Reconstructing professional identity under acculturative stress: A longitudinal case study of a transnational...

As global teacher mobility increases, transnational educators often encounter acculturative stress and challenges to their professional identity. However, the psychological processes through which adaptation unfolds over time remain underexplored. Drawing on Ecological Systems Theory and the Transactional Model of Stress and Coping, this study examines intercultural adaptation as a dynamic process shaped by changing environmental demands, cognitive appraisals, and coping responses. Using a longitudinal phenomenological case study design, the study followed an Asian English language teacher over a three-year period as she transitioned into a self-initiated expatriate (SIE) role in Türkiye. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews, reflective journals, email correspondence, and portfolio documents across three developmental phases. Reflexive Thematic Analysis (RTA) informed by Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA), guided the analysis. The findings indicate that adaptation was experienced as an ongoing reconstruction of professional identity rather than a linear process of adjustment. Initially, heightened visibility and macrosystem pressures were associated with anxiety and emotion-focused coping. Over time, participation in new educational contexts and increased host-language engagement supported more problem-focused coping strategies and a growing sense of agency. In the final phase, institutional demands linked to the participant's perceived foreign identity and classroom challenges, contributed to acculturative stress and identity tension. However, these experiences were accompanied by the development of a more flexible transnational professional identity rather than assimilation into dominant norms. The findings suggest that, in this case, acculturative stress was shaped not only by individual characteristics but also by the interaction between ecological conditions, cognitive appraisals, coping processes, and evolving professional identities. The study contributes to psychological research by illustrating how identity reconstruction may emerge through repeated cycles of appraisal and coping across changing sociocultural contexts, with implications for language teacher education and the support of transnational teachers.