Temporalities and rhythms of identity transitions amongst second-career teachers

This article explores the professional identity transitions of second-career teachers (SCTs) through the temporal and rhythmic dimensions of narratives written during teacher education in French-speaking Switzerland. Based on a qualitative inductive-deductive analysis of eight experience-based narratives selected from a broader corpus, the study examines how SCTs make sense of career change and narratively configure continuity, rupture, overlap and transformation. The findings indicate that identity transitions involve changes in professional activities, skills and representations of self, teaching and learners. They also unfold through heterogeneous rhythms, ranging from gradual reorientations to abrupt turning points associated with personal, occupational or existential disruptions. The article argues that narrative writing constitutes a mediating space in which prior experiences are reinterpreted, legitimised and integrated into emerging teacher identities. It thus contributes to research on professional transitions by foregrounding temporality and rhythm as key analytical dimensions.