Identity and Challenges of Swedish Language Teaching Profession in Sweden : A comparative study of native and non-native Swedish speaking teachers’ reflections

Abstract: Along with the increase of immigrants, Swedish language teachers play a more and more critical role in the acculturation and integration of immigrants. The status of native speaking teachers and the relationship between native and non-native language speaking teachers have always been a concern. This study aims to explore native and non-native Swedish speaking teachers' (NSSTs/ non-NSSTs) reflections on their professional identity and the challenges they encountered in Sweden. The research questions are (1) What are the perceptions of NSSTs and non-NSSTs towards their professional identity? Is there any similarity or difference between the two groups of teachers? (2) What challenges do NSSTs and non-NSSTs encounter concerning teachers, students, and institutions? Is there any similarity or difference between the two groups of teachers? (3) To what extent are these differences of challenges relevant to the participants’ language and cultural background? Note, the central idea of this study is to show what happened rather than why it happened. Therefore, this study pays more attention to explore the answer to the first two questions.        In this thesis, a total of 10 participants, 5 NSSTs and 5 non-NSSTs, were invited to the semi-structured interviews. By adopting thematic analysis, the findings revealed teachers' reflections on professional identity, and the challenged faced by NSSTs and non-NSSTs from student-teacher-institution related factors. The results showed different language or cultural background did influence the similar or different reflections of native and non-native language speaking teachers, but it was not the only factor, while the complex combination of contextual and individual factors accounted for these differences. This study also proposes further implications for further research, educational practice, and educational policy.