본 연구의 목적은 초등학교 초임교사의 교사 정체성 형성과정을 탐색하는 데 있다. 이를 위해 연구 문제는 첫째, ‘초등 초임교사의 교사준비과정에서의 정체성 형성과정은 어떠한가?’ 둘째, ‘초등 초임교사의 교직입문 후의 정체성 형성과정은 어떠한가?’로 선정하였다. 이 연구 문제를 해결하기 위해 심층 면담 기법을 활용한 내러티브 연구를 실시하였다.
먼저 교사 정체성에 대한 개념적 틀을 구성하기 위해 국내, 국외의 선행연구들을 살펴 정체성의 개념, 관점, 특징, 형성과정을 검토하였고 이를 바탕으로 본 연구의 목적에 맞게 개념적 틀을 구성하였다. 이후 면담 질문의 구성과 수집된 연구 자료의 분석에 구성된 개념적 틀을 활용하였다.
연구 참여자 선정을 위해 초임교사의 정의에 따른 교육경력 5년 이하의 초등교사, 연구 참여자들이 겪고 있는 다양한 학교상황 등을 고려하였다. 연구 참여자로 선정된 3명의 교사와 심층 면담을 통해서 그들의 교사준비과정, 교직입문 후의 경험을 들을 수 있었다. 자료 수집은 주로 면담 질문을 통한 심층 면담과 자서전적 글쓰기, 현지 문서를 통해 이루어졌다.
연구 결과 첫째, 초등 초임교사들은 교사준비과정에서 ‘교직과 연관 짓기’ ‘초등교사로의 결정’ 마지막으로 ‘교사 정체성의 구체화’의 과정을 통해 정체성을 형성하였다. 교사준비과정을 교육대학교 입학 전과 후로 나누었을 때 입학 전에는 ‘교직과 연관 짓기’와 ‘초등교사로의 결정’의 과정이 있었으며 입학 후에는 ‘교사 정체성의 구체화’의 과정을 겪었다. 이때 연구 참여자들이 형성한 교사 정체성은 교사로서의 가치관, 교육관, 믿음, 목표 등과 관련이 있었다.
먼저 연구 참여자들은 교육대학교 입학 전 ‘교직과 연관 짓기’ 과정에서 초등학교 교사라는 직업과 자신의 적성을 연관 지어 보았다. 다음으로 ‘초등교사로의 결정’ 단계에서는 자신의 적성을 기반으로 하여 부모님의 진학 권유, 교직의 특성인 안정적 일자리, 타 대학 진학의 차선책 등의 현실적인 요건을 고려하는 모습을 보여주었다. 이때, 교육대학교 진학 전 진학의 결정 시기가 교사 정체성에 영향을 주는 것으로 나타났다. 대입을 위한 대학 수학능력평가 후 진학을 결정한 연구 참여자에 비해 이른 시기에 교육대학교의 진학을 결정한 연구 참여자는 교직에서의 교수(teaching) 경험이 없었음에도 교사로서의 정체성을 형성하기 시작했다. 다음으로 교육대학교에 입학 후 연구 참여자들은 ‘교사 정체성의 구체화’의 과정을 겪었는데 연구 참여자들은 이러한 교육대학교에서 초등교육과 관련된 간접적인 경험을 통해 교사로서의 믿음, 목표, 가치관 등을 형성해 나갔다. 이 과정 안에서 이미 형성되어 있던 교사로서의 가치관과 목표가 새로운 경험을 통해 변화되는 모습도 보여주었으며 이를 통해 교사로서 형성된 가치관이 고정적이지 않음을 확인할 수 있었다.
연구 결과 둘째, 교직입문 후 연구 참여자들은 각자 다른 환경의 학교에 발령을 받았음에도 불구하고 크게 ‘위기와 대처’, ‘성공의 경험’, ‘통찰’이라는 공통적인 과정을 거치며 정체성을 형성하였다. 먼저 연구 참여자들은 ‘위기와 대처’의 과정에서 교직이라는 새로운 환경에 직면하여 자신의 수업능력의 부족, 학급 경영의 실패 등에서 위기를 겪었으며 이는 자신감 하락, 적성에 대한 의심, 교직선택의 후회로 이끌었다. 이 과정에서 교육대학교에서 형성되기 시작한 교사로서의 정체성이 위협받기도 하였다. 이후 연구 참여자들은 적극적인 대처로써 멘토 교사로부터 조언 듣기, 책을 통한 전문성 신장 등을 시도하였으며 반대로 수동적인 대처로써 어려운 상황을 벗어나기 위한 군입대를 선택하기도 하였다. 다음의 ‘성공 경험’에서는 앞서 단계에서 경험한 위기의 과정들을 해결해 나가는 과정에서 수업의 전문성, 학급 경영, 가치관에 근거한 교육실행에서 향상된 모습을 보였다. 하지만 ‘성공 경험’과 ‘위기와 대처’의 단계가 직선하는 과정으로 나타나지 않았다. 즉, 연구 참여자들은 일반적으로 자신이 부족했다고 느낀 부분을 극복하며 성공의 경험을 느꼈지만, 그 후 또 다른 위기를 겪기도 하였다. 마지막으로 연구 참여자들은 교육과정, 자기 이해, 역할에 대해 통찰의 경험을 겪었다. 그들은 교사의 주도 아래 이루어지는 교육과정에서 학생, 학부모 등의 다양한 주체들이 함께 구성해 나가는 교육과정으로 인식을 확장시켰다. 또한, 교직을 경험해 나가며 자신과 교직의 일치감, 자신의 특성 등을 통찰해 나갔고 더욱이 자신에 대한 이해를 넓혀갔다. 이 과정은 연구 참여자들이 교사로서 자신이 할 수 있고 목표하는 역할에 대해 숙고하고 교사의 역할을 생성, 변화, 강화하도록 이끌었다.
이와 같은 결과를 바탕으로 의의 및 후속 연구의 제언을 하였다. 첫째, 예비교사들이 다양한 학생들과 만남을 통해 교사로서의 정체성을 형성하고 초임교사로서 겪는 위기의 경험을 긍정적으로 대처할 수 있도록 다양한 학생들과 만남의 경험이 필요하다. 둘째, 현재 초등학교 초임교사들이 위기의 경험 속에서 긍정적인 대처를 할 수 있도록 제도적인 지원이 필하다. 셋째, 후속연구를 위한 제언으로는 초임교사의 경력에 해당하는 기간 동안 지속적인 연구를 통해 교사 정체성 형성과정을 심층적으로 살펴보아야 한다. 또한 세대가 바뀌면서 변화하는 초임교사들의 특성에 따른 정체성 형성과정을 살피기 위해 새로운 연구 참여자를 대상으로 시행할 필요가 있다.

핵심어: 교사 정체성, 초등교사, 초임교사, 내러티브 연구

This study aims to explore the process of teacher identity formation by novice elementary school teachers. The research questions are as follows. First, what is the process of teacher identity formation that takes place before and during the education and training of elementary school teachers? Second, what is the process that occurs after elementary school teachers begin working? To answer these questions, we carried out a narrative study using in-depth interviewing techniques.
First, the existing body of literature, both domestic and international, was examined to extract the concepts, perspectives, features, and formation process of teacher identity. Based on the aforementioned, we constructed a conceptual framework of teacher identity for the purpose of this study. The framework was used to compose the interview questions and analyze the research data.
The study participants were novice elementary school teachers, defined as professionals with less than five years of teaching experience who taught in various school conditions. In-depth interviews were conducted with three selected teachers concerning their experiences before and after they became teachers. The data collection consisted of the interviews, autobiographical writing, and analysis of local documents.
Concerning the first research question, the results showed that the participants’ process of developing a teacher identity can be divided into three stages: “relating to teachers,” “making a decision to become an elementary school teacher,” and “embodying a teacher identity.” The stages of “relating to teachers” and “making a decision to become an elementary teacher” took place before the participants were admitted to a teaching degree program, while “embodying a teacher identity” happened after admission. At this time, the participants’ teacher identities were related to their values, educational views, beliefs, and goals as teachers.
In the stage of “relating to teachers” that took place before entering a university teacher program, the participants thought about their aptitude to become elementary school teachers. Next, in the “making a decision to become an elementary school teacher” stage, they considered practical issues such as their parents’ advice, job stability, and how the university program compared to others. Moreover, the timing of the decision to enter a university program affected the participants’ teacher identities. Those who entered earlier developed a teacher identity more quickly—even though they had no teaching experience—than those who entered a university program after taking the college’s scholastic ability evaluation.
After entering a university teacher program, the participants began the stage of “embodying a teacher identity,” which formed their beliefs, goals, and values through indirect experiences of elementary education. In this process, the values and goals that the participants had already formed as pre-teachers were changed through new experiences, which confirmed that the values they held as teachers were not fixed.
Concerning the second research question, after entering the workforce as teachers, the participants continued to form their teacher identities through the common processes of “crisis and coping,” “successful experience,” and “insight,” although they were assigned to different schools with various environments. First, the participants faced a new environment of teaching in the process of “crisis and coping,” which led to a decline in their confidence, self-doubts about their aptitude, and regrets about deciding to become a teacher. At this point, the teacher identities they had begun to form at the university were threatened. Some participants actively sought advice from mentor teachers and looked for ways to improve their professional practice by reading books; in contrast, others chose to join the military to escape the difficult situation as a form of passive coping.
In the following stage of “successful experience,” the participants improved their teaching practices based on the expertise, class management skills, and values they had gained in the process of solving the crises experienced in the earlier stage. However, the stages of “crisis and coping” and “successful experience” did not have a clear-cut progression. In other words, the participants generally felt the experience of success by developing professional skills they believed that they had lacked. Yet even after having successful experiences, they underwent other crises.
Finally, the participants gained “insight” into the curriculum and their teaching roles as well as self-understanding. They expanded their philosophy from a teacher-led curriculum to one centered on various actors, such as students and parents. They developed insight into the unity between themselves and the teacher role. Furthermore, they expanded their understanding of themselves through their teaching experiences. This led them to ponder the role and goals of teachers and created, changed, and strengthened them in their teaching positions.
Based on these findings, some suggestions are offered for teachers’ professional development and further research in this area. First, preservice teachers should have opportunities to meet and interact with students to facilitate the development of their teacher identities and learn positive strategies for coping with crisis experiences. Second, elementary school teachers need institutional support for handling crises. Third, follow-up studies are recommended to examine the process of teacher identity formation in depth through continuous research on the early career period (i.e., novice teachers). Moreover, to investigate how the process of teacher identity development may change according to each generation of teachers, a similar study should be carried out with other participants.

Key words: Teacher Identity, Elementary School Teacher, Novice Teacher, Narrative Research

• Ⅰ. 서론 ········································································ 1
• 1. 연구의 필요성 및 목적 ·············································· 1
• 2. 연구 문제 ································································ 4
• 3. 용어의 정의 ····························································· 5
• Ⅱ. 이론적 배경 ····························································· 7
• 1. 교사 정체성의 의미 ·················································· 7
• 2. 교사 정체성의 특성 ·················································· 11
• 3. 선행연구 검토 ························································· 16
• Ⅲ. 연구방법 ································································· 22
• 1. 내러티브 탐구 ·························································· 22
• 2. 연구 절차 및 단계 ····················································· 23
• 가. 연구대상 ······························································· 24
• 나. 자료 수집 ······························································ 26
• 3. 연구의 제한점 ·························································· 29
• Ⅳ. 연구 결과 ································································ 31
• 1. 교사 준비 과정에서의 정체성 형성과정 ······················· 31
• 가. 지교사의 이야기 ····················································· 32
• 나. 김교사의 이야기 ····················································· 37
• 다. 박교사의 이야기 ····················································· 41
• 라. 소결 ······································································ 47
• 2. 교직입문 후 정체성 형성 과정 ···································· 49
• 가. 지교사의 이야기 ····················································· 50
• 나. 김교사의 이야기 ····················································· 62
• 다. 박교사의 이야기 ····················································· 75
• 라. 소결 ······································································ 85
• Ⅴ. 결론 및 제언 ····························································· 88
• 1. 요약 및 결론 ····························································· 88
• 가. 교사 준비 과정에서의 교사 정체성 형성과정 ·············· 88
• 나. 교직입문후의 교사 정체성 형성과정 ························· 90
• 2. 제언 ········································································ 93
• 참 고 문 헌 ···································································· 95
• ABSTRACT ·································································· 101