Narrative Formation of Teacher Identity from the Perspective of Complexity Theory

Teacher identity has been studied from several perspectives. However, the present study makes an attempt to investigate the process of identity formation through narrative telling from the framework of complexity theory. In a case study design, semi-structured interview data and teacher-produced diaries of a novice Iranian English teacher were analyzed in order to identify attractors of identity formation. As a result, four major attractors that had the strongest effect on the process of identity formation were detected. Then the mechanisms through which these attractors exerted influence on identity formation are discussed. Finally, it has been argued that narrative construction of identity requires the individual to stress different aspects of their identity at different times; and that the phase shifts that occurred when the identity system moved in the direction of another attractor were triggered by the moment-to-moment requirements of narrative formation.