THE EFFECTS OF TEACHER EDUCATION PROGRAMS ON PRESERVICE ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHERS' IDENTITY FORMATION: A CROSS-CULTURAL COMPARATIVE STUDY.

This study attempted to examine how different teacher education programs affect the identity perception of future language teachers. This qualitative research used a Vygotskian sociocultural theoretical lens informed by Engeström's activity theory to compare English language teacher education programs in Turkey and Finland. Initially, language teacher education programs in Turkey and Finland were subjected to document analysis at curricular base according to the curriculum comparison model of Adamson and Morris (2014) under four components of curriculum: language and linguistic components, literary and culture components, pedagogical components, and practicum component. Then, semi-structured interviews, focus group discussions and field notes were applied to investigate the professional identity perception of pre-service language teachers in both Finland and Turkey. The comparison of curricula revealed a number of theoretical and structural variations. Comparison of identity perceptions, on the other hand, revealed that there were five main differences stemming from differences in teacher education programs, which were explained as dilemmas. Depending on the results, the research suggested that (1) Finnish and other European teacher education systems might be adapted to provide language teachers in Turkey with MA degrees, (2) universities in Turkey may apply aptitude tests to the applicants considering the total number of applicants, and (3) as future educators, pre-service language teachers should have access to resources to help them map out a professional path that aligns with their values and goals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]