Professional Identi ti es of English as a Second Language (ESL) Teachers in State and Non-State Higher Educati on Insti tutes: A Comparati ve Analysis

Abstract

S ince teacher professional identi ty off ers valuable insights into teaching as it is practi ced in actual classroom contexts, research on this topic has been gathering more and more att enti on over the years. However, despite its signifi cance, there have been very few studies on teacher professional identi ti es of ESL teachers from state and non-state higher educati on insti tutes. Thus, this study aims to identi fy identi ti es that consti tute the professional identi ty of ESL teachers and to compare the similariti es and diff erences of the professional identi ty of ESL teachers in the Sri Lankan higher educati on sector. In terms of the research design, the study adopted a qualitati ve approach. As such, data was collected through semi-structured interviews with six ESL teachers from state and non-state universiti es, and the data was then analyzed using the method of themati c analysis. According to data, the study found three identi ti es that are common to both state and non-state university teachers: the moti vator, the friendly teacher, and the advocate of communicati ve language teaching. Moreover, the study also found teacher identi ti es that are unique to state and nonstate university ESL teachers. The identi ti es that are unique to state university teachers are promotor of value-based pedagogy, advocate of criti cal pedagogy, and ESL teacher at a state university. The facilitator, knowledge seeker, and conti nuous learner were found to be unique identi ti es of non-state university teachers. While providing insight into ESL teacher identi ty formati on and its contributory factors in the higher educati on landscape, this study recommends further research to validate and expand upon these fi ndings across diff erent contexts and larger parti cipant groups.