were taking Master of Education (TESOL International) at Monash University. This specific category of participants was recruited to fulfil the aim of this research – an analysis of the professional identity shifts in the case of the Indonesian EFL educator.
The participants comprised male-married, male-single, female-married and female-single Indonesian EFL educators from rural, semi-urban and urban areas. Age was not one of the considerations in recruitment, because all of the participants were Australian government scholarship awardees, for which one of the requirements was to be in productive and prospective age or no more than 42 years.
Participants received information on the reason, focus and potential use of the research. Participation within the study was entirely voluntary. Participants were also assured of confidentiality and that no harm was involved in the process. These were put in written informed consents, which were signed by those willing to participate. Thus, participants knew exactly what they were involved in and fully understood the possible risks of the study. What is meant by possible risks here are emotional risks that might be caused, considering that professional identity included not only professional but also personal aspects that are potentially sensitive to the participants.
3.3. Setting
The method of data collection was in-depth interview, observation and individual reflection through writing. In-depth interview was conducted in English, as the participants were fluent English speakers. The written individual reflection, however, was offered with two alternatives for the participants – writing in English or in Bahasa Indonesia. By doing so, the participants were expected to have more freedom and ease in expressing their thoughts and self-perceptions, as some probably felt that they could more easily and explicitly express themselves in either one of the languages. This consideration was closely related to the Indonesian lifestyle and pattern, which were strongly embedded in the participants’ real life. The interview was audiotaped, so that there was no misunderstanding in the follow up process of transcribing. Transcription of the interview and reflective writing was then coded, interpreted and reported as part of the research results.
4. Results and implications
4.1. Prior to coming to Australia
The findings have exhibited that the Indonesian EFL educators give more importance to the role of siblings, spouses and other family members in the decision making process than their own role. This shows exactly how ‘identity is in constant production and exists at the point of intersection between the individual and other determining structures and institutions (Davis, 2004, p. 162). Explicit utterances of the participants on this matter were exhibited, among which by pretending to ask for advice from a dominant family member even though ‘sometimes just pretended to ask for his ideas’.
The findings also revealed that Western culture influences the participants, along with their innate Eastern culture. The assertion of Gendhis, for example, who received ‘some Islamic teaching’ as well as ‘Western way of thinking’, is in line with McAdam’s suggestion that identity synchronically integrates various potentially conflicting roles and relationships (McAdams, 2001, p. 102).
The findings also clearly demonstrated that the participants had their own ways of identifying the profession as educators, which is similar to Hall’s point of view that to be something means to be ‘not something else’ (Hall, 1997b, p. 9). One of the participants, for example, explicitly stated, ‘I am not a teacher, but I am a teacher trainer’ and further suggested, ‘I feel it is higher than being a teacher’.
Another point that I would like to make is that in the data gathered, all participants stated how they were welcome and respected in the society. This respect had brought consequences for the participants, such as being considered as a source of knowledge. Self-awareness and anticipation on such an occurrence took place in all participants as a part of their professional identity formation and reformation, which according to Beijaard et.al. includes perceptions of themselves as an occupational group (Beijaard, Meijer, & Verloop, 2004, p. 118). Some statements exhibiting this fact were being ‘the one to ask about any problems happened in the community’ and having to be ‘an example for the society’.
As also suggested by Beijaard, Meijer and Verloop, both personal and social aspects are important in the realisation of professional identity (Beijaard et al., 2004, p. 113), the data collected showed that reasons for furthering studies abroad could be categorised as intrinsic or personal and extrinsic or social factors. The intrinsic factors mentioned by the participants, among others, were ‘good professional development’ and the belief that ‘learning should not stop’. Societal extrinsic factors suggested were various, among which were considerations that universities abroad were ‘better than domestic’ and that institutional ‘policy’ required professional development for the participants as educators.
Furthermore, the findings proved that language and belief were among the reasons for the participants in choosing a place to study. As a part of professional identity formation, language and belief play a dominant role in identity and culture, because ‘language is central to meaning and culture and has always been regarded as the key repository of cultural values and meanings’ (Hall, 1997b, pp. 5-6).
In the findings, expectations about living in Australia could be categorised into self-expectations and family expectations that convey interrelation, dependence and sensitivity between the two elements – self and family. However, the data shows that participants’ self expectation mainly deals with people to meet and daily life to experience, whereas family expectation to
be successful was more from the participants.
4.2. Staying in Australia
The findings reflected that the participants faced various experiences of studying in Australia, among which was the student-lecturer relationship and adaptation to being students again. Professional relationships, referred to in several excerpts as ‘open interaction’, ‘good relations in academic way’, not being afraid of ‘having different ideas’, and ‘work ethics’, has the impression of being very professional for all participants. This fits in with Hall’s idea (Hall, 1997a, p. 9) that identity is relational and recognised by difference, as indicated in the different professional relationship between lecturer and students experienced by these Indonesian EFL educators in Australia.
Shift of professional identity was experienced, especially by Indonesian EFL lecturers, from being a controller in a teacher centred atmosphere with full power in their hands to being controlled in a communicative atmosphere with limited power. This distinctive experience of the lecturers, unlike that experienced by non-lecturers, is an evidence of what was termed by Bauer and McAdams as differentiation and integration of new points of view on self and others (Bauer & McAdams, 2004, p. 577).
Changes of learning styles experienced by all participants and changes in lifestyle experienced by married participants were indicated in the findings. Problems faced by married participants had arisen in the form of family members experiencing language difficulty and role shifts, which were possibly related to the paternal-dominant system commonly adopted in Indonesia. In the case of single participants, regardless of similar lifestyle experienced, the concept of family had changed into a more individualistic sense of family. This was exhibited in the findings, where Hari stated that ‘Since I am still single, so there is no family’. This is a proof of ‘cultural practices and meanings structure psychological processes, which in turn generate, perpetuate, and transform these cultural practices and meanings’ (Markus & Kitayama, 2003, p. 6), which leads on to a manifestation of new identity.
Both in personal and professional lives during their stay in Australia, Indonesian EFL educators have experienced the shift from a ‘conjoint model’, in which ‘agency can and does manifest itself in and through networks of interactions, to a “disjoint model”, in which each individual is required to be independent in adjusting to their “individual and cultural” environment’ (Markus, Mullally, & Kitayama, 1997, pp. 15-17).
4.3. Upon return to Indonesia
Expectation upon return to Indonesia conveyed expectation from the participants’ institution and the society responses, linking ‘how we have been represented and how that bears on how we might represent ourselves’ (Hall, 1996, p.4 in Ang in Gilroy, Grossberg, & McRobbie, 2000, p. 1). Willingness to improve their institutions was expressed by all of the participants by bringing the knowledge gained from Australia and sharing them with their co-workers. However, the participants also brought home some demands, which possibly resulted from their being immersed in the Australian system.
Certain consequences were also suspected to occur as a result of possessing a higher education degree from an overseas university. Along with stronger ‘bargaining positions’, one of the participants stated that her co-workers would expect her to be more ‘sophisticated than them’. She said that such ‘over-respect’ would become a burden for her. Adi also anticipated a similar burden, as he felt that his return to Indonesia was expected to be an inspiration for his co-workers to be ‘motivated to do the same thing’. Returning to the society of their home country, the participants also possessed certain expectations, both desires and challenges that occur simultaneously. A gap was expected between the participants and their co-workers.
5. Conclusions
Indonesian EFL educators’ professional identity prior to coming to Australia was a negotiation between each individual educator with his/her family members as the closest emotional structures, in which the role of family members were stronger than his/her own role in determining his/her life, including decisions related to their professions. Indonesian EFL educators were also involved in two contradictory environments – Western and Eastern cultures, through which negotiations had to be carried out. The manifestation of these negotiations was in the form of self-identification as being ‘distinctive’ and ‘special’, that resulted in respect from the society.
However, this brought about consequences of their representations as educators in the eyes of the society, which demanded them to be ‘public figures’. Thus, Indonesian EFL educators’ professional identities, prior to being immersed in language and culture, consisted of personal and social factors. It is then clear why self and family expectations motivated their coming to Australia.
Considering the atmosphere and power changes during their stay in Australia, perhaps the participants were in an easier situation rather than being a student again in Indonesia, in which they would be controlled in a teacher centred atmosphere with almost no power at all. Moreover, the feeling of significant identity shift experienced by two lecturer participants was probably due to the acknowledgement of their profession by Indonesian society that was distinctive for them – as lecturers, not teachers.
As regards the personal aspects of professional identity, the significant shift of role especially experienced by the female-married participant was another element of professional identity shift experienced by Indonesian EFL educators. Being immersed in the English language and Western educational environment is an evidence of changes from usually experiencing a ‘conjoint model’ to the shock of a ‘disjoint model’ (Markus, Mullally, & Kitayama, 1997, pp. 15-17).
Institutional as well as societal expectations upon return to Indonesia elaborate both desires and challenges to be encountered. The participants bring home some ‘souvenirs’ from the Australian educational system in which they had been immersed, resulting in a stronger bargaining position and being inspirational. This has shifted the participants into different professional identities. A gap was expected to occur between the participants and their co-workers, causing them to be even more ‘distinctive’ and ‘unique’ than before. They are now not simply ‘socially respected educators’, not “native speaker” educators, but not merely ‘non-native speaker’ educators, either.
Indeed, professional identity shifts had happened to Indonesian EFL educators undertaking the Master of Education (TESOL-International) at Monash University. Five of the six episodes proposed by McAdams (1985, 1993, and 1996 in McAdams, 2001, p. 101) were experienced by the Indonesian EFL educators. In the stage prior to coming to Australia, they made a ‘decision’ and came to a ‘turning point’. Following this stage, during their stay in Australia, these people went through a ‘conflict event’ and experienced an ‘encounter with another person’. Upon their return to Indonesia, these educators had set a ‘projected future’. It is only the ‘reflection’ part that is yet to be expected, which will be realised when they have returned to Indonesia. This part of the stages would be ‘the sedimentations over time of those different identifications or positionalities we have taken up and tried to “live”’ (Rojek, 2003, pp. 127-159). Living through these episodes, these Indonesian EFL educators have experienced shifts in professional identity.
References
Bauer, J. J., & McAdams, D. P. (2004). Personal Growth in Adults' Stories of Life Transitions. Journal of Personality, 72(3), 573-602.
Beijaard, D., Meijer, P. C., & Verloop, N. (2004). Reconsidering research on teachers' professional identity. Teaching and Teacher Education, 20, 107-128.
Davis, H. (2004). Understanding Stuart Hall. London: Sage.
Erikson, E. (1973). Dimensions of a new identity: The 1973 Jefferson lectures in the humanities. New York: W.W. Norton & Company.
Gecas, V., & Burke, P. J. (1995). Self and identity. In K. S. Cook, G. A. Fine & J. S. House (Eds.), Sociological perspectives on social psychology. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.
Gilroy, P., Grossberg, L., & McRobbie, A. (Eds.). (2000). Without guarantees: In honour of Stuart Hall. London: Verso.
Hall, S., & du Gay, P. (1996). Questions of cultural identity. London: SAGE Publications.
Hall, S. (1997a). Concepts of identity and difference. In Identity and difference (pp. 8-50). London: Sage.
Hall, S. (1997b). Introduction. In Representation: cultural representations and signifying practices. London: Sage.
Markus, H. R., & Kitayama, S. (2003). Models of agency: Sociocultural diversity in the construction of action. In V. Murphy-Berman & J. J. Berman (Eds.), Cross-cultural differences in perspectives on the self (Vol. 49, pp. 1-57). Nebraska: University of Nebraska Press.
Markus, H. R., Mullally, P. R., & Kitayama, S. (1997). Selfways: Diversity in modes of cultural participation. In U. Neisser & D. A. Jopling (Eds.), The conceptual self in context: Culture, experience, self-understanding (pp. 13-61). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
McAdams, D. P. (1985). Power, intimacy, and the life story: Personological inquiries into identity. Homewood, Illinois: The Dorsey Press.
McAdams, D. P. (2001). The Psychology of Life Stories. Review of General Psychology, 5(2), 100-122.
Mishler, E. G. (1999). Storylines: Craft artists' narratives of identity. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Richards, K. (2006). Language and professional identity. Houndmills: Palgrave Macmillan.
Rojek, C. (2003). Stuart Hall. Cambridge: Polity Press.
Varghese, M., Morgan, B., Johnston, B., & Johnson, K. A. (2005). Theorizing language teacher identity: Three perspectives and beyond. Journal of Language, Identity, and Education, 4(1), 21-44.
