Perspectives on the roller-coaster of becoming a teacher: Surfacing pre-service teacher voice through poetry.
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.56433/ca0wsm75Keywords:
Initial Teacher Education, pre-service teachers, poetry, identityAbstract
This study sought to examine the lived experiences of pre-service teachers in Scotland as they undertake a one-year post-graduate teaching qualification (PGDE). Part of the work in this intensive qualification year is to reconcile shifting understandings of what it means to become and be a teacher. The aim was to surface authentic descriptions of the experience of student teachers as they reflect on and develop their expectations, identities and values in relation to being a teacher. Data collection was in the form of original poems created by the students at the end of their year of study. This approach was chosen to allow for emotionally honest responses, making use of the immediacy and inherent economy of language that poetry offers. Thematic analysis was applied to the data. Areas for teacher educator reflection are identified. These include recognising the challenges that come with navigating shifting understandings of both the practice and the purpose of the job as well as the consequent emotional work the qualification year entails.
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