Teachers’ identity as performativity: a study involving undergraduate biology teaching students inspired in actor-network theory

Abstract

In order to contribute to the discussion regarding teachers’ professional identity, this article proposes to use some of the actor-network theory’s ideas to support the concept that teachers present performative identities. Resorting to the concept of ontological policy, the article intends to overcome the dichotomy between essentialism and relativism that for a long time has been installed in the theoretical currents that are dedicated to the study of this issue. Therefore, the article presents examples taken from two focus groups composed of undergraduate students in biological sciences from a Brazilian public university. The first group consists of undergraduates who are recipients of the scholarship program “Programa Institucional de Bolsa de Iniciação à Docência” (PIBID), and the second is composed of non-recipient undergraduates. The results show that the recipients of the program perform an identity type not found among non-recipients: the affinity-identity. The identity of the course also appears as fundamental for the construction of the undergraduates’ identities. Therefore, the article questions the role of teacher training courses in the performance of identity types among undergraduates.

Keywords
professional identity; teacher training; undergraduate teaching course