Exploring Teacher Identity: What Counts as Expertise of a Beloved Teacher

韦杏雨 吴宗杰

Abstract： A good teacher is often depicted by virtue of certain isolated competencies， such as knowledge， skills and attitudes. Teachers identity and their spiritual and emotional integrity are often ignored. This paper reports a qualitative study of the professional identity of an English teacher in a middle school to understand the identity and expertise of a beloved teacher. Through interviews and classroom observation， the study reveals （1） that the teacher who owns a more advanced diploma or professional certificate but confines himself/herself to transmitting only formal knowledge is not well received by his/her students， and （2） that the teacher who is appreciated by his/her students teaches with heart and integrity of identity， and possesses a capacity for connectedness among his/her personal experience， subject， social context and students needs. The study triggers some implications for pre-service teacher education in China. The authors argue that teacher education programs must concern themselves with nourishing persons rather than technicians who are merely equipped with competencies.

Key words： teacher identity； teacher knowledge； teacher education； teacher development

[中圖分类号]H315.9

[文献标识码]A

[文章编号]1006-2831（2014）05-0106-10 doi：10.3969/j.issn.1006-2831.2014.02.028

1. Introduction

In many parts of China， nowadays， with the increasing technical control of teachersprofessional work， the growing public accountability and the intensifying measurement of educational “outcome” through testing， more and more language teachers find it hard to meet the challenges of the new educational reform. For fulfilling the external demands for observable and performance outcome of teachers work， they often lose the battle of winning students heart of learning. They are only struggling to maintain the psychic and emotional energy essential to their work rather than connect in the face-to-face， voice-to-voice， and heart-to-heart interactions of the classroom（Palmer， 2002）. Many teachers are caught up in a bind between a good teacher beloved by their students and public requirements that define their responsibilities. They are lost in the search for their new professional identities. Under such circumstances， the teachers who can survive and thrive are those who can generate their own professional dynamic， and who are proactive rather than reactive. No matter how difficult it is to be good teachers， teachers have to enter the heart of learning.

This paper reports a qualitative case study of the professional identity of a popular English teacher， Miss Juan. The investigation was carried out through classroom observation and the interviews conducted with Juan and her students. The study concentrated on her expertise and identity， drawing upon the argument that understanding a teachers development involves understanding both the knowledge he/she should acquire and what kind of person he/she is （Franke， 1998）.“Teaching， like any truly human activity， emerges from ones inwardness” （Palmer， 1998）. To understand the inner landscape of a good teacher， three important paths must be taken—intellectual， emotional， and spiritual—and none can be ignored. Therefore， Juans emotion and spirit were also brought into focus for the purpose of fully demonstrating the inner world of a beloved teacher. The purpose of this study was to increase the awareness of issues related to the development of teacher identity and the recognition of the spiritual and emotional aspects of teachers， which have been undermined by technical interpretation of pedagogical action.

2. Theoretical frameworks

The study was guided by the theoretical frameworks of teacher identity and teacher knowledge， which center on the question： “What are the identity and expertise of a beloved teacher？”

2.1 Teacher identity and the heart to teach

Teacher identity is described as the integrity of the subject he/she teaches， the students and himself/herself as an authentic being （Palmer， 1998）. To understand and explore a teacher， intellectual， emotional and spiritual factors should be taken into consideration as a whole rather than isolately. Teaching is an emotional practice as well as a cognitive and technical endeavor. Teachersemotional experiences need to be investigated， inasmuch as teaching is a technical enterprise in which teachers personal lives are deeply involved （Nias， 1989） and emotions are significant aspects of identity formation. Emotions reveal not just values but much of a teachers “interior” and “exterior” world. Meanwhile， a teachers sense of his/her “I” who teaches can lead to good teaching. If a teacher learns more about who he/she is， he/she can learn techniques that reveal rather than conceal the personhood from which good teaching comes （Palmer， 1998）.

Nias （1989） and Van den Berg （2002） note that teacher identity is an integrated whole which constitutes a teachers personal identity and professional identity. The latter is shaped by social， cultural and institutional conditions， such as examination pressure， technical measurement of their classroom behavior. A“personal self” and a “professional self” are always in critical dialogue with each other. Thus， whether a teacher can deal with his/ her personal identity and professional identity perfectly in teaching exerts a direct impact on his/her effectiveness of teaching. The two types of identity cannot be separated. A good teacher satisfies both personal self and professional identity. Most researchers in this area agree that excessive inconsistencies between ones personal and professional identities would in the long run give rise to friction within the individual teacher and thereby put the teacher under great pressure， which might ruin his/her professional life and destroy her/his heart to teach.

The development of teacher identity is strongly related to the teachers personal life. Personal identity and professional identity are interwoven in a teachers daily work. However， in the institutional settings， a good teacher is often depicted by virtue of certain isolated competencies， such as particular dimensions of knowledge， skills， and attitudes. If a teacher who meets the instrumental goals （e.g.， knowledge transmission and achieving good academic results） formulated by policy makers or an objective body of so-called “experts”， he or she will be labeled as “competent”， which has been the ubiquitously dominant concept of professional identity imposed on teachers （Beijaard， Meijer & Verloop， 2004） in all the educational institutions around China. Actually it is a limited lens through which good teachers are to be evaluated. In the authors echoing with Korthagens （2004） views， a good teacher should be judged through an integration of competencies， environment and behavior， beliefs， identity and spiritual mission.

Teachers need technique and subject knowledge， however， these are less important than heart and inspiration owned by them（Palmer， 2002）. Teachers with heart are passionate， caring， alive， present， inspiring and real， for their possessing a love for what they are teaching and for their students. To teach with heart means to be an authentic being present in the lives of students. Therefore， a good teacher is reflected in his/her identity―a combination of professional identity and personal identity， and emotional and spiritual perspective besides competencies.

2.2 Teachers personal knowledge

Identity formation incorporates reconstruction of knowledge （Connelly& Clandinin， 1987； Wu， 2005）. Teachersperception of self is generally attached to the various meanings through experience. The concept of knowledge in terms of meaningful experience has been described by Dewey and explored by a vast multitude of researchers. Researchers have described this experiential knowledge in different ways， such as knowingin-action； practical knowledge； personal practical knowledge； craft knowledge， embodied knowledge， constructed knowledge and situated knowledge.

Shulman （1986） sees that teacher knowledge includes subject matter content knowledge， pedagogical content knowledge and curricular knowledge， which is similar to knowledge-for-practice defined by CochranSmith & Lytle （1999）. Knowledge-for-practice is mainly referred as formal knowledge， the general theories or research-based findings on a large scale of foundational and applied topics that together constitute the basic realm of knowledge about teaching. For a long time， it has been widely believed that good teaching depends on a teachers mastery of formal knowledge or knowledge-for-practice. Knowing more means teaching better. However， it is not the case in actual situation. Cochran-Smith& Lytle （1999） declare that it is knowledgein-practice “acquired through experience and through considered and deliberative reflection about or inquiry into experience” that truly matters. In the classroom， teachers practical knowledge is enacted to guide their action. Their experience and reflection on teaching can be appropriately infused into formal knowledge to satisfy students particular needs. The same argument is made in Tickles （2001） differentiation of “organic intellectuals” and“professional intellectuals”. Organic intellectuals always “transmit stable， even stagnant knowledge” while professional intellectuals are more creative and interactive with society， and change the knowledge to be conveyed constantly and appropriately.

Olson （1995） treats this as teacherspersonal practical knowledge embodied within the individual as well as embedded within the socio-historical contexts. Personal practical knowledge emphasizes the importance of personal experience in shaping teachersunderstanding of teaching. Teachers have their own personal conceptions of teaching and learning， which are influenced by their personal life experience， beliefs and values， their disciplinary training， their teaching and learning experiences， together with their professional training. Therefore， teachers transmitting only the knowledge-for-practice are often found nonvigorous and unpopular with their students.

3. Research method

Methodologically， this study was identified with a qualitative-interpretive stance toward inquiry. The study utilized ethnographic techniques to discover what happened in the classroom， and what the teacher thought about what happened. The authors sought not just to observe and describe， but to offer an interpretation of how teachers as actors understood and ascribed meaning to their own actions. As an attempt to explore a beloved teachers identity and expertise， this study tried to investigate the following questions：

（1） Is the teacher who owns a more advanced diploma or professional certificate well received by his/her students？

（2） What type of teacher do students really appreciate？

3.1 Participants

The participants involved in this investigation were an English language teacher（Juan） and her students. Juan has taught English for nearly eight years in a junior middle school in Jinhua， Zhejiang. To choose Juan as the subject was mainly because at the time of the investigation she had won the title of “a new star of teaching” in the district where her school locates. Juan had also been awarded the most excellent teacher several times in her own school. Being a well-received teacher in her school， her personal identity and distinctive qualities drew the authors attention as the focus of this study.

3.2 Data collection

I n t h e q u a l i t a t i v e c a s e s t u d y， ethnographical inquiry and data triangulation were employed to capture the multi-dimensional nature of Juans interaction with her students. A series of interviews was conducted with Juan to trace her reactions and feelings towards her students. A focus group interview of six students was organized for the purpose of obtaining social responses to Juans personhood. Field observation was conducted with Juan in order to find useful information that might not be easily obtained out of her classroom. All the data was audio-recorded for transcription and further interpretation.

3.3 Data analysis

Methods of qualitative data analysis were employed in this study， which embrace a continuum “ranging from a low level of interpretation and abstraction engaged in by the researcher， to a high level of interpretation and abstraction required for theory building” （Maykut& Morehouse， 1994）. Juan was involved not merely as a subject of the study but also as an active interpreter of her own teaching. Upon reading and figuring， the transcribed audiorecorded data from classroom observation and interviews was classified according to three theoretical perspectives in terms of teacher knowledge， teacher emotion and spirit， and integrity of teacher identity. Through the analysis from the three aspects， the study came to an understanding of what were the identity and expertise of a beloved teacher. What follows is a presentation of the results of the analysis.

4. Findings and discussion

The findings of this study reveal that Juan， in her daily teaching practice， handled her professional knowledge， emotion and spirit， and identity with the ways distinguished from others.

4.1 Teacher knowledge

Owning certain appropriate professional knowledge is the prerequisite for becoming a teacher of whatever kind of subjects. Its often considered that the one having received much higher education or owning more advanced professional certificates must be a better and more popular teacher. In other words， “it has been more or less assumed that teachers who know more （more subject matter， more educational theory， more pedagogy， more instructional strategies） teach better” （CochranSmith & Lytle， 1999）. However， what the authors heard from the students and Juan was contrary to the seemingly established truth.

Student E： Our first English teacher was Miss X， who had passed the Test for English Majors （Band 8）. In her class， we seemed to have learned nothing at all for her low voice and indifference to the discipline-violating students. We thought she wasted our precious time and therefore did not like her.

Juan： This term I was assigned to teach them English and was also informed that their former English teacher， Miss X， with an advanced English Certificate （Band 8）， was not popular with her students. For her failing in teaching effectively， she was finally transferred to another school.

Obviously， Miss X was better equipped with knowledge-for-practice or formal knowledge， the knowledge base for becoming a good teacher， than other teachers like Juan. However， it does not necessarily ensure her emergence as a beloved one. Teaching is a craft， not a science， and crafts are not learned by reading books but are learned from experience and with guidance from a master（Bassett， 1997）. Good teaching involves much more than mere knowing （Combs， 1974）. Classroom management， school politics， and meeting the childrens social and emotional needs all take precedence over subject knowledge. In her classes， Juan performed smoothly to better suit students needs and interests. Sometimes， she even allowed her students to enjoy English songs and do what they preferred， following students thinking naturally.

Teaching needs incessant innovation. Teachers should teach beyond the formal knowledge mastered， and efficiently connect it with their experience， institutional context， students anxiety and interests in that students must be viewed as human beings， having their own likes and dislikes. In effect， its teacherspersonal knowledge that counts in actual classroom teaching. There is sometimes a radical gap between what “knowing more” and“teaching better” mean （Cochran-Smith & Lytle， 1999）. Although at the beginning the students looked disappointed after inquiring of Juan about her English level. However， it hadnt been long before her students came to appreciate her.

Juan： At the beginning， the students also asked me which level of English Proficiency Test I had ever passed. “None”， I answered. I further explained， “While I was studying in the college， there were no such exams. After graduation， I didnt take the similar exam either.” My students looked disappointed. However， due to my distinctive teaching approaches and special ways of interacting with students， it wasnt long before my students came to like me. Sometimes after classes， in the corridors， students approached me and called me enthusiastically， “Miss Juan， Miss Juan…” A few days ago， a student came to me and said， “Miss Juan， here is my photo for you.”And another student said， “Miss Juan， here is an orange for you.” …Once， a students mother， full of gratitude， said to me， “Miss Juan， thank you so much. My son has changed a lot since you became her English teacher. He said that he liked you and liked English.”

Juans winning appreciation from her students didnt hinge on her knowledge-forpractice， but on her personal ways of classroom teaching or the knowledge-in-practice. Students heart to learn to a large extent depends on their acceptance and appreciation of their teacher rather than the teachers diploma and certificates in terms of official knowledge for practice. Procedural knowledge， the “knowing how”， is considerably distinct from declarative knowledge， “knowing that”. Although a teachers disciplinary knowledge has a crucial impact on the process， content， and quality of the instruction， it is not adequate. Under many circumstances， formal knowledge weighs less than teachers personal knowledge. Since teachers are not mere screens who translate others intentions and ideologies into practice， they should explore distinctive teaching manners for the sake of winning students recognition overwhelmingly.

4.2 Teacher emotion and spirit

Traditionally， teachers tend to be reckoned as knowledge transmitters while students as knowledge receivers. The spiritual and emotional aspect of knowing is largely ignored. However， students are human beings， rich in thoughts， spirit and emotion， rather than the machines and containers. Students must be treated as integral persons， who need emotive and spiritual communication with their teachers， so that education can be humanistically oriented.

Teaching involves human interaction， therefore it has an emotional dimension. Emotion is considered as the way teachers and students feel as they teach and learn—feelings that can influence the interaction between them （Palmer， 1998）. Students are physical， cognitive， but primarily emotional beings， so emotional communication between teacher and student is vitally important.

As for Juan， besides her constant smiling face， encouraging and gentle voice and charming teaching gestures in her classrooms， she laid emphasis on emotional communication with her students. She always made herself available to students outside of class time to be a listening ear， and sometimes to give advice， for developing trust and respect based on building teacher-student rapport. She believed that only through heart-to-heart dialogue and frequent connection with her students could she win their love and admiration and thereby their learning interests could be accelerated to some extent.

Juan： Teachers should be committed to teaching and try to establish a heart-to-heart relationship with their students. In order to be loved， teachers should not always be in control of students rigidly.

Further， teachers emotion has the understanding function and it can trigger students psychological resonance and help students consider their teachers as their faithful friends.

Student A： She will not be angry if we play jokes on her. She is like our friend and likes communicating with us about many things besides English learning.

Teaching is a way of being， being with and caring for the young. Teachers should be fully aware that care weighs as important as cognition， and they both should be at the heart of teaching profession. In a similar vein， in her daily teaching， Juan cared about her students feelings and opinions， and always tackled problems in the students shoes， i.e. put her in the place of others. Unlike some of her colleagues， she didnt like exercising teachersauthority over students and was inclined to go inside a learners mind and saw the world from her/his perspective. She used to unfold sincerity and friendliness before her students. When students committed an error， she would not immediately respond with severe criticism but resort to sincere interaction with him/ her. Only when she got the facts would she take corresponding measures. Thats why a student who had once broken the school rules remarked like this：

Student B： If the teacher were not Miss Juan， I must have been harshly criticized and misunderstood or suspected of having been to the Internet bar or the arcade. If the teacher disbelieves or shows dissatisfaction with us， we will respond unfriendly in the same way.

What the student said also reminds the authors of a statement that effective teachers are effective not just because of their particular personality traits and intellectual behaviors， but also because of the way they interact with students （Hamachek， 1999）. It is not just what teachers do， but how they do it that matters. Teachers shouldnt be afraid to come down from that authoritarian sphere that they sometimes feel like they have to have because they dont know how to maintain order and control through learning， in that only through building rapport， being human， and by grasping hold of unplanned teachable moments can a teacher teach students effectively. What Juan did in her personal manner moved her students and paid her off. Thanks to Juans kindness and friendliness， the students made great determinations to study hard so as not to disappoint her. Once， in Juans open class， they even unconsciously tried to perform well for winning other teachers good evaluation of Juan. Students responses to Juan mirrored transferability of teachers emotion， as a result of which students learning interest would be greatly stimulated， and more active involvement in classroom activities observed.

Student D： Miss Juan treats us so kindly and friendly that we are determined to study harder in order not to disappoint her.

Teachers speech and behavior have an enormous effect on students not only emotionally but also spiritually. Korthagen（2004） shows spiritual level is about giving meaning to ones own existence. For teachers， it means creating more acceptances of differences between people， creating feelings of self-worth in children， and so forth. Palmer（1998） claims spiritual as the diverse ways we answer the hearts longing to be connected with the largeness of life—a longing that animates love and work， especially the work called teaching. Thereby， for teachers， in their teaching life and interaction with their students， the spiritual elements permeate every corner and act on teacher-student relationship to a great extent. Juans spiritual elements that inspired her students deeply were also embedded in her regular teaching.

Student C： She is kind， faithful， easygoing and simple. She often confides to us her thoughts. If we help her do something like cleaning her office， she will thank and reward us. She is a person who never forgets to do something in return for others help. In our mind， she is perfect. Although she is commonlooking， she is beautiful inward.

Student E： Miss Juan regards us as her friends and always keeps her words.

Its Juans trust that prompted her students to revere her and consider her as their trustworthy friend. Thus， teachers spirit（good quality） exerts an abiding influence upon molding students speech and behavior and directly affects the healthy growth of the future generation of our society. Teaching is a human relationship （Combs， 1974）. Forging meaningful personal relationships with students brings teachers the greatest rewards and personal satisfaction. Owing to her emotional and spiritual factors （character strengths）， Juan won students respect， recognition and heart to learn.

4.3 Integrity of teacher identity

Consciously， we teach what we know； unconsciously， we teach who we are（Hamachek， 1999）. When teachers face students， what they do in their classrooms is shaped by who they are， what they believe， and how vital and alive they are （Instrator， 2002）. Teaching is more than just standing up in front of a classroom. Teaching comes from within. In teaching， a teacher should never break his/her personal identity away from his/her professional identity， but connect his/her personal self with professional self concordantly. If the two identities insulate from each other， in the long run， the teachers teaching effects will be discounted and his/her harmonious life deprived， because good teachers share one strait： a strong sense of personal identity infuses their work （Palmer， 1998）.

As for Juan， she preferred to reveal her personal life related to language teaching rather than conceal it. Before her students， Juan exhibited no pretension， masks and hypocrisy， and never separated her personal life from her professional work， but linked both together skillfully， which she assumed may facilitate students learning.

Juan： Students are curious to know their teachers personal life. In my classes， I often combine the teaching material with my family and myself. Once， a reading passage was about a couple. One student asked me， “Miss Juan， have you got married？” I answered，“I have no husband. I am single.” When I talked about the word “mouse” ， I said， “I am a mouse.” The students responded quickly， “Since you are a mouse， then how old are you？” “I am twenty-nine.” Doesnt it really matter that I let students know my age and remaining single？

During one of her English classes observed， when she heard that two of her students could not pronounce two phonetic symbols correctly， she even mentioned her own painful experience of striving to correct the mispronunciation of two sounds [k？n] and [k？n] in the college.

Juan： …At that time my pronunciation was the worst in my class. In English classes， my teacher often asked me to read in the face of all my classmates. Actually， the more I read， the more nervous I became and the worse I pronounced. I even felt collapsed. I realized that I needed more practice. Then every day I read， read and read in my dormitory and asked my roommates to correct my mistakes. A typical example was that I couldnt differentiate the two sounds [k？n] and [k？n]. My classmates told me to pronounce [k？n] like the “ken” sound in “ken de ji”. Since then， I have been able to pronounce the two sounds correctly.

Teachers are not the persons who only know and reason， but are people in the role of teacher， who act as teachers， and teach in educational situations， and make meaning of their role and the situation （Feldman， 1997）. A good teacher is first and foremost a person（Combs， 1974）. Students rightfully expect instructional and content competence from their teachers， but they also expect to be greeted by a whole person， a caring person， one who knows who and what he is， who has moral standing， and who can be counted on to continue standing， face to face， with students. Juans students enjoyed her classes and they showed great appreciation of Juans frankness and openness.

Student A： She often connects her experience with the contents of the lesson. Once， when we were learning some places of interest， she told us the places she had visited and something interesting that had occurred to her， which we thought would be conducive to our understanding of the contents.

Student E： She often infuses something in relation to her in the classroom. As for age and the like， she doesnt consider it as a secret but lets us be informed， while other teachers try to keep it from us.

Juans case shows that a real teacher not merely demonstrates his/her knowledge efficiently， rather teaching is the projection of a teachers identity as a whole person. In Palmers （1998） words it is “the integrity of the subject he teaches， the students and himself”. In the classrooms， teachers are not those who mechanically transmit subject knowledge， but flexibly insert their own experience and personal life into it so as to bring the meanings to the instruction and satisfy students desire to be connected， and make teaching and learning more colorful and enjoyable.

Because of Juans openness， students saw her as their true and close friend. Studentsreaction to Juans identity reflects what Palmer（1998） maintains— “good teaching cannot be reduced to technique； good teaching comes from the identity and integrity of the teacher”. In her daily teaching routine， Juan joined self， subject， and students in the fabric of life. She taught from an integral and undivided self. Since Juan had the undivided identity and taught from true self， from the identity and integrity， she won her students unanimous appreciation.

5. Conclusion and implications

In this paper， two questions related to teachers identity and expertise have been explored. The data analysis shows that （1） the teacher who owns a more advanced diploma or professional certificate but confines himself/ herself to transmitting only formal knowledge is not well received by his/her students， and（2） the teacher who is appreciated by students comprises the following three aspects：

Firstly， the teacher has a good command of his/her knowledge-for-practice， the knowledge base for becoming a teacher， whereas it doesnt mean that the more formal knowledge a teacher owns， the better teacher he/she will become. A good teacher is one who does not confine himself/herself to transmitting only formal knowledge， but efficiently connects the knowledge-for-practice with his/her personal experience， institutional context and students needs. That is， the teacher is adept at transforming knowledge-for-practice into knowledge-in-practice in teaching and draws students learning interests skillfully.

Secondly， the teacher pays more attention to the emotional aspect of communication with the students， and tries to construct a heartto-heart relationship with them. Teachers are not superior to students； students have no responsibility to always obey teachers order and they are equal human beings. In addition to these， the teacher possesses good virtue and noble qualities such as empathy， compassion， understanding and tolerance， love， flexibility that should not be treated as traits separated from the knowledge he/she cultivates （Wu， 2005）.

Thirdly， the teacher has an integrated identity， i.e. the one who doesnt separate his/her personal identity from professional identity， but merges both into his/her teaching perfectly. Good teaching builds on the identity and integrity of a teacher. The teacher is one of those who possess “a capacity for connectedness and are able to weave a complex web of connections among themselves， their subjects， and their students so that students can learn to weave a world for themselves” （Palmer， 1998）.

The study triggers some implications that might shed light on pre-service teacher education in China.

Firstly， pre-service teacher education programs should lay more emphasis on students emotional， physical and psychological development rather than mere professional skill training. Nowadays， teachers to be needed are those “who care about kids， who care about what they teach， and who can connect with their students” （Intrator， 2002）. However， current teacher education programs in teachers colleges and universities still attach more importance to student teachers passing various examinations， i.e. focus narrowly on student teachers techniques without acknowledging their personhood. As a result， after graduation these novice teachers are tacit and self-contained； lack communication with their students and always separate their personal selves from professional identities， all of which contribute to their suffering of physical and psychological exhaustion and failing in being accepted and appreciated by students. Therefore， teacher education programs must concern themselves with persons rather than mere competencies （Combs， 1974）. During the school years student teachers should be given more care and humanistic edification and let know that teachers first exist as persons. Teachers are not those who solely teach“books”， but as a matter of a fact， teachers teach “themselves”. Teaching is an occupation that strongly involves the teacher as a person. The purpose of education is not to graduate people who “know” a lot about teaching， but to graduate good teachers who understand themselves as teachers （Kane， 2003）. The effort should be involved with helping students to become teachers rather than teach students about teaching. Professional education must be an intensely human process designed to involve students deeply and personally. Thus， the authors assert that in the teacher education programs the importance be given to persons of student teachers， emphasizing the development of total human persons rather than education of technicians.

Secondly， the current visions of teaching practice and supervision have to be reformed in order to promote student teachersdevelopment as persons. It is normally the case that the teachers colleges and universities in China arrange classroom observation and teaching practice for student teachers. However， after the training the novice teachers cannot successfully cope with the problems in teaching. Consequently， they are not popular with their students and sometimes discharged by the authority. The unsatisfying result is partly attributed to the misconception of teaching practice， which is often treated as a way to check student teachers learning results in the college. Supervision work is sometimes undertaken as a way of school teachers keeping an eye on student teachersperformance during the practice. A supportive and heart-to-heart communication between them is not taken into consideration. It seems advisable that teaching practice should be regarded as a social activity which is rooted in the communities of practice， and where both “newcomers” and experienced teachers should work together to create opportunities for their mutual development and dialogue. It is important to realize that the classroom is more than a place for practicing solutions， but rather， it is the place where students discover their problems in teaching， and experience a social， spiritual and emotional development. Hence the pre-service teachers potential for articulating principles of their own practice， and the nourishment of their professional identity should be recognized， encouraged and accommodated.

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