Teacher Identity Formation and Bounded Agency in Marginalized Philippine Educational Contexts

Teacher Identity Formation and Bounded Agency in Marginalized Philippine Educational Contexts | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Teacher Identity Formation and Bounded Agency in Marginalized Philippine Educational Contexts Jovito Anito Jr., Jayson de Vera, Marchee Picardal, Herford Rei Guibangguibang, and 3 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-9078575/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Teacher agency is often discussed as an ecological and relational accomplishment, yet less is known about how it is formed and enacted in marginalized educational contexts and across the developmental transition from internship to early-career teaching. This study examined teacher identity formation and teacher agency in marginalized Philippine contexts. Using a qualitative design, the study drew on key informant interviews with pre-service teacher interns, novice teachers, cooperating teachers, and school administrators. Findings show that teacher identity in marginalized contexts develops from aspirational and service-oriented conceptions among interns toward broader, burdened, and responsibility-laden enactments among novice teachers. Teacher identity is shaped by moral positioning, negotiated belonging, and fragile resilience under conditions of hardship. The study further shows that teacher preparation and early-career practice are structured by interlocking material, geographic, cultural-linguistic, learner-related, and institutional constraints, including a strong preparation–reality mismatch. Within these conditions, teacher agency emerges as bounded and context-responsive action expressed through adaptive, relational, advocacy-oriented, resource-mobilizing, and strategically negotiated practices. The study advances an Ecological–Developmental Recursive Model of Bounded Teacher Agency, arguing that marginalization is not merely a setting in which teachers act but a constitutive ecology that shapes identity formation, structures professional interpretation, and delimits the forms, scale, and cost of agency. The study contributes to theory by linking teacher identity, constraint, and agency within a single recursive account and contributes to practice by highlighting the need for context-responsive teacher education, stronger practicum mentoring, and targeted induction support for teachers in marginalized settings. teacher agency teacher identity marginalized contexts Indigenous Peoples education pre-service teachers Full Text Additional Declarations The authors declare no competing interests. The study has been granted Ethics Clearance (CNU-ERC-030-2026-01) by the Ethics Review Committee of Cebu Normal University. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-9078575","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":603498218,"identity":"2c06b3c3-3d5e-483c-bc61-a8dde7848286","order_by":0,"name":"Jovito Anito Jr.","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAA6UlEQVRIiWNgGAWjYBACxgYGhgNgFjMQfwBiNnZitID1MDMzMM4AaWEmxiqYNcw8MOvwAeb2HsPDHyoY5M3Z+Q8+tvm1TZ4PaNuHjzl4HNZzxuDAgTMMhjubmZmNc/tuG7YBbZOcuQ2PlhlpCQcOtjEwbjjMzCad23ObEaiFjZmXCC32YC2WPbftidCSfACkJRGsheHH7UTCWnoOA71yRiIZqMXYsLfhdnIbM2MzXr8Ytjc2f6iosLHdcP7gwwc//ty2nd/efPDDR3xaGsCUBNTONjDZgFs9EMijcv/gVTwKRsEoGAUjFAAAOjBRipMWDCEAAAAASUVORK5CYII=","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1212-7848","institution":"College of Teacher Education, Jose Rizal Memorial State University, Dapitan City, Philippines","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Jovito","middleName":"","lastName":"Anito","suffix":"Jr."},{"id":603499496,"identity":"fd176fff-9043-490a-b79d-e638753bc0ab","order_by":1,"name":"Jayson de Vera","email":"","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4307-6502","institution":"College of Teacher Development, Philippine Normal University, Manila, Philippines","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Jayson","middleName":"","lastName":"de Vera","suffix":""},{"id":603499497,"identity":"d92d405f-eb8f-48d2-ada4-d00287d96673","order_by":2,"name":"Marchee Picardal","email":"","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7257-6776","institution":"College of Teacher Education, Cebu Normal University, Cebu City, Philippines","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Marchee","middleName":"","lastName":"Picardal","suffix":""},{"id":603499498,"identity":"7ed2e356-4264-48a4-81ec-47b109fe6e1c","order_by":3,"name":"Herford Rei Guibangguibang","email":"","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9950-1689","institution":"College of Teacher Education, Jose Rizal Memorial State University, Dapitan City, Philippines","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Herford","middleName":"Rei","lastName":"Guibangguibang","suffix":""},{"id":603499499,"identity":"7144f05b-4417-407b-8e82-0556d3069d0f","order_by":4,"name":"Gina Bonior","email":"","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6657-0637","institution":"College of Education, Silliman University, Dumaguete City, Philippines","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Gina","middleName":"","lastName":"Bonior","suffix":""},{"id":603499500,"identity":"8499613e-230f-4f34-bb08-df1aa68f9233","order_by":5,"name":"Victor Brian Catalbas","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"St. Joseph College of Sindangan Inc., Sindangan, Zamboanga del Norte, Philippines","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Victor","middleName":"Brian","lastName":"Catalbas","suffix":""},{"id":603499501,"identity":"ba4f0d24-ac5a-4e2b-a418-be4f4926c55e","order_by":6,"name":"Bonjovi Hajan","email":"","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2911-5824","institution":"College of Education, Mindanao State University – Tawi-Tawi College of Technology and Oceanography, Bongao, Tawi-Tawi, Philippines","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Bonjovi","middleName":"","lastName":"Hajan","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2026-03-10 03:30:16","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":{"humanSubjects":true,"vertebrateSubjects":false,"conflictsOfInterestStatement":false,"humanSubjectEthicalGuidelines":true,"humanSubjectConsent":true,"humanSubjectClinicalTrial":false,"humanSubjectCaseReport":false,"vertebrateSubjectEthicalGuidelines":false},"doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9078575/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-9078575/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":104559990,"identity":"99d36501-05fd-499e-b9b8-ed3868a2e098","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-03-13 10:00:36","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":2503906,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"TeacherAgencyinthePhilippinesV4.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-9078575/v1_covered_025a46c4-a279-410c-bfc2-599641c78f2e.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"\u003cp\u003eThe authors declare no competing interests.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe study has been granted Ethics Clearance (CNU-ERC-030-2026-01) by the Ethics Review Committee of Cebu Normal University.\u003c/p\u003e","formattedTitle":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eTeacher Identity Formation and Bounded Agency in Marginalized Philippine Educational Contexts\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":true,"hideJournal":true,"highlight":"","institution":"Jose Rizal Memorial State University","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"teacher agency, teacher identity, marginalized contexts, Indigenous Peoples education, pre-service teachers","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9078575/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-9078575/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eTeacher agency is often discussed as an ecological and relational accomplishment, yet less is known about how it is formed and enacted in marginalized educational contexts and across the developmental transition from internship to early-career teaching. This study examined teacher identity formation and teacher agency in marginalized Philippine contexts. Using a qualitative design, the study drew on key informant interviews with pre-service teacher interns, novice teachers, cooperating teachers, and school administrators. Findings show that teacher identity in marginalized contexts develops from aspirational and service-oriented conceptions among interns toward broader, burdened, and responsibility-laden enactments among novice teachers. Teacher identity is shaped by moral positioning, negotiated belonging, and fragile resilience under conditions of hardship. The study further shows that teacher preparation and early-career practice are structured by interlocking material, geographic, cultural-linguistic, learner-related, and institutional constraints, including a strong preparation–reality mismatch. Within these conditions, teacher agency emerges as bounded and context-responsive action expressed through adaptive, relational, advocacy-oriented, resource-mobilizing, and strategically negotiated practices. The study advances an Ecological–Developmental Recursive Model of Bounded Teacher Agency, arguing that marginalization is not merely a setting in which teachers act but a constitutive ecology that shapes identity formation, structures professional interpretation, and delimits the forms, scale, and cost of agency. The study contributes to theory by linking teacher identity, constraint, and agency within a single recursive account and contributes to practice by highlighting the need for context-responsive teacher education, stronger practicum mentoring, and targeted induction support for teachers in marginalized settings.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"Teacher Identity Formation and Bounded Agency in Marginalized Philippine Educational Contexts","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2026-03-13 10:00:06","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9078575/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"a70419ab-bcaf-40e9-a67a-eb9c6c4319e9","owner":[],"postedDate":"March 13th, 2026","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"posted","subjectAreas":[],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2026-03-13T10:00:06+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2026-03-13 10:00:06","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-9078575","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-9078575","identity":"rs-9078575","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"XKTyCvWXoU3ODBz1xrDgd","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}