Through the looking glass: professional identity during a pandemic

When compared with other professions (such as law and medicine), educators do not have a strong sense of professional identity. It could be argued that as a sector, education has been compliant to the demands of others and as a result exploring what it means to be a professional educator has not been high on the agenda for most teachers or leaders in further and higher education. This research takes an autoethnographic approach by placing participants at the centre of the analysis. Using reflections as a form of personal inquiry, participants explored their professional identity from a specific standpoint and within a particular context. This involved cultural analysis and interpretation not only of identity but of the ways in which environmental factors contribute to it. The reflections provided an opportunity to explore the topic with an experienced eye as well as offering a space for reflexivity. By taking a ‘through the looking glass’ approach, participants embraced the notion of ‘uncertain certainty’ (Bolton, 2001). Initial findings suggest that in the move to the virtual classroom both teachers and leaders have experienced a range of novel challenges. Whilst teachers have had to learn new skills and look at their roles in a different way, leaders have been forced to reconsider policy as well as the infrastructure required to support teaching activity. The last two years have shown a sector which is both fragile and resilient and a world where the impossible has become possible and where previous ‘truths’ are no longer definitive.