Blurb:

Chapter two takes a broad macro-view and is a foundational one as it deals with the essentialist and constructivist approaches to identity and different conceptualizations of identity. While the essentialist approach regards identity as fixed and stable, the constructivist approach sees identity as situated, negotiable, dynamic, and flexible. The latter approach has received wide recognition in teacher education in the past two decades and is closely intertwined with the sociocultural perspective to teacher education.