Abstract
For teachers who exit the classroom to enter higher education, leaving can be heart wrenching and to many, unthinkable and unknowable. Consequently, in seeking change, such as the authors of the stories collected here, they do so to position themselves in ways that allow them to transform educational systems by contributing research-based understandings and offering new and unique ways to challenge the status quo. The authors hope that in sharing their stories they can also develop their own understandings of self as becoming researchers and teacher educators. This collective process shows the criticality of being able to lean on each other to actualize our goals of conducting humanizing education research that centers social justice teaching and results in action-oriented change. A departure from what the academy might expect, the narratives are honest and written with whole hearts as the authors provide insight into who they have been, how they are connected, and who they are becoming.
TopTheoretical Framework
Our chapter is framed by narrative theory; specifically, we draw on narrative inquiry through Mertova and Webster’s (2020) method of critical event narrative analysis. We draw on narrative inquiry because it is fundamentally about investigating how humans experience the world (Connelly & Clandinin, 1990; Mertova & Webster, 2020). We frame this chapter through critical event narrative analysis based on our effort to draw on stories from four different researchers and teacher educators. As such, “A critical event as told in a story reveals a change of understanding or worldview by the storyteller… It is almost always a change experience, and it can only ever be identified afterwards” (Mertova & Webster, 2020, p. 71). We turn to critical event narrative analysis considering our stories and our collective discussion exemplify the myriad of experiences and feelings that are invoked in this transition from K-12 teaching into higher education. Reflecting on critical events across our experiences as practicing teachers, graduate students, parents, partners, and friends, we hope to uncover themes that speak to the hope, care, and disruption that characterize our work with early career teachers and young people in educational spaces all while remembering, documenting, and honoring our development as emerging teacher educators for equity and justice in education.
Sharing Our Individual Critical Events
In sharing the following critical events, which are marked by the various insights we hold at our unique positions on our respective journeys, we invite readers to enjoy our chronological collection of transformative experiences. Jillian’s narrative discusses the graduate school admissions process and the identity work that is often involved in this process. Chelsea’s narrative is grounded in what motivated her to pursue teaching as a career and her doctoral studies. Andrea’s narrative explores the intersections across teacher and researcher identities, and Dan’s narrative allows for conversation about how learning in higher education is brought into our everyday lives and how this sustains motivation and passion within academia. These stories share experiences, both past and present, that emphasize the dialogic relationship between values we held as the teachers we were and the promise we see in the educators we have become and are becoming.
Key Terms in this Chapter
Dialogic: Conversational in nature; refers to dialogue as central to the task of finding meaning.
Critical Event: A life event that results in or inspires major change; an unusually formative event ( Mertova & Webster, 2020 ).
Mentorship: The feeling of guidance and support from another (or several) being(s); the active participation in assisting one during a transition by way of communication, advice, and other supportive offerings.
Equity: The process of re-mediating ( Gutierrez, 2008 AU22: The citation "Gutierrez, 2008" matches the reference "Gutiérrez, 2008", but an accent or apostrophe is different. ) oppressive social structures in ways that both recognize the agency and advocacy of people who have been historically dis-included, marginalized, and oppressed and work alongside them to provide greater access to educational and life opportunities.
Imposter syndrome: A feeling of being an outsider, particularly when entering higher education; a sense of not belonging or inadequacy.
Crisis: A discomforting process that centers on change; the result from unlearning oppressive tendencies and working to overcome normative knowledge ( Kumashiro, 2001 ).