Exploring professional identity: The perceptions of legitimacy among Indonesian non-specialist primary school EFL teachers

This study explores how Indonesian non-specialist primary English as a foreign language teachers negotiate perception of legitimacy and professional identity within constrained institutional contexts. Framed by Lave and Wenger's concept of legitimate peripheral participation and Wenger's 1 community of practice (CoP) framework, the study analyses interviews, classroom observations and document data from four teachers in public and private schools. Thematic analysis identified six mechanisms that shaped teachers’ legitimacy: internal and external validation; institutional recognition; subject-matter gaps; self-directed learning; societal attitudes; and multiple teaching roles. Legitimacy was locally enacted through practice and moral commitment rather than formal accreditation, mediated by access to institutional resources and sustained through individual agency. The findings extend current understandings of teacher identity by showing how legitimacy is negotiated within partial or isolated CoP. Context-specific implications highlight the importance of micro-level professional development, recognition structures and inclusive policy measures to support non-specialist teachers’ participation and identity growth.