Cultivating Sustainable STEM Education: The Role of Communities of Practice in Teacher Identity Formation

Lin Yang, Pengze Wu, Xuerou Yin () and Xueqi Xu
Additional contact information
Lin Yang: Center of Network and Modern Educational Technology, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou 510006, China
Pengze Wu: School of Information Technology in Education, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510631, China
Xuerou Yin: School of Education, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou 510006, China
Xueqi Xu: School of Education, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou 510006, China

Sustainability, 2025, vol. 17, issue 10, 1-20

Abstract: Although the existing literature provides some evidence of identity transformation among STEM teachers following their participation in various communities of practice (CoPs), the specific mechanisms driving this transformation remain unclear. This study attempted to narrow this gap by analyzing the transformation process of STEM teacher identity among CoP participants. This study constructed a STEM teacher identity model comprising six dimensions (motivation, task perception, self-image, teaching interest, self-efficacy and recognition). Six STEM teachers from Guangdong Province, China, were interviewed, and interview data were analyzed using interpretative phenomenological analysis. The findings revealed that, first, CoPs generally facilitated the transformation of STEM teachers’ identities, though anomalies were observed in the dimensions of teaching interest and parental recognition. Second, the degree of transformation in two identity dimensions (motivation and task perception) increased with STEM teaching experience, while teachers of science subjects demonstrated a stronger degree of self-efficacy. Third, case development and case presentation emerged as the most impactful CoP activities in fostering STEM teachers’ identity transformation. This study provides critical insights for advancing quality STEM education within the SDG4 framework by examining the identity transformation process of STEM teachers participating in CoPs.

Keywords: communities of practice; STEM teachers; identity; transformation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/17/10/4586/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/17/10/4586/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:17:y:2025:i:10:p:4586-:d:1657862

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().