Original article

Pedagogical professional identity and national identity: their relations

0000-0002-8392-4975Eduardo Alarcón Quintana^{1  *}  , 0000-0002-0144-2228Blanca Cortón Romero² 

¹ Centro Universitario Municipal Tercer Frente. Universidad de Oriente. Santiago de Cuba.

² Facultad de Ciencias Sociales. Universidad de Oriente. Santiago de Cuba.

ABSTRACTS

The school and the teacher have played a fundamental role in the conformation and consolidation of the national identity of the peoples, and it acquires a special connotation in the case of Cuba. From a pedagogical professional approach, the authors unravel the relationships between national identity and pedagogical professional identity, which constitutes the basis for the formation of professional performance modes that strengthen the sense of belonging and love for the nation. The analysis is the result of a qualitative research through the use of techniques such as analysis-synthesis, induction-deduction and document review.

Key words: National identity; Pedagogical professional identity; Teacher education; Modes of pedagogical professional performance

Introduction

The contemporary world is characterized by a convulsive, changing and contradictory context; a result, among other factors, of neoliberal globalization, where the circles of power try to alienate peoples from their traditions, artistic practices, customs, idiosyncrasies and ethical principles by imposing their cultural manifestations and value systems in order to guarantee the forgetfulness of the historical roots of the emergence and development of nations.

This process has also been impacted by the development of information and communication technologies, which have fostered greater exchange and relations between different nations and peoples, an exchange that, although positive, has also become a way to homogenize and make the cultural patterns of the powerful prevail.

This situation has a negative impact on identity processes and specifically on the consolidation of national identity, especially for the most backward peoples who constitute the "periphery" of contemporary society; therefore, it imposes important challenges to the peoples related to the consolidation and defense of their identity, which is not only a necessity but a priority.

The problem of identity, its construction and consolidation, is for these reasons widely treated from different sciences and spheres of contemporary knowledge, history, psychology, sociology, anthropology, politics, among others. Special attention is given by the educational sciences, taking into account the mission of education in the formation of current and future generations, which is a decisive scenario in the defense and consolidation of national identity.

Throughout the history of the Cuban nation, there have been multiple events and processes that show that the actions of teachers have been associated with the social demands and requirements of each historical moment. Cuban teachers played a decisive role in the emergence and consolidation of national consciousness, a process closely linked to the emergence of Cuba as a nation; and accompanied the various generations of Cubans in the struggle for independence and national sovereignty, a process in which the Cuban national identity was shaped and consolidated; in this sense, multiple moments and figures stand out. The process of emergence and consolidation of the Cuban nation and consequently of the national identity has been closely linked to the process of construction and consolidation of the pedagogical professional identity.

During the Spanish domination, Cuban teachers, under the most difficult conditions, supported education from the classroom, the school, the university chair or the journal, defended the need for quality education and identified with the needs of the people. The schools became centers of culture and fostered, by different means, the link with society. Many are the outstanding figures in this sense; however, a special place is occupied by José A. Caballero, Félix Varela, José de la Luz y Caballero, Rafael María de Mendive, Rafael Morales González and José Martí.

Specifically in the ideas and educational practice of José Martí, which summarizes the best of the Cuban pedagogical tradition, the role of culture in the achievement of individual and social emancipation, the role of the school and the teacher in the formation of new generations, and its influence on society in general, Martí addresses the links between education and culture as part of the cultural project that he advocated for the achievement of his ideal of independence and welfare for Cuba and America, closely linked to the defense of national identity.

In the neocolonial stage, contradictions between the dominant educational project representing the pro-annexationist Cuban bourgeoisie and the pedagogical experiences defending the Cuban nationality and nation are manifested; the school, although officially representing the former, is the scenario of democratic and popular pedagogical practices, and the teachers become patriots devoted to the pedagogical activity; defenders of the national identity.

With the triumph of the Cuban Revolution, steps began to be taken to establish and consolidate the educational system to meet the challenge of mass and quality education, which has a decisive impact on the strengthening and improvement of the school and the training of teachers whose activity is closely linked to the defense of independence, sovereignty and national identity advocated by the Revolution.

It is necessary to highlight an event of a marked democratic and popular character that had a decisive influence on the consolidation of the national identity; The Literacy Campaign, an event that became the most important from the cultural point of view in the recent history of Cuba and that laid the foundations for extending education to all corners of the country, perfecting it and consolidating the role of the teacher and the potential of the professional pedagogical activity to carry out the urgent tasks that were imposed on the nation; among them the defense of independence and national sovereignty not only from the military point of view but also from the cultural point of view.

Since the Literacy Campaign, many other actions have been developed to improve education and the work of teachers, prioritizing their training and improvement; significant milestones in this process are the massive training of emerging teachers, the creation of the Higher Pedagogical Institutes, later converted into Pedagogical Universities and the Teacher Training Schools, the "Manuel Ascunce Domenech" Pedagogical Detachment, among others, and the successive processes of improvement of the National Education System with their corresponding repercussions on teacher training.

Currently, the struggle to preserve the sovereignty of the Cuban nation under different conditions, the improvement of the Cuban socioeconomic model and the National Education System through research, science and innovation and the international situation, state new challenges to the pedagogical activity and consequently to teacher training, among them to consciously contribute to the consolidation of the national identity; hence the research interest that this topic raises.

The assessment of the teacher's role in the consolidation of national identity requires an approach from the theoretical point of view to different terms and to the diversity of positions that exist with respect to them.

The work presented by the authors intends to reveal that the process of preservation and consolidation of national identity from a pedagogical approach recognizes the multiple relationships between national identity and professional pedagogical identity, not only from the theoretical point of view but also from the practical point of view, that is, from the professional pedagogical activity; and the challenges it implies for teacher training; analyzing these relationships and challenges from the Cuban experience is the main purpose of this article.

Development

The article arises from the results achieved in the construction of a doctoral thesis in Pedagogical Sciences by one of the authors, where qualitative research and synthesis analysis as a method are basically the main focus.

A theoretical approach to the term national identity demands at first to analyze the concept of identity, which etymologically derives from the Latin noun identitas, identitatis, which in turn derives from idem, meaning "the same" alluding to the set of features inherent to a subject, an object, a process or a geographical space, which guarantee uniqueness in the context of diversity.

For ^{Arjona (1986}) identity is "a self-recognition, sifted through historical and social conditioning factors" (p.13). This researcher recognizes the need for the existence of the being, but above all she emphasizes the value of self-awareness of that existence for the conformation of a thought and action that guarantee the affirmation of its presence in a social conglomerate, she also identifies it as a consequence of a set of historical circumstances that propitiate the conformation of distinctiveness.

In this same logic the writer ^{Pogolotti (1985}) emphasizes "Identity is an open process to which the historical evolution in which we are immersed progressively adds new and enriching elements" (p.6) the previous ideas allow us to connote identity not only as a result but as a dialectical process to which new components are systematically incorporated to guarantee the insertion in dissimilar contexts without underestimating the historical continuity of the units that connote the being as a unique whole.

The process of construction and consolidation of identity is a psychological process that develops at the individual and group level, given the fact that individuals belong to different social groups, the existence of multiple identities is considered, recognizing the hierarchy of certain identities within this multiplicity.

In the literature on the subject, the terms national identity and cultural identity appear frequently, often identifying them, for the purposes of this article it is necessary to clarify the content of both, taking as a starting point the fact that identity is not reduced to a cultural issue in its narrow sense, if it is identified with the cultural, the broadest definition of culture must be taken into account.

National identity in the scenario of the multiplicity of identities emerges as a problem that concerns society as a whole and not certain sectors of it, such as the artistic, legal and political sectors, which, if analyzed separately, could give a fragmented vision of its construction and consolidation process.

Regarding national identity, there are different positions of analysis among researchers, on the one hand those who identify it only as objectively shared characteristics ^{Díaz Guerrero, (1984}) language, religion, on the other hand those who absolutize the subjective element or the passion for belonging Salazar, (1987) and a third group among which are ^{De la Torre (1994}), among others who recognize the combination of both positions, none of which exclude the other.

Although for the construction and consolidation of the national identity the objective features are determinant; the subjective aspects, concepts, judgments, imaginary, symbols and norms that the human being elaborates on these are essential, since they complete the definition of himself and his place in the world, with the certainty of being an individual who shares common features with others and at the same time possessing others that differentiate him, make him unique.

National identity has been approached by several Cuban researchers such as ^{Delgado (2001}); ^{Pupo (2005}) who have studied it from a philosophical point of view in the conformation of a revolutionary thought and philosophical discourse; on the other hand, Dr. ^{Domínguez (2002}) has focused her research area from a sociological perspective and has deepened in the actions of the different generations during the last half century in the national history.

Other Cuban researchers have in common concerns about their psychological manifestation those who have been describing and trying to understand the features and roots of our national identity among them are ^{Lopez (1992}); ^{De La Torre (1994)}.

University professor ^{Pupo (2005}), in his book (Identity, emancipation and the Cuban nation), when referring to national identity, states that

(...) is the system of common traits that define a social group, community or people, which has become a fundamental determination of its essential being and an authentic source of social creation. It is a unity, which, fixing the community, presupposes diversity, difference and their reciprocal links, as a dynamic mode of constant enrichment and projection towards universality (p. 29).

The national identity assumed from the ideas of this researcher allows identifying in it two closely linked dimensions, a primary or territorial one that is materialized from the tendency to the homogenization of tastes, habits, customs, traditions and interests towards the internal and an external or extraterritorial one that becomes visible through the symbolic system that represents, characterizes and makes unique the human collectivity historically and culturally instituted which is called nation.

From the perspective of cultural identity, there is evidence of a fairly frequent treatment of national identity within the approach to the general theme of culture; in this regard, despite the various nuances that are observed, in all cases the starting point is the principle position of defense of our identity against the aggressions of which we have been victims historically.

^{Ubieta, (1993}) in his Essays on identity, defines it as "(...) a path towards the individuality of a culture (...) but also as a path towards integration in a collectivity (...) as self-consciousness of a certain belonging to the totality". (p.14).

This author manages to grasp the internal contradictions that define identity, the search for which he considers should not be understood as an exercise of rescue, but of creation that develops through a systematic process and that allows man, as a social individual or as part of a collectivity, to understand his singularity from the cultural point of view with respect to other men or other collectivities.

This author understands the content of the concept of identity from the dialectic of the whole and the part, of the general and the singular, of unity in diversity, a criterion from which the greatest possibilities are offered for a full understanding of this content and which is assumed.

Cultural identity is not an abstraction, but a concrete, palpable and differentiated manifestation within the framework of unity, identity does not imply only the recognition of something that exists, but how it is felt and assumed, it synthesizes the differentiating and generalizing history of subjects and collectivities, it is a process that never concludes, it is formed through rebellions, accommodations and initiatives.

In a broad sense, the contents of national and cultural identity are identified if it is taken into account that nations share a common culture; from a closer point of view, cultural identity is subsumed in national identity.

Given the role of the school and the teacher in the construction and consolidation of national identity, it is necessary to analyze the relationship between this and the pedagogical professional identity, an aspect that is neither explicit nor widely addressed in the literature consulted.

The approach to the consolidation of national identity from a pedagogical professional approach requires the analysis of school-based training processes and especially of the process of teacher training and the construction and consolidation of the pedagogical professional identity.

The Cuban school as a social institution has, on the one hand, the mission of promoting actions of daily life that embody the best of revolutionary thought and traditions as well as distinctive elements in the form of customs, experiences, perception of the natural and social environment that promote the unity of the people and generate a social commitment to the nation and culture, and on the other hand, to preserve, develop and disseminate the autochthonous through the cultivation of national consciousness and the theoretical system that reflects it.

For Cuba, the main threat for more than a century and which remains unchanged today, is the interference of the United States government and its followers, who try to impose a process of cultural alienation that seeks to drag the nation to confusion, disunity and dismemberment of Cuban culture, because in it ethics and politics are based on a national identity that binds and structures the spiritual life of the nation.

National identity as an organic, dialectical and dynamic totality ^{Pupo (2005}) emerges as a platform for a culture of resistance, in this sense the educational system and specifically the activity of the teacher in its contextual, spatial and temp For Cuba, the main threat for more than a century and which remains unchanged today, is the interference of the United States government and its followers, who try to impose a process of cultural alienation that seeks to drag the nation to confusion, disunity and dismemberment of Cuban culture, because in it ethics and politics are based on a national identity that binds and structures the spiritual life of the nation.

National identity as an organic, dialectical and dynamic totality ^{Pupo (2005}) emerges as a platform for a culture of resistance, in this sense the educational system and specifically the acoral dynamics should be aimed at raising awareness of the social experience, feelings, features and common interests of the nation, referring to this task, Professor ^{Díaz Pendas (2005}) expressed "We are identity, among other things, because we are memory (....). ...) An educator is a special human being, a creator of human improvement, a patriot, a trainer of patriots" (p. 3). )

Professional identity is connoted as the definition that the individual makes of "himself" in relation to his professional group of reference, in a given space and time, and implies identifying with the profession chosen and exercised, assuming the social task for which the person has been prepared in a specialty, with satisfaction, autonomy, commitment, responsibility and awareness of why and for what he studied that and not another and what is the position to assume before the social demands.

The teacher's need to respond to the various professional problems existing in the educational context, among which is the consolidation of national identity, requires the development of the pedagogical professional identity as the essence of the profession (^{Addine and Garcia, 2004}). For the purposes of this paper, we assume the definition of pedagogical professional identity provided by Chirino (2009), which states that "Traits and conditions that typify the education professional and differentiate him from other professionals, allowing him to develop feelings of belonging to the pedagogical profession and to become aware that he is a Cuban educator, which forces him to reflect systematically on his professional performance within the framework of the contemporary educational reality, and specifically in his context of professional performance, which serves as a stimulus that drives him towards self-improvement of his mode of professional performance" (p.18).

This definition presupposes the integrating and unitary character of the profession, while at the same time it warns of its differentiating approach from two dimensions, one interprofessional and the other intra-professional, based on the self-recognition of oneself as an education professional, while recognizing the formation of the pedagogical professional identity as a gradual, dynamic, systematic and systemic process that allows acquiring knowledge, skills and values to apply and teach it through the implementation of training activities.

Coinciding with authors such as ^{Aranda (2005}) and ^{Venet (2003}), it is considered that the pedagogical professional identity is a training process that has its origin in an initial state and must reach a desired one socially established in the ideal of teacher established by Cuban society, so that in the continuous training of the education professional a process of reaffirmation of the pedagogical professional identity must take place, which is understood as a process and result that develops during all the stages of the professional's training, but which has specific characteristics in undergraduate training, since it is at this stage where the process of identity construction begins by being in direct contact with the peculiarities of the profession.

Its development implies the appropriation of the traits and feelings that typify the education professional, which will help them to recognize themselves and differentiate themselves from other professionals, internalize their role in society, strengthen their love and sense of belonging to the profession, learn attitudes and ways of acting professionally, reinforce their vocation and creativity to improve their professional performance in the contemporary educational scenario.

The professional pedagogical identity manifests the humanistic training of teachers from the internalization of their social role in the consolidation of the national identity in present and future generations, so the relationship between the two has the following elements as starting points:

• The history of education, Cuban pedagogy and the tradition of the teaching profession are closely linked to the process of construction and consolidation of national identity; hence the relationship between professional pedagogical identity and national identity.

• The teacher and the school play a fundamental role in the process of consolidation and defense of national identity.

• There is a close relationship between the national culture and the pedagogical culture that has among its expressions the relationship between their respective symbolic systems; this relationship is in some cases of coincidence and in others the symbols of the pedagogical culture become a tool for the consolidation of the national identity.

• In the process of pedagogical training, the construction and reaffirmation of the professional identity becomes the core of the process of consolidation of the national identity and a condition to develop modes of professional performance tending to the consolidation of the national identity. This is an expression of the regulatory projective character of the pedagogical professional identity.

• National identity becomes a socio-psychological process that contributes to the development of professional life projects as an expression of the historical continuity of the Cuban educational system.

• Consolidating the national identity from the perspective of its relationship with the pedagogical professional identity has its essence in the formative purposes of the process in its double character. On the one hand, to influence the training of education professionals and, on the other hand, to prepare them to face this process with their students from the formation of professional pedagogical modes of action that would guarantee the success of their professional activity.

The relationship between national identity and pedagogical professional identity is basically materialized in the pedagogical activity that is why this analogy is materialized from the education in values as the transversal component and the pedagogical professional modes of action as its form of expression.

The construction and consolidation of the pedagogical professional identity constitutes a way for the consolidation of the national identity because as a subjective configuration of the personality, it expresses a favorable image of the profession based on the integration of the ethical principles and the sense of belonging to the pedagogical task, which propitiates that approximation possesses the following features:

• Contextualized character, given the use of particularities and potentialities of the educational environments in the process of formation of professional modes of action tending to the consolidation of the national identity due to its close link with life, the social environment and the pedagogical profession.

• Formative and eminently transforming character not only of teachers but also of the entire educational community, since education in values constitutes the transversal component of both identity processes.

• Its guiding character is based on actions that allow, from a professional pedagogical vision, the organization of formative activities that lead to the consolidation of the national identity in the students.

• Its multilateral orientation in the formation of the teachers' personality, which is expressed by the correspondence between the affective and the cognitive as essential components in the consolidation of both identity processes.

The relationship between national identity and pedagogical professional identity is supported from the pedagogical point of view by the principles enunciated by the researcher ^{Addine (1995}) and which expresses the scientific and ideological character of the pedagogical process, given that the scientific aspect is manifested in the modeling of a formative process based on the educational sciences and especially pedagogy, which takes into account the use of research methods and methodological scientific work. The ideological aspect is given in that both identities are approached from an integrating approach of the artistic, the cultural and the socio-political, in which the system of values of the ideology of the Cuban Revolution becomes an expression of national identity.

The principle of linking education with life, the social environment and work in the process of education of the personality is concretized in this relationship since the processes of construction and consolidation of the pedagogical professional identity and of consolidation of the national identity are closely linked to the evolution of the Cuban people and therefore to the process of construction of Cuban society and with respect to the unity of the affective and the cognitive is given from the need for knowledge of the elements that structure the national identity but this in turn implies a high degree of affectivity expressed naturally and spontaneously in the sense of belonging and professional and national pride.

The teaching profession, according to ^{Freire (2002}), "demands seriousness, scientific preparation, emotional and affective preparation. It is impossible to teach without the courage to wish well, without the courage of those who insist a thousand times before giving up" (p.8). This idea highlights the need for love towards the profession, the incessant search for the new and persistence as qualities of the teacher that structure the pedagogical professional identity, therefore, in their contextual relationship they allow modeling ways of acting in accordance with the ideal of man of the Cuban nation.

The methods through which this relationship is concretized are those aimed at awareness (persuasion, argumentation of the significance of processes and behaviors), those aimed at activity (active and conscious participation in formative projects and activities) and those aimed at evaluation (criticism, self-criticism, comparison of behavior with ideal models).

Conclusiones

The theoretical analysis reveals that the consolidation of the national identity from a pedagogical approach must have as its starting point and support the construction and consolidation of the pedagogical professional identity, since it manifests the resignification of knowledge in the formation of convictions, attitudes, ideals and modes of conduct.

The content of moral actions of the Cuban teaching profession present in historical events that, due to their significance, have an ideological and generational transcendence, have contributed to the birth and development of nationality and national conscience, and therefore of national identity.

The values and ideals of the sense of homeland and patriotism, love for independence and sovereignty, social justice and national unity have been forged and defended from the pedagogical activity and its sustainability over time depends largely on the formation of professional pedagogical modes of action aimed at the consolidation of national identity.

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Received: March 24, 2022; Accepted: July 20, 2022

^*Autor para la correspondencia: [e-mail]