ABSTRACT
Identity as a concept occurs in many disciplines, with its take-up within philosophy, sociology, politics, anthropology, theology and psychoanalysis being particularly prescient for the concept's utilisation within education. In this chapter, identity is predicated on a consciousness of one's self or self-experience across time, with this being more or less coherent and distinct from others. This understanding of the self builds on substantial philosophical work. Within politics in general and in education in particular, current deployments of the concept of identity involve micro-identities, with class, ethnic and gender vertices and their intersectionality being particularly highlighted. While labelling, the self-fulfilling prophecy and ideology negatively impact on personal identity, in an effort to regulate society, correlates such as the Pygmalion effect highlight the potentially positive effect on performance of high expectations. Positive outcomes, of course, impact not only on student identity, but also on teacher identity and that of the institution.
