Teacher as Brand: Pursuing Professional Identities in a Digital Domain

Abstract

With the advance of web portals, teacher portfolios, and other digital means for representing professional productivity, teachers have new strategies for demonstrating their effectiveness and instructional acumen. These external, predominantly norm-referenced methods resemble the concept of “brand” used in economic contexts. This chapter explores the construct of brand and how web presence technologies influence how teacher quality is cultivated for mutual benefit to teachers, schools, and society. We propose a framework for how the profession might respond productively to the demands for demonstrable teacher quality. We briefly discuss the impact on the profession from a teacher advocacy standpoint.

Citation

Keller, J.B. and Stuve, M.J. (2006), "Teacher as Brand: Pursuing Professional Identities in a Digital Domain", Tettegah, S.Y. and Hunter, R.C. (Ed.) Technology and Education: Issues in Administration, Policy, and Applications in K12 Schools (Advances in Educational Administration, Vol. 8), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 57-70. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1479-3660(05)08005-4