In this chapter, I share my story of a few events experienced that remain poignant in my memory and have been pivotal in my decisions to leave a school or question whether to continue teaching. These are the memories that have left me wondering about the profession—its practices, the ways in which teaching colleagues and school leaders behave, the decisions made, and how professionalism is defined by those in the profession. I share a conversation with a colleague in the early stages of the study that highlights the experiences teachers witness but which remain silenced and hidden despite their experiences being impactful on their colleagues as well as themselves. It is the significant experiences that teachers encounter daily in their working lives that impact on them—their sense of self (Kelchtermans. Advances in Research on Teaching, 19, 379–401, 2013) and identity (Burnard. Theory into practice: Education in and through Music, 51(3), 167–178, 2012; Nias. Cambridge Journal of Education, 26(3), 293–306, 1996), and what motivates them to continue and do what they do (Gu. Teachers and Teaching, 20(5), 502–529, 2014; Hong. Teachers and Teaching, 18(4), 417–440, 2012; McAdams & McLean. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 22(3), 233–238, 2013; Webster & Mertova. Using narrative inquiry as a research method: An introduction to using critical event narrative analysis in research on learning and teaching. Routledge, 2007). These experiences also impact on their colleagues and, in turn, their families. The events I experienced and witnessed left me wondering if I was alone and ultimately led to this study. As a teacher you are not alone, you are walking in the footsteps of others. However, the question arises whether an event, an action, behaviour, or decision that has significantly negative impacts and has been experienced before and continues to be experienced is right and should continue?

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Just Memories

  • Elizabeth Allotta

摘要

In this chapter, I share my story of a few events experienced that remain poignant in my memory and have been pivotal in my decisions to leave a school or question whether to continue teaching. These are the memories that have left me wondering about the profession—its practices, the ways in which teaching colleagues and school leaders behave, the decisions made, and how professionalism is defined by those in the profession. I share a conversation with a colleague in the early stages of the study that highlights the experiences teachers witness but which remain silenced and hidden despite their experiences being impactful on their colleagues as well as themselves. It is the significant experiences that teachers encounter daily in their working lives that impact on them—their sense of self (Kelchtermans. Advances in Research on Teaching, 19, 379–401, 2013) and identity (Burnard. Theory into practice: Education in and through Music, 51(3), 167–178, 2012; Nias. Cambridge Journal of Education, 26(3), 293–306, 1996), and what motivates them to continue and do what they do (Gu. Teachers and Teaching, 20(5), 502–529, 2014; Hong. Teachers and Teaching, 18(4), 417–440, 2012; McAdams & McLean. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 22(3), 233–238, 2013; Webster & Mertova. Using narrative inquiry as a research method: An introduction to using critical event narrative analysis in research on learning and teaching. Routledge, 2007). These experiences also impact on their colleagues and, in turn, their families. The events I experienced and witnessed left me wondering if I was alone and ultimately led to this study. As a teacher you are not alone, you are walking in the footsteps of others. However, the question arises whether an event, an action, behaviour, or decision that has significantly negative impacts and has been experienced before and continues to be experienced is right and should continue?