Narratives of Learning to Teach

Abstract

This article examines the writing of new teachers in two different pathways into teaching—a university-based teacher education program and an alternative certification program. The teachers were members of a Narrative Writing Group formed by the authors to study how teachers construct a professional identity, to further understand the role of narrative and inquiry in teacher learning, and to add to conversations about the design of teacher preparation programs. An analysis of the teachers’ narratives reveals that their professional identities were shaped by their membership in a range of knowledge communities, including the Narrative Writing Group and also their schools, network of friends, and the preparation programs. The narratives of professional identity development were shaped in relationship to other people, including mentor teachers and students. Knowledge and perspectives from this writing provide critical understandings about the importance of addressing teaching as professional practice that have the potential to shape the current conversation about teacher preparation.

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