Tejiendo identidades docentes: un enfoque postestructural a las narrativas en profesores de ciencias 'bilingües'

Abstract

This dissertation explores the complex journey of science teachers who teach bilingually in Bogotá, Colombia, examining how they construct and reconstruct their identities through their experiences. Using a poststructural theoretical discussion enriched by biological metaphors, this research investigates how science teachers navigate between multiple languages, pedagogical approaches, and institutional demands while maintaining their core identity as science teachers. Through narrative inquiry and in-depth dialogic encounters with three science teachers, the study maps both the continuities that persist and the discontinuities that emerge in their professional trajectories. The research reveals how these teachers develop adaptive strategies to meet the challenges of teaching science in English while preserving their fundamental commitment to scientific education. Their narratives demonstrate remarkable resilience and creativity in navigating institutional pressures, linguistic demands, and pedagogical requirements. The analysis employs biological metaphors—metamorphosis, homeostasis, and ecological resilience—as interpretative lenses that illuminate different aspects of identity construction in bilingual teaching contexts. These metaphors emerge organically from the teachers' own scientific backgrounds and provide powerful frameworks for understanding their professional transformations. The findings suggest that the construction of bilingual science teacher identity is not a linear process but rather a complex adaptive system where multiple forces interact to shape professional development. This research contributes to our understanding of teacher identity construction in bilingual contexts and has significant implications for teacher preparation programs and educational policy. It demonstrates that successful bilingual science teaching emerges through what might be called "creative adaptation", a process that goes beyond mere response to environmental pressures to encompass active participation in shaping educational spaces.