The identity trajectories of out-of-field mathematics teachers on a qualification upgrade programme

This study explores the mathematics-related teacher identities of four out-of-field (OOF) mathematics teachers over the course of their participation in the two-year qualification upgrade programme. A multi-layered, narrative and discursive theoretical framework was employed to capture and analyse the teachers’ identity trajectories across three timepoints. Using cross-case synthesis, four interwoven, but analytically distinguishable, storylines were identified: knowledge-related, teaching-related, school community-related and career-related. Changes across these four storylines were primarily brought about by repeated teaching experiences, with the programme having limited and unexpected impacts on teachers’ accounts of their practice. The findings are conceptualised in a multi-dimensional framework for teacher learning as identity-making in qualification upgrade programmes and present considerations for professional development designers and policymakers in the context of OOF teaching.