The role of experienced teachers in the development of pre-service language teachers’ professional identity: Revisiting school memories and constructing future teacher selves

Abstract This paper examines how student teachers perceive the role of more experienced teachers in fostering their pedagogical cultural identities (Burgess, 2016). It reports on a project within the ‘Programa Institucional de Bolsas de Iniciacao a Docencia’ (PIBID), a national programme in Brazil to promote teacher recruitment and encourage undergraduates to pursue a career in teaching. The study investigated in-school experiences of four pre-service teachers working in state schools located in peripheral urban areas in Sao Paulo. Specifically, it examined the ways these student teachers conceptualise their pedagogical contexts and related them to the concrete or symbolic presence of other experienced professionals. The findings are expected to support professional development and inform the revision of teacher education programmes in Brazil.