Identity as pedagogy: appreciative inquiry into the stories of our pedagogies

Abstract

ABSTRACT Teacher identity is a dynamic nexus of experiences and narratives on which teachers draw to understand and situate themselves in teaching. Additionally, teacher identity becomes pedagogy as we teach who we are. This narrative inquiry used an Appreciative Inquiry (AI) framework to explore stories of teaching that have interwoven into the teacher identities of a group of teachers, who encompassed various roles within a single educational jurisdiction. In this study, the term teachers broadly included individuals who are part of an educational system including classroom teachers, principals, and system leaders. Each participant teacher drew upon their lived experiences of narratives from within a common educational system that shaped their identity and pedagogy. Through five AI phases, participants named and confronted common system narratives they had encountered in teaching. Furthermore, they reframed these narratives in ways that might potentially bring about system change. The findings from this study can support teachers, teacher educators and system leaders to examine biases and beliefs embedded in pedagogy and, through critical reflection, consider ways system change might emerge.