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This study presents a qualitative meta-synthesis of literature reviews and synthesis studies on teacher identity, with the aim of examining and integrating existing conceptualisations of the concept. By systematically analysing how teacher identity has been theorised across review studies, the article identifies conceptual overlaps, tensions, and inconsistencies that characterise the field. Through this process, the study seeks to generate key theoretical insights that may serve as a foundation for refinement and, potentially, reconceptualization of prevailing theories of teacher identity. Adopting a conceptual review approach, the synthesis moves beyond summarising prior research to derive higher-order theoretical constructs that cut across interests, disciplines, and analytical frameworks (cf. Hulland, 2020). Teacher identity is widely recognised as a productive study phenomena and/or analytical lens for understanding teachers’ professional lives, practices, and development (Vähäsantanen, 2022). Over the past decades, a substantial and diverse body of research has explored teacher identity, reflecting its centrality within educational research (Zhang & Wang, 2022). This research encompasses a broad range of perspectives, including studies of personal and collective teacher identity (e.g. Spicksley et al., 2021), professional and personal dimensions of identity (e.g. Carpenter et al., 2019), as well as investigations into the contextual, relational, emotional, and structural conditions that shape and transform teacher identity over time (e.g. Dağtaş & Zaimoğlu, 2025). Consequently, teacher identity has been approached through multiple theoretical traditions and analytical frameworks, including sociocultural, psychological, narrative, and critical perspectives. Against the backdrop of an expanding and theoretically diverse literature, several review and synthesis studies have sought to organise and systematise research on teacher (professional) identity. However, existing synthesis efforts often focus on specific subfields, research traditions, or educational contexts, such as subject-specific teacher identity, pre-service teachers, or particular theoretical approaches. While these studies provide valuable insights, they tend to address segmented areas of the research landscape rather than offering an integrative, cross-disciplinary conceptualization of teacher identity. As a result, research on teacher identity tends to develop along parallel lines, with limited integration across domains and theoretical traditions. This fragmentation contributes to the continued portrayal of teacher identity as a broad, multifaceted, and dynamic construct (Flores & Day, 2006). Although such complexity is widely acknowledged as intrinsic to the concept, it also presents enduring challenges. Notably, teacher identity has repeatedly been described as difficult to define and delimit in theoretically coherent ways. The absence of shared conceptual ground risks conceptual ambiguity, theoretical redundancy, and limited cumulative knowledge-building across studies. Against this background, the present study synthesises how teacher identity has been conceptualised within earlier review and synthesis studies. By focusing on second-order analyses rather than primary empirical research, the study provides a meta-level perspective on how the field has sought to define, structure, and theorize teacher identity over time. The qualitative meta-synthesis employs an interpretive approach, enabling conceptual integration across diverse theoretical positions while remaining attentive to paradigmatic differences and underlying assumptions. The overall aim is to identify how is teacher identity conceptualized in previous review studies on teacher identity questioning what dimensions, characteristics, and/or domains of teacher (professional) identity are identified across these studies? By addressing this question, the study further aims to contribute to theoretical clarity and coherence in teacher identity research. The synthesis offers an integrative framework that highlights both converging and diverging conceptualizations, thereby supporting future theoretical development and providing a foundation for more cumulative and dialogical research in the field.
Methodology
This study employs a qualitative meta-synthesis using a conceptual review approach, aiming to reconcile, reinterpret, and extend existing research on teacher identity in a theoretically meaningful way (Hulland, 2020; Jaakkola, 2020). Rather than aggregating findings, the synthesis adopts an interpretive orientation, seeking conceptual integration across diverse theoretical frameworks through reciprocal translation (Nye et al., 2016). Intensity sampling prioritized studies rich in conceptual elaboration of teacher identity, particularly those addressing identity development over time. The sampling targeted reviews and synthesis studies that explicitly engaged with key theoretical constructs of teacher identity. Together, these strategies ensured inclusion of both methodologically rigorous review studies and conceptually oriented syntheses contributing to theoretical advancement. Included studies were peer-reviewed journal articles published between 1990 and 2024, written in English, focusing primarily on teacher identity among in-service teachers (with some inclusion of pre-service teachers), and explicitly identified as review or synthesis studies offering a conceptual contribution. Excluded were grey literature (e.g. books, dissertations, reports, conference papers) and subject-specific identity reviews (e.g. music or mathematics teachers), as these often foreground disciplinary contexts rather than cross-cutting conceptualizations of teacher identity. The search strategy was developed in collaboration with academic librarians at Oslo Metropolitan University. Searches were conducted in ERIC, Education Source, Teacher Reference Center, PsycINFO, and Scopus. Search strings combined terms related to teachers, identity, and review methodologies using Boolean operators. The search yielded 899 records; after removing duplicates and screening titles and abstracts, 151 articles were reviewed in full text. Eight studies met all inclusion criteria and were included in the final synthesis. Analysis followed a theory synthesis approach (Jaakkola, 2020), conducted in two phases: (1) summarizing and distilling key conceptual constructs across the included studies, and (2) integrating these constructs into an integrative conceptual map that brings together key conceptual patterns identified across the studies. The synthesis employed reciprocal to identify convergences, tensions, and overarching conceptual patterns, while also attending to the paradigmatic stance of each study (Nye et al., 2016).
Expected findings
Based on the synthesis of seven review and synthesis studies, several preliminary conclusions can be drawn regarding conceptualisations of teacher identity and teacher professional identity. Across the reviewed literature, there is strong agreement that teacher identity is a complex, dynamic, and multifaceted construct encompassing the whole person and continuously constructed through interactions between personal, professional, relational, and contextual dimensions (Beauchamp & Thomas, 2009; Beijaard et al., 2004; Rushton et al., 2023). Identity is consistently framed as a process rather than a stable attribute, developing across time and career phases. Despite this shared understanding, the synthesis reveals ongoing conceptual ambiguity concerning the relationship between teacher identity and teacher professional identity. Some studies use the terms interchangeably (Hanna et al., 2019), others position professional identity as a subset of a broader teacher identity (Beauchamp & Thomas, 2009; Lojdová et al., 2022), while others define professional identity more narrowly in relation to roles, norms, agency, and professional standards (Beijaard et al., 2004; Cardoso et al., 2014). Although many authors acknowledge this ambiguity, few offer explicit conceptual clarification. The analysis further identifies recurring conceptual continuums structuring teacher identity research, including individual–collective, personal–professional/social/contextual, cognitive–emotional, theoretical – practical as emerging–trajectory-based, and personal–systemic or political dimensions. These continuums are not resolved but function as analytical lenses reflecting different theoretical and paradigmatic positions. Finally, methodological orientations appear closely tied to conceptualisations of teacher identity. The quantitative review operationalise identity through measurable domains such as self-efficacy and commitment (Hanna et al., 2019), whereas qualitative and narrative reviews emphasise identity as discursively and biographically constructed (Beauchamp & Thomas, 2009; Lojdová et al., 2022). Overall, the synthesis points to theoretical plurality with limited integrative consolidation, reinforcing the continued portrayal of teacher identity as an encompassing yet conceptually elusive construct (Beijaard et al., 2004).
