Proceedings of The 7th International Conference on Advanced Research in Education, Teaching and Learning
Year: 2023
DOI:
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A systematic review of quantitative measurements of teacher identity
Jiawei Zhang, Mingming Zhou
ABSTRACT:
An upsurging number of studies on teacher identity in the past decades has proved the applicability to see identity as an analytic lens to the interpretation of teacher life. A critical evaluation and synthesis of the quantitative instruments provides strong support to better understand the complexity of teacher identity. We reviewed 22 relevant empirical studies published between 2000 to 2022 to synthesize the domains and categorize measurement components of teacher identity. Overall, all measurement components in the reviewed instruments could be grouped into four domains according to the DSMRI framework. A majority of instruments measured teacher identity in terms of “ontological and epistemological beliefs” (17 studies), “self-perceptions and self-definitions” (17 studies) and “perceived action possibilities” (14 studies), with extremely less attention paid to the domain of “purpose and goals” (2 studies). Specifically, components of “self-image”, “self-efficacy”, “commitment”, “teacher beliefs”, “classroom practice”, and “contextual factors” were typically covered in the reviewed measures. Further, a scrutiny of the psychometric properties of the studies reflected a generally good quality of the scales, as shown in their high reliability coefficients (ranging from .63 to .93), while 2 studies failed to provide such information and 2 studies reported poor reliability (below .60). Construct validity was examined in 18 studies, but evidence of content validity was missing in 11 studies. Only 4 studies were derived from valid theoretical frameworks. Our results call for a well-defined identity framework when developing instruments for teacher identity and provide sufficient validity information to ensure their conceptual and methodological soundness.
keywords: meta-analysis, psychometric properties, quantitative instruments, teacher education, teacher identity