Teacher identity development in the first year of teacher education: A developmental and social psychological perspective

•Application of developmental and social psychological theories.•Multivariate model predicting early teacher identity.•Documents the interplay of personal and social identities and life-course events.

The present study examined the development of teacher identity in a cohort of first year student teachers from a developmental and social psychological perspective, relying on Erikson's (1964) theory of identity development and Turner, Oakes, Haslam, and McGarty's (1994) self-categorization theory. As hypothesized, aspects of both personal identity development and social identity were significantly associated with higher teacher identity after controlling for several covariates. The findings have several implications for teacher education programs and point to the potential utility of applying well-researched psychological theory when examining the processes by which student teachers develop a professional teaching identity.