On being and becoming a chemistry teacher: negotiating identity, intersectionality, and pedagogical reforms

This conceptual paper examines the evolving professional identities of chemistry teachers through the lenses of social identity theory, intersectionality, and the apprenticeship of observation. Chemistry presents distinctive challenges because of its hierarchical content structures, symbolic abstraction, and the triplet representation of macroscopic, submicroscopic, and symbolic domains. These epistemic features intensify tensions between disciplinary rigour and reformoriented, inquiry-driven pedagogies, creating unique identity negotiations for chemistry teachers. The paper argues that chemistry teacher identity is not a fixed construct but a dynamic process shaped by the interplay of disciplinary expertise, pedagogical reform, and intersectional positionalities such as gender, race, socioeconomic status, and professional background. By synthesising theoretical perspectives and disciplinary scholarship, we propose the Negotiating Identity as a Chemistry Educator (NICE) model, an analytically articulated framework that explains how chemistry teachers balance disciplinary affinity with student-centred practices while navigating systemic inequities and institutional constraints. The NICE model contributes to theory by highlighting chemistry's epistemic distinctiveness in identity formation, and to practice by offering a reflective tool for teachers and a guide for teacher educators and policymakers. It also underscores the need for equity-driven professional development, curricular flexibility, and recognition of reform-oriented teaching. It advances conversations on science teacher identity in STEM education.