Abstracts - Earli

community, but it is negatively related to the overall performance. Our study argues for the valueof an integration of phenomenographical and social identity frameworks when an emphasis onsocial and psychological aspects of the learning experience is sought.F 1629 August 2007 17:00 - 18:20Room: 7.59Paper SessionTeacher professional developmentChair:Robert Jan Simons, University of Utrecht, NetherlandsUniversity teachers’ self-concept as a teacherAnne Nevgi, University of Helsinki, FinlandSari Lindblom-Ylänne, University of Helsinki, FinlandThe aim of the study is to explore how university teachers perceive themselves as teachers. Theself-concept as a teacher is part of a professional and academic self-concept and interrelated withacademic competence beliefs. University teachers’ conceptions of teaching has been studiedduring the last decade expansively, but the academics’ self-concepts as a teacher has not yetexplored. Participants of the study were 68 university teachers representing diverse disciplines.Teachers were interviewed using semi-structured questionnaire. The interviews lasted 26-80minutes, and were transcribed and content analyzed. The results showed that teachers’ self-conceptas a teacher was diverse and complex in nature. The 35 different self-concept categories could bedistinguished. The categories were classified in three different dimensions. The first dimension ofself-concept was labelled as Unclear versus clear teacher self-concept. In this dimension, thecategories of teachers’ self-concepts varied from difficulties to describe self as a teacher to clearand explicit descriptions as a teacher. The second dimension of self-concepts was entitled asKeeping distance versus coming near students. The categories of self-concept as a teacher variedfrom teachers’ descriptions being as a strict, demanding and feared by students to descriptions ofteachers as interested in their students’ learning and liking to communicate and interact withstudent. Third dimension was entitled as Rigid versus flexible as a teacher. The categories ofteachers’ self-concepts in this dimension varied from self-concept as carefully planning andorganizing teacher to flexible and improvising teacher who is actively involved in interaction withstudents. The results of the study help us to understand how university teachers perceive them asteachers and how this effects to their teaching. The results can be applied in university teachers’pedagogical training courses in order to help teachers to develop their identity as a teacher.Engagement in teachingArne Skodvin, University of Oslo, NorwayThe aim of this project is to investigate the notion of "engagement in teaching" empirically, Theidea has been originated in working with staff and curriculum development among universityteachers. Research on optimal teaching strategies often show less commonality across subjectfields than one might anticipate. An alternative approach may be to use concepts that can be talkedabout generally, and yet at the same time can be specified within a given subject area.– 349 –