Australian Journal of Teacher Education
Abstract
In an earlier paper (Fielding, Cavanagh and Widdowson, 1978), an attempt was made to portray the developmental aspects of the pre-service teacher education experience as a process of role integration. It was assumed that the student integrates several new roles into personality in dealing with the tasks of becoming a teacher. The paper's main assertion was that the tasks could not be adequately completed unless they were accompanied by role transformations and integrations. In this paper further ideas are presented which may provide additional understanding of the process of role integration. The central theme of these ideas is that role integration is linked to psychodynamic processes through which individuals seek their own, largely idiosyncratic, means of 'presenting themselves' to others (Goffman, 1959: 238-255). If certain teaching skills and theoretical understandings aid in this process then so much the better; however, unless the individual enjoys a high degree of autonomous choice over which skills suit him personally, his actual experiences are likely to be counterproductive, both to professional development and role integration.
Recommended Citation
Fielding, T. (1983). Personal Construct theory as a Basis for a Non-Deterministic Model of Teacher Development. Australian Journal of Teacher Education, 8(2). https://doi.org/10.14221/ajte.1983v8n2.2