Exploring the professional identities of pre-service teachers' studying at the University of Ghana

The success of any educational system depends on how it is organised and the extent to which the stakeholders especially teachers accept and own it. The purpose of this study was to investigate pre-service teachers' (N = 58) professional identities using a qualitative approach where teachers were asked to produce a pen portrait of the perceived identities using open-ended questionnaires and drawings. The result from this study shows that the individual teacher's personal characteristics are paramount in shaping his/her personal identity. Teachers in our study generally described themselves as teachers who are working hard to help learners understand themselves and provide effective learning opportunities for students to excel and develop inherent capabilities. It is a great asset to have teachers who see themselves as agents of change rather than custodians of knowledge. It is important to have reflective dialogues with teachers to understand these personal characteristics that shape their identities.