Overcoming societal stereotypes by enhancing the professional identity of education students

Images of professions are quite actively exploited by society. They are based not so much on the actual behaviour and specifics of one or another profession, but on society’s (stereotypical) perception of their behaviour, appearance and functions. This also applies to teachers whose professional image is identified only with the female gender, e.g. the female profession, the notion that a teacher “stands at the blackboard all her life”, strictness, fatigue, heavy workloads and low pay, out-of-fashion dress code, etc. Unfortunately, many teachers themselves are also stereotyped as powerless, tired and unable to change anything. This can reinforce the ‘clichés’ that young people who are considering a career in teaching hear.

The need for the project is expressed in the following problems:

The future teacher, in constructing his/her professional identity, may get “lost” in the images and stereotypes that he/she hears and experiences in social reality and through media channels. Critical thinking must be developed in order to objectively assess the content of professional identity;
pedagogical studies are partly oriented towards the identity of the subject specialist. Conscious awareness, analysis and, even more so, the search for and creation of an identity for the future profession is not of particular importance;
to actively engage in future professional roles and activities, it is necessary to ‘push aside’ outdated stereotypes. The stereotyping and stereotyping of the teaching profession could be counteracted by the awareness of future teachers themselves, which will be fostered during the activities foreseen in the project.

To strengthen the critical thinking skills of future educators in assessing societal stereotypes of the teaching profession and to help them to construct and accumulate experience in the gradual development of their professional identity

Project results:

• Study “Strategies for overcoming social stereotypes by strengthening the professional identity of teachers.”
• Remote seminar “Stereotypical assessment of the teaching profession and its spread in society.”
• Creative experiential workshop “Implementing the professional identity of the modern teacher.”
• Creative video workshop “Transforming stereotypes by creating the image of a modern teacher.”
• Forum-competition “Transforming stereotypes about teachers: good practices and reality.”

Added value:

The project “Overcoming societal stereotypes by enhancing the professional identity of pedagogy students” will provide added value to Klaipėda State College by helping to strengthen students’ professional identity, encouraging a critical approach to prevailing societal stereotypes, and developing digital competencies. At the national level, it will contribute to the quality of teacher training, increase the motivation of high school graduates to choose the teaching profession, and thus address the problem of teacher shortages. In a broader context, the project will help to shape a more modern and attractive image of teachers, which is important for the quality and prestige of education in society