The Professional Identity of Teachers at the Intersection of Economic, Political and Social Structures: A Grounded Theory in Yazd

The current research was conducted with the aim of how to build professional identity among teachers in Yazd city.Professional identity is the interpretative framework and professional self-concept of teachers about themselves, which arises from their interaction with various conditions and contexts.In order to carry out this research and obtain the participants' interpretations and generate theory, we used grand theory as one of the qualitative and interpretive methods.The participants in this research included 20 teachers of Yazd city of different ages, genders and educational levels, with whom in-depth interviews of 120-180 minutes were conducted.Then, the collected information was categorized and presented using open, central and selective coding methods.The results of the research related to how to build the professional identity of teachers were extracted in the form of "fragmented identity" category, which is a metaphor for the declining state of teachers' professional identity.And it is obtained from the construction of three sub-categories (teachers' economic inferiority, instrumental identity and weakening identity).Various causal, contextual and intervening conditions in macro-economic, political and social systems have been effective in shaping and strengthening this type of identity.Some of them include the economic degradation of the educational institution, livelihood bottlenecks, value/ normative changes, social ignorance of the professional nature of teaching, etc.In response to their identity situation, the participants have used strategies of silent resistance, protest, self-censorship, and creating opportunities.And the consequences of their identity situation are the reduction of teachers' social capital, professional alienation, reduced participation, etc.