Abstract

The article is centred on a discussion of teachers’ identity perceptions based on a study carried out in Chile with a nationally representative survey of around 1990 primary and secondary teachers, and a set of interviews and focus groups with teachers. Teacher identity is construed as having a personal element (teachers own definitions of their role) and a social one (what society expects or defines as their role). From this perspective, the article is centred on teachers reasons for entering the profession and for continuing within it, their degree of motivation and commitment to teaching, the perception they have of their self-efficacy, how teacher education and experience have influenced their identity constructions, and finally the tensions that are live between how teachers perceive their identity and the external social definitions about what is central to teaching and teacher identity.