Intersections of life histories and science identities: the stories of three preservice elementary teachers

Lucy Avraamidou*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

16 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Grounded within Connelly and Clandinin's conceptualization of teachers' professional identity in terms of stories to live by' and through a life-history lens, this multiple case study aimed to respond to the following questions: (a) How do three preservice elementary teachers view themselves as future science teachers? (b) How have the participants' life histories shaped their science identity trajectories? In order to characterize the participants' formation of science identities over time, various data regarding their life histories in relation to science were collected: science biographies, self-portraits, interviews, reflective journals, lesson plans, and classroom observations. The analysis of the data illustrated how the three participants' identities have been in formation from the early years of their lives and how various events, experiences, and interactions had shaped their identities through time and across contexts. These findings are discussed alongside implications for theory, specifically, identity and life-history intersections, for teacher preparation, and for research related to explorations of beginning elementary teachers' identity trajectories.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)861-884
Number of pages24
JournalInternational Journal of Science Education
Volume38
Issue number5
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Mar-2016
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Science identity
  • life-history
  • preservice elementary teachers
  • PROFESSIONAL IDENTITY
  • SCHOOL SCIENCE
  • EXPERIENCES
  • KNOWLEDGE
  • EDUCATION
  • DILEMMAS
  • SELF
  • LENS

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