An online academic context for in-service teachers: what works?

These days, online contexts seem the most appropriate option for in-service teacher education. Many educational institutions have acknowledged the potential of on-line courses which involve teachers who work full-time in schools. Despite this, it appears to be an issue which has, until now, been scarcely researched. The present study is directed at exploring how some in-service teachers interacting in an asynchronous website construct their professional identity. They were engaged in an individual and a group activity where they discussed their stories and experiences as teachers. The data collected comprise all the writings of two teacher groups. With reference to Positioning theory, a discourse analysis was carried out. As hypothesized, the findings show that in the online context the construction of teacher identity can be understood as a nonlinear and very complex process of positioning and negotiation. Implications in the field of in-service teacher education are discussed.