Beyond the tyranny of the typology: Moving from labelling to negotiating international school teachers’ identities

This paper critically surveys four typologies that have been used to identify and understand international school teachers. The critique highlights two main limitations with the typologies. The first, ontological in nature, is that reifying teachers as a type does not capture the complexity of lived experience. The second, ethico-political in nature, is that labelling marginalises the teacher in the research process. Research is done on, rather than with, teachers. This paper’s central argument is that the typology represents a form of symbolic violence that silences teachers’ voices. In order to address the issues highlighted above, this paper proposes an alternative approach to researching international school teachers, which is situated within postmodern accounts of identity and relational ethics. This paper’s contribution lies in highlighting the limitations of typologising international school teachers and teachers in general and proposing an alternative approach that reconfigures the researcher-teacher dyad within the context of a relationship of care, mutual respect and negotiation. Copyright © 2021 Educational Review.