Exploring the Narrative Identity of Hungarian Teachers in Slovakia

Abstract

The focus of the present paper is to investigate the narrative identity of Hungarian teachers in Slovakia and to identify their identity factors. The first section of the study introduces the demographic and pedagogical characteristics of the Hungarian minority in Slovakia. Following that, we explore the concept of narrative identity and the possibilities for its research, with a strong emphasis on the Grounded Theory methodology, on which this research is based. Next, we present the specific characteristics and focal points of our research, as well as the group of interviewees, consisting of teachers from various regions of southern Slovakia. Finally, we will analyze in detail the common findings from the in-depth interviews, which we will categorize according to the Grounded Theory methodology and interpret based on the concepts (key terms) within those categories. The four categories we identified are “dynastic patternsˮ, “professional foundationˮ, “critical horizonsˮ, and “national identity and cultureˮ.