Teachers’ professional identity is an area of increased interest in educational research. However, limited research has been conducted on the professional identity among higher education teachers in Japan and none on how the implementation of the new employment rules affects professional identity among teachers on limited-term contracts. This paper details the recent changes in employment rules and their impact on limited-term contracts and reports the findings from an investigation into professional identity of EFL teachers on limited-term contacts. This study has 4 major findings: There are conflicts between teachers’ own definition of a good teacher and their role as a contracted teacher; there is a disconnect between how valued teachers feel and how committed they are to the teaching profession; there are differences between how Japanese teachers and non-Japanese teachers perceive that their professional identity has changed since becoming full-time contracted teachers; and limited-term teachers desire more job security.
教員の職業アイデンティティは、人気の教育研究分野であるが、日本において高等教育に従事する教員の職業アイデンティティはさほど調査されておらず、まして労働契約法が改正された後の有期雇用教員の職業アイデンティティに関する調査はない。本稿では労働契約法の改正内容と、その内容が有期雇用契約にどのような影響を与えたか、そして有期雇用のEFL教員の職業アイデンティティについて考察する。主に次の4点について考察する；教員自身の中で定義する良き教員と契約教員としての役割の間での葛藤；価値ある教員としての評価と教員として専心することの不一致；嘱託などのフルタイム契約後の日本人教員と外国人教員の職業アイデンティティの違い；有期雇用教員の雇用保障への強い願いなどである。
