Beijaard et al。 (2004) The formation of TPI is a process of teaching experience acquisition。

Varghese et al。 (2005) ETPI gets changed and developed through language and discourse, the construction of which is based on the environment with continuity and compensation

Richards (2008) ETPI means that teacher learners are playing different social and cultural roles as they interact with their peers and students。 Teacher learning is a reconstruction of professional identity during the class interaction。 论文网

Hao Caihong (2010) ETPI depends on teachers’ integrated comprehension and meaningful construction on teaching, academic research and the whole education field, also relies on teachers’ explanation and confirmation about themselves, and perception and creation towards relations among selves, other people and the world。

Farrell (2011) An English teacher acts not only as a teaching organizer and a professional guider, but also a culture introducer, which successfully shape the character。

It is a recent area which has attracted scholars only in the last few decades and studies related are limited。 In available studies, the concept of professional identity has been examined differently or not examined at all。 Previous studies have found out that some researchers have tried to define the features of professional identity, whereas others have tried to define this concept in explaining professional identity formation。 

2。3 The structure and definition of ETPI of high school

So far, researchers on this field have held that TPI is a multi-dimensionally structural system, though they have not reached the agreement what dimensions are exactly included。 

Experts in this area of research have concluded at least four views on TPI, namely, a psychosocial view which perceives the development of TPI as the growth of the teacher himself; a discursive view that values not only the teacher’s past and present, but also his or her future in the identity formation; a narrative view in which a teacher take on different identities in different situations and a dialogic view where a teacher defines his role and others’ roles based on each interactional situation。

After analyzing the structure of TPI from the aspect of general pedagogy, Kelchtermans (1993) has pointed out that it consists of self-image, self-esteem, job motivation, task perception and work prospects, which provides us with an overall evaluation structure。 Day& Kington (2008:11) has also made a demonstration on three aspects as career identity, school situated identity and personal identity。 

Chinese scholars are news ones about structure of TPI。 Yu Huihui (2006) has pided professional identity of middle school teachers into nine dimensions, namely, vocational ability, professional meaning, perception of occupational attributes, acknowledgement towards leaders, students, employment rewards and working background, also the last one, judgment on the sense of belonging towards the school where a teacher stays。 Xu Yueting (2011) classified the identities of college English teachers as “actual identity” and “target identity”。

Based on an overall consideration of views above, this study will pide ETPI of high school into four dimensions (see Diagram 2。1), i。e。 career identity, major identity, personal identity and situated identity。 And in this study, ETPI of high school will be defined as perse personal, professional and social roles that high school English teachers play during the process of life, English teaching and professional development aiming at understanding themselves and also being able to be read by other people under the background of Chinese traditional culture and basic English curriculum reform。