“Unprofessional” revisited: an institutional analysis of practicum amongst student teachers in China

This paper examines how student teachers in China develop their professional identities within secondary school institutional settings. Drawing on in-depth interviews and participant observation, it investigates practices and behaviours perceived as “unprofessional” during the teaching practicum from a sociological perspective and explores how the distinction between “professional” and “unprofessional” shapes student teachers’ understandings of the profession. The findings indicate that appearance serves as a visible marker for the (re)constructing professional identities. Student teachers often struggle to balance “being approachable” with avoiding excessive familiarity that might compromise professional boundaries. Furthermore, learning to teach is not merely a technical skill for gaining recognition but also a crucial process through which individuals develop trust, collaborate effectively, and make informed decisions within specific organisational contexts. The paper argues that the professional/unprofessional dichotomy reveals institutional logics embedded in the process of meaning-making as, towards, and for becoming a teacher.