Summary:

In the sense of a scientific discussion, the article deals with the connection between expectations placed on teachers with a migration background (e.g. on a political level, but also by work colleagues etc.). It also addresses the formation of their professional identity, which can be strongly influenced by these assumptions. Respectively, the findings of a qualitative study, exploring the professional identities of immigrant teachers, are presented. In Detail 2 male and 13 female immigrant teachers were interviewed – Research shows, that several types of professional identities can be distinguished (all in all three types; two of them are presented in detail: the so-called “Competent Immigrant” Type and the “Pedagogical Professional” Type), which in turn has different effects on practical teaching in school. Since personal and professional identity are inextricably linked, it is of high importance to involve the very personal aspects of teachers in the theoretical content of any programmes (personal development – discussion and reflection of one's experiences/thoughts) – particularly at the beginning and the end of programmes/trainings. In this respect, the authors suggest offering the teachers opportunities to reflect their development process to see individual changes regarding their own professional identity but also regarding their beliefs and thoughts about the topic in general.

Language: English