Past, Present, and Aspirational identity of English Language Teachers: Teaching Experience and its Influence on Professional Identity

Professional development and professional identity have been interchangeably abused in the research agenda on teacher education and teacher development. This study is an effort to examine the influence of teaching experience on past, present, and aspirational identity while focusing on the distinction between professional development and professional identity development. Data was gathered through a questionnaire from 180 English language teachers working within inner, outer, and expanding circle of language use. Statistical analysis showed that while there was a meaningful statistical significant difference between teaching experience with past and present professional identity, no statistical difference found between teaching experience and aspirational identity. Spearman Correlation also showed that teaching experience had a direct positive relation with past and present identity. These findings imply that although teaching experience might develop some components of professional identity (past, and present), it lacks development of professional identity as a whole. These implications have suggestions for teacher development and education.