Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
ATEE Winter Conference 2023, Braga, Portekiz, 26 - 28 Ekim 2023, ss.25-26
Whether an instructor is at the beginning or the middle of his/her career or not, it is possible that s/he
may experience identity tensions or conflicts. The literature abounds with studies concerning preservice or early career teachers’ identity tensions, while there are relatively few studies in the context
of in-service teacher education. In this presentation, the findings of a study on experienced EFL
instructors’ identity tensions will be reported in order to gain a better insight into what they
experienced in their professional lives after starting to work in a new context. In addition, findings
regarding the instructors’ coping strategies will be shared. The data for the study were collected
through semi-structured interviews and coded thematically using MAXQDA software. The findings of
the study have implications for both administrators and teacher trainers in in-service education
contexts as they reveal that experienced instructors are not immune to identity tensions, and they
may struggle in their career, especially when they are in the process of adapting to a new institution.