Author: Nuttall, Joce

Source: Teachers and Teaching: Theory and Practice, Volume 12, Number 2, April 2006 , pp. 139-150(12)

Publisher: Routledge, part of the Taylor & Francis Group

Abstract:

One characteristic of long day childcare settings in New Zealand is the opportunity for teachers to continuously observe each other at work. Ngaire's story is an account of one teacher's problematic negotiation of her subjectivity (self-as-teacher) in the context of a wider institutional story drawn from Ngaire's colleagues' observations of her teaching. Through an examination of Ngaire's narrative about her past, present and future self, informed by symbolic interactionist methodological and theoretical concepts, the author challenges Jalongo and Isenberg's claim that sharing teacher narratives provide a `natural' way for teachers to generate new meanings about practice. Some stories may be too risky to tell and Ngaire's story does not have a happy ending. It is possible to speculate, however, on some of the ways in which teams of teachers might confront such risks, through examining the collective stories they tell about themselves.

Keywords: Narrative; Teachers' lives; Teaching; Early childhood education

Document Type: Research article

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13450600500467316

Affiliations: 1: Monash University, Frankston, Australia

Publication date: 2006-04-01

More about this publication?

• Editorial Board
• Information for Authors
• Subscribe to this Title
• ingentaconnect is not responsible for the content or availability of external websites

Related content

• In this: publication
• By this: publisher
• In this Subject: Education
• By this author: Nuttall, Joce

Website © Publishing Technology. Article copyright remains with the publisher, society or author(s) as specified within the article.

• Terms and conditions
• Privacy policy
• Information for advertisers