Reconstructing Science Teacher Identity in Post-Conflict Educational Environments: Ethnographic Insights from Borno and Adamawa States

This study examined how Science teachers reconstruct their professional identity in the post-conflict educational environments of Borno and Adamawa States, Nigeria. The prolonged insurgency in North East Nigeria has disrupted schooling and devastated teacher communities, creating a unique context of identity rupture and reconstruction that existing science education literature has not addressed. A critical ethnographic design was employed. Fieldwork was conducted over 14 months in 10 secondary schools in Maiduguri, Gwoza, Yola North, and Mubi South Local Government Areas. Forty-five Science teachers participated through life history interviews, group reflections, and classroom observations. Data were analysed using narrative analysis and Identity Process Theory. Findings revealed three distinct identity reconstruction pathways: continuity-seeking identity maintenance, adaptive identity transformation, and fractured identity stagnation. Teachers who regained professional community, received psychological support, and had access to basic teaching resources demonstrated stronger identity reconstruction. The absence of structured post-conflict teacher reintegration programmes was identified as the most critical systemic gap. An original Post-Conflict Science Teacher Identity Reconstruction Framework for North East Nigeria is proposed. Policy recommendations include targeted psychosocial support and professional community rebuilding programmes for teachers in affected zones. Keywords: teacher identity, post-conflict education, ethnography, North East Nigeria, professional reconstruction.