UC San Diego

In the past few decades teacher identity has received increased attention in the research literature. Teacher identity is the foundation on which teachers build their practice and how they interact in the classroom. Moreover, it is a potential avenue to an increased sense of agency, professionalism, and resilience. Despite the growing breadth of literature there are gaps in the literature, specifically that identity formation is an inherently relational process; yet little scholarship has explored this idea using a framework that privileges relationships. Moreover, few scholars have used identity theory to explore teacher identity. In this dissertation I explored the how novice teachers develop their teacher identity from credential to classroom using social network theory and identity theory. Some salient findings across the chapters were that participants set social boundaries between themselves and others to define their teacher identity; participants’ teacher identity both shaped and was shaped by their social networks; social justice teacher identity was strongly influenced by the teacher education program, but seemed to be less salient once participants entered the classroom; participants’ acknowledged feeling their teacher identity constrained by being a novice teacher, but they were optimistic about becoming the teacher they wanted to become; and lastly, sense of belonging and value consonance played a role in teacher identity formation for participants.