Narrative construction of professional identities of teachers in Norway in the works of G. Søreide

Abstract

The relevance of this article is due to the growing interest of Russian psychological science in the problem of self-determination of the individual in the context of postmodern cultural relativism and the value-moral crisis. The narrative approach is widespread among Western psychologists whose research and practice is focused on the problem of identity. The experience of Norway is of particular importance in this regard due to the high level of mental health of the country's population. The choice of teachers is due to the humanistic, pro-social orientation that permeates their professional activities. This article discusses the main works of the Norwegian scientist G. Søreide, devoted to the problem of studying the professional identity of teachers through the prism of the narrative approach. The author's concept of narrative construction of professional identities is described; the methodological prerequisites for its creation are given; the essence of its main theoretical provisions is revealed. The positions of the subject preferred by Norwegian teachers revealed in the empirical study of personal narratives are named and described. Thematically reconstructed and described is the state-political narrative that dominates the Norwegian educational discourse and was revealed in the course of the analysis of legal documents regulating the professional activities of Norwegian teachers. The mechanisms of influence of public narratives created by social institutions on the process of narrative construction of professional identities are described. The concept of counternarrative developed by G. Soreide is described as an alternative to the dominant state-political narrative. The counter-narrative of educational discourse proposed by the Norwegian Teachers' Union is identified and thematically reconstructed. The dichotomy of the state-political narrative and counter-narrative is noted and substantiated; their main positions of the subject are summarized. The potential possibilities and limitations of the application of the concept of narrative construction of professional identities by G. Söreide as applied to teachers in Russia are described.