In much educational literature it is recognised that the broader social conditions in which teachers live and work, and the personal and professional elements of teachers' lives, experiences, beliefs and practices are integral to one another, and that there are often tensions between these which impact to a greater or lesser extent upon teachers' sense of self or identity. If identity is a key influencing factor on teachers' sense of purpose, self-efficacy, motivation, commitment, job satisfaction and effectiveness, then investigation of those factors which influence positively and negatively, the contexts in which these occur and the consequences for practice, is essential. Surprisingly, although notions of 'self' and personal identity are much used in educational research and theory, critical engagement with individual teachers' cognitive and emotional 'selves' has been relatively rare. Yet such engagement is important to all with an interest in raising and sustaining standards of teaching, particularly in centralist reform contexts which threaten to destabilise longheld beliefs and practices. This article addresses the issue of teacher identities by drawing together research which examines the nature of the relationships between social structures and individual agency; between notions of a socially constructed, and therefore contingent and ever-remade, 'self', and a 'self' with dispositions, attitudes and behavioural responses which are durable and relatively stable; and between cognitive and emotional identities. Drawing upon existing research literature and findings from a four-year Department for Education and Skills funded project with 300 teachers in 100 schools which investigated variations in teachers' work and lives and their effects on pupils (VITAE), it finds that identities are neither intrinsically stable nor intrinsically fragmented, as earlier literature suggests. Rather, teacher identities may be more, or less, stable and more or less fragmented at different times and in different ways according to a number of life, career and situational factors.This article focuses upon the nature of and influences on teacher identities. It begins by discussing theoretical and empirical studies on identity which represent different historical and cultural perspectives in different change contexts. These focus upon (i) early notions of teacher identity; (ii) teachers' identities: personal and professional; (iii) the teacher, the pupils and the school; (iv) the multiple 'I': agency and structure in the early years of teaching; and (v) fragmented selves. Having

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This article outlines the research design of a large-scale, longitudinal research study in England intended to describe and explore variations in teachers' work, lives and their effects on pupils' educational outcomes. The study, funded by the Department for Education and Skills (DfES) and incorporated into the Teaching and Learning Research Programme (TLRP) as an 'Associate Project', used an innovative mixed-methods research design to create case studies of 300 teachers in Years 2, 6 and 9. The research was conducted over three consecutive academic years and collected a wide range of data through interviews, questionnaire surveys of teachers' and pupils' views and assessment data on pupils' attainments in English and mathematics. The text summarises the main findings from the research in relation to four interconnected themes of the study: Professional Life Phases; Professional Identity; Relative Effectiveness; and Resilience and Commitment. The influence of school context, in terms of level of social disadvantage of pupil intake, is also investigated. Key findings and their implications for policy and practice are highlighted.The schools were selected to be representative of those in England in terms of levels of social disadvantage and attainment. The research sought to describe and analyse influences on teachers' professional and personal lives, their identities and effectiveness, and explore their interconnections. It also investigated connections between the school contexts in which they worked and these features. VITAE was recognised as an Associate Project by the TLRP in 2003.This report provides a brief outline of the aims and methodology and focuses on selected key findings on four themes of the research (for further details see Day et al., 2006a;2007). An overview of the research design is provided by Day et al. (2006b), particularly focusing on the innovative use of mixed methods and methodological issues in the synthesis of qualitative and quantitative evidence and its interpretation. The VITAE designThe project was designed against a set of specifications in a competitive tender which defined its overarching aim as:to assess variations over time in teacher effectiveness, between different teachers and for particular teachers, and to identify factors that contribute to variations. The Department wants to understand how teachers become more effective over time.(DfES Tender no.: 4/RP/173/99) Key questions addressed were:

This paper is based upon a unique mixed methods 4-year research project which focused upon the variations in teachers' work, lives, and effectiveness of 300 elementary and secondary school teachers in a range of 100 schools across seven regions of England. Its findings challenge linear conceptions of teacher development and expertise and provide new understandings of the effects of personal, school and broader policy contexts upon professional life phase trajectories and teachers' emotional identities. It finds connections between these and teachers' commitment, resilience, and effectiveness. This paper discusses these in relation to the school standards and teacher retention agendas.