The theme for the 2025 SCoTENS conference, A New Era for Professionalism: Teacher Identity, Authenticity, and Agency, invites participants to explore the evolving landscape of teacher professionalism and to critically examine how shifts in society, technology, and education policies have prompted a redefinition of what it means to be a professional teacher in a world where AI's growing influence on curriculum delivery, assessment practices, and teacher-student interactions presents both opportunities and challenges for maintaining teacher identity, authenticity, and agency.
Participants will be encouraged to examine the multifaceted influences that shape and define teacher professionalism, emphasising factors such as policy frameworks, curriculum reforms, and societal expectations. This conference aims to uncover both the pressures and possibilities shaping the future of the teaching profession in this new era and to explore the potential impact on pedagogy, collaboration, and teacher autonomy.
In order to address the theme, participants will be asked to consider:
· How and why teacher professionalism has transformed in recent times?
· What are the factors influencing, shaping and defining teacher professionalism?
· What strategies can be utilised to sustain teacher identity, authenticity and agency?
· What are the risks and threats to teacher identity, authenticity and agency in an era of rapid evolution and technological disruption?
