Teachers' Indentities in the Informal Shadow Education Market in Georgia.

Abstract

This qualitative study, situated in the context of post-Soviet Georgia, examines ways in which teachers’ as tutors come to understand themselves as professionals working in two parallel education sectors – public schools and private tutoring. Despite the increased volume of research worldwide, there has been only limited attempt to examine these aspects. The findings demonstrated that teachers’ old identities had been replaced by new identities. Teachers struggled between two identities and tried to resolve identity conflicts with various coping mechanisms. Tutoring provided financial securities but it also contradicted their own understanding of being teachers as professionals. This study offers insights into implications of shadow education on teachers’ professional lives and for a society as a whole and contributes to international scholarship.