Precarious times for the teaching profession: how do temporary language teachers negotiate their professional identities?
Cambridge Journal of Education, 2026 (SSCI, Scopus)
- Publication Type: Article / Article
- Publication Date: 2026
- Doi Number: 10.1080/0305764x.2026.2714964
- Journal Name: Cambridge Journal of Education
- Journal Indexes: Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI), Scopus, Periodicals Index Online, Agricultural & Environmental Science Database, ATLA Religion Database, EBSCO Education Source, Education Abstracts, Educational research abstracts (ERA), ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), MLA - Modern Language Association Database, Psycinfo, Public Affairs Index, MLA International Bibliography, Academic Search Ultimate (EBSCO), Social Science Premium Collection (ProQuest), Education Collection (ProQuest), Education Source Ultimate (EBSCO), Health Research Premium Collection (ProQuest), Political Science Database (ProQuest), Psychology & Behavioral Sciences Collection (EBSCO), Sociology Source Ultimate (EBSCO)
- Keywords: language teacher identity, Neoliberalism, precarious language teachers, precarity, temporary language teachers, temporary teachers
- Middle East Technical University Affiliated: Yes
Abstract
Under neoliberal educational systems, graduates of teacher education programmes may face precarious work conditions and struggle to develop secure, stable and strong teacher identities. Despite the significance of this issue, research on how language teachers experience the precarisation of the profession remains limited. Therefore, in this exploratory qualitative inquiry, the authors drew on a multi-layered conceptualisation of (language) teacher identity (re)construction to examine how temporary language teachers negotiated their teacher identities. Specifically, the authors focused on a group of temporary English language teachers in Türkiye, analysing how they perceived their professional identities. The analysis revealed that their ‘temporary’ status negatively influenced both their teaching practices and their attitudes towards their professional identities. Nevertheless, they often adopted an entrepreneurial mindset, viewing their teaching experiences as an investment towards securing permanent employment. Building on these points, the authors discussed the implications of temporary employment for the (language) teaching profession and offered recommendations for key stakeholders.