Peeling away the red apple: seeing anew the images shaping teachers' identities

Leanne Lavina

    Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingChapterpeer-review

    2 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    When we think of ‘teacher’ what images come to mind? In what ways have popularised images of teacher influenced the ways we see teachers’ work? For those who spend their professional lives living and working in educational contexts, how have these images of “memory and myth” (Weber & Mitchell, 1995, xi) guided understandings of self and practice? With these questions as a springboard, I explored the use of aesthetic tools for uncovering the identity journeys of six early childhood teachers working in Sydney, Australia. Engaging processes of collecting, creating, and representing, teachers in this research project used a variety of visual modes for revealing the connections and contradictions often associated with representations of ‘teacher’, while examining the influence of personally embedded stereotypes on their search for images to make sense of evolving professional identities. Participants shared their earliest memories of ‘teacher’ and revealed stories of teaching experience impacting their identity formation. Engaging collaborative forms of reflection, the aesthetic nature of the research itself created a unique space to share processes involved in better understanding teacher identity journeys.
    Original languageEnglish
    Title of host publicationMultiple early childhood identities
    EditorsAndi Salamon, Angela Chng
    Place of PublicationAbingdon, Oxon
    PublisherRoutledge
    Chapter5
    Pages65-81
    Number of pages17
    ISBN (Electronic)9780429444357
    ISBN (Print)9780367001339, 9780367001315
    Publication statusPublished - 2019

    Publication series

    NameThinking about pedagogy in early childhood education
    Volume5

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