Identity expectations in early childhood teacher education: Pre-service teachers' memories of prior experiences and reasons for entry into the profession

•Given high attrition amidst teachers, we study pre-service teachers’ identity expectations in a Canadian context.•We examine how students base reasons for entry into profession on prior experiences.•In addition to school memories, students referred to memories of home and prior work.•Reasons for entry involved past teachers, personal convictions, and imagined students.•Idealized identities relied on expectations with emotional overtones.

In the context of preparing early childhood teachers for a field with high attrition rates, this Canadian study examines pre-service teachers' identity expectations. Pre-service teachers wrote biographical narratives describing memories that influenced their reasons for choosing the teaching profession. Fifty-three narratives were analyzed. Implications from the study's findings suggest that teacher educators: 1) attend to the emotional dimensions of pre-service teachers' memories and identities; 2) help pre-service teachers access and articulate their tacit expectations about teaching; 3) address the image of the teacher as role model; and 4) attend to the political aspects of a prospective teacher's convictions.