University of Tabriz Journal of English Language Teaching and Learning 2251-7995 12 26 2020 10 22 Curriculum Reform and Iranian EFL Teachers' Professional Identity: A Marathon of Change! تحولات سیستم آموزشی و هویت حرفه ای معلمان زبان انگلیسی ایران: یک ماراتن تغییر 435 463 12667 10.22034/elt.2021.42087.2294 EN Parisa Riahipour Department of English, Shahrekord Branch, Islamic Azad University, Shahrekord, Iran Mansoor Tavakoli Department of English Language, Faculty of Foreign Languages, University of Isfahan, Isfahan, Iran Abbas Eslami Rasekh English Department, Faculty of Foreign Languages, University of Isfahan, Isfahan, Iran Journal Article 2020 09 30 Professional identity has been perpetually an underlying factor in teacher development. The maintenance of a strong professional identity is a key factor in teacher development which is ultimately a fundamental aspect in the prosperity or failure of any educational system. As a dynamic phenomenon, teachers’ professional identity can be influenced by a variety of factors and particularly any type of educational reform. The present study with an explanatory mixed method design was used to investigate transitions in Iranian EFL teachers’ professional identity in the context of Fundamental Reform Document of Education (2012). For the quantitative phase of the study, a researcher-made questionnaire developed based on the four components of professional identity namely, self-image, self-esteem, job motivation and task perception proposed by Kelchtermans (1993) was distributed among 98 Iranian EFL teachers. Considering the ongoing nature of the professional identity, the questionnaire was assigned to the teachers during the pre-reform and post – reform era. In the qualitative phase, in order to capture a comprehensive picture of the salient factors of teachers’ professional identity and their underlying reasons, a set of semi-structured interviews with 7 volunteer teachers were conducted. The findings revealed that the introduction of the curriculum reform made no change in teachers’ professional identity in terms of self-esteem and task perception, but it slightly affected teachers’ self-image and job motivation. The findings also revealed a potential transition path in Iranian EFL teachers’ professional identity development. Finally, some implications for policy-makers and material developers and suggestions for future researchers were discussed. https://elt.tabrizu.ac.ir/article_12667_f5dc3c9389defd05e5b1be5da8ccd6a3.pdf