Who do you think you are? An arts-based narrative inquiry of teacher personal identity and professional learning
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Abstract
The connection between identity and teacher professional learning is fundamental, as teachers’ development of effective classroom practices is intricately linked to their sense of self. Teachers’ self-concept plays a vital role in shaping their professional goals and actions, encompassing aspects of their professional identity, self-hood, and future aspirations. Current approaches to professional learning often lack a focus on teachers’ lived experiences, which are essential for understanding their capacity to both learn and teach. As a result, district and school leadership practices might be questioned whether there is adequate consideration of the personal “self” when planning professional learning opportunities. Using arts-based narrative inquiry grounded in heuristic and soliloquy methodologies, this study engaged eight teachers from an urban Midwestern public school district. Participants completed multiple data sources: a demographic survey, the Twenty Statements Test (TST) surveys, an "I Am From…" poem, and a semi-structured interview. Data were analyzed using narrative and thematic coding across all sources, drawing on Clandinin and Connelly’s three-dimensional narrative inquiry framework. This proposed research study explored one central question: How do teachers describe their professional learning experiences? This exploration includes two sub questions: (1) How do teachers define professional learning? (2) How do teachers perceive their own personal identity? This study contributes to the field by centering teacher voice and identity in discussions of professional learning. It suggests that effective teacher development must move beyond surface-level pedagogical training to include reflective, identity-informed, and culturally responsive practices. These findings have implications for school leaders, teacher educators, and policymakers seeking to design sustainable professional learning that affirms teacher identity while fostering instructional growth.
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Introduction -- Review of the literature -- Methodology -- Research findings -- Finding[s] me -- Implications of findings
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Ph.D. (Doctor of Philosophy)