Role Expectations & Contradictions

This activity requires minimal resources such as paper, pens, different-coloured pens, flip-chart paper, and markers.

Introduction to the Repertory Grid

Familiarize yourself with the repertory grid technique. Recommended readings include introductory texts on repertory grids and Personal Construct Psychology to help provide context for the process:

• Kelly, G. (1955). The Psychology of Personal Constructs: Volumes One and Two. Norton.

• Winter, D.A. (2017). Personal Construct Psychology. In Zeigler-Hill, V., Shackelford, T. (eds), Encyclopedia of Personality and Individual Differences. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-28099-8_1147-1

• Neimeyer, R. & Winter, D (2007). Personal Construct Therapy. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-29681-4_10 

• How to... Use a repertory grid. Available at: https://www.emeraldgrouppublishing.com/how-to/observation/use-a-repertory-grid

• Dima, C. (2015). Repertory grid technique: an ideographic and nomothetic approach to knowledge. In Neergaard, H. & Leitch, C. (eds.), Handbook of Qualitative Research Techniques and Analysis in Entrepreneurship (pp. 423-440). Edward Elgar Publishing, Inc. https://doi.org/10.4337/9781849809870.00035 

Define Elements

Explain that in this activity, elements represent significant roles, people, or experiences related to teachers' identities.

Suggested elements could include:

• Influential stakeholders, such as policymakers, parents, students, colleagues, media, school administrators, and teacher educators.

• Memorable teachers from the participants’ own experiences, whether positively or negatively perceived.

Work with participants to select meaningful elements, guiding each teacher to choose 3–6 elements that feel most relevant.

Develop Constructs

To elicit constructs, use a triadic comparison approach. Select groups of three elements and ask participants to compare them: “Identify one similarity between two elements that differentiates them from the third.”

Have participants phrase this similarity as a bipolar construct by asking, “What would be the opposite of this for you?” Record each opposite mentioned, noting that different participants might describe this contrast differently. For example, if a participant describes “motivated” as differentiating two teachers from a third, possible opposites could include “unmotivated,” “passive,” “disinterested,” or “lethargic.”

This step can be completed individually, in pairs, or in small groups.

Invite participants to share the constructs they find most meaningful with the larger group. Write these as bipolar constructs on flip-chart paper to make them visible to all. Discuss commonalities, differences, and the nuanced meanings behind each construct, exploring how choosing certain poles affects participants’ practice and professional identity.

Complete and Analyze Grids

Option 1: Complete the Repertory Grid

Set Up the Grid: List columns as “Me Now,” “Ideal Me,” and “Future Me,” and use bipolar constructs as rows on a grid template.

Rate Each Element: Ask participants to rate each element along each construct using a scale (e.g., 1–5, where 1 indicates alignment with the first pole and 5 with the second).

Reflective Discussion: Facilitate a conversation to help participants interpret their results. Questions to consider include: Where am I at the preferred pole, and where am I at the non-preferred pole? What differences exist between “Me Now,” “Future Me,” and “Ideal Me” as a teacher? What influences this gap, and how might I move closer to my ideal teacher self?

Option 2: Complete the Implication Grid

Set Up the Grid: In the first column, list all bipolar constructs, with additional columns labeled “Changed” and “Not Changed.”

Identify Implications: Have participants underline the preferred pole for each construct. Using a colored pen, start with the first construct and ask participants to think about how being at the preferred pole would impact their practice. Next, ask them to imagine waking up one morning at the non-preferred pole of that construct and consider how it would affect their positioning on other constructs. Mark these changes with a colored pen. Repeat with a different color for each construct.

Reflective Discussion: Examine which constructs influence the most changes across other constructs and why. Focus on the constructs with the most implications for identity changes and discuss how these constructs are shaped.

In our experience, this activity helped participants structure their reflections on teacher identities and provided insight into how shifting along these constructs reshapes their understanding of their roles and the teaching context. Future sessions could incorporate follow-up discussions on factors that influence identity construction or on steps that could support movement toward preferred construct poles, either individually or as a teaching community.