Policy scholar Yamini Aiyar’s new book shows what it means to be a Delhi government school teacher

What does it mean to be a teacher in the government school system in Delhi? How do teachers and their belief systems shape their professional identity and associated behaviours within the classroom? How does the school ecosystem, in turn, construct these identities and what influence does this have on teachers’ motivation and their response to the classroom? Teachers are at the heart of the education system and no discussion on the organisational norms of the education system is complete without engaging with belief systems, attitudes, and professional norms that shape teacher behaviour.

The importance of the concept of professional identity lies in the link between professional identity and professional action. Who we think we are influences what we do. In education research, this is an important area of inquiry. In unpacking the construction of professional identity, this research provides a useful framework for understanding how teachers construct their ideas of “how to be” and “how to act”. These understandings shape teachers’ dispositions, how they prioritise “effort” and where they place it, as well as what obligations they see as intrinsic to their role. Crucially, teacher beliefs, framed partly by their own understanding, their cultural context, and associated belief systems related to caste,...

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