Multimodal identity texts as mediational spaces in researching Ph.D. students’ critical teacher-researcher Selves

Abstract

This paper analyses how two Ph.D. students used multimodal identity texts (MMITs) to document their research journeys as they engaged in their doctoral studies. Drawing on qualitative data collected from multiple pre-service teacher preparation programmes in Chile and Sri Lanka, two bi-national researchers (a Colombian-Canadian and a Sri Lankan-Canadian) use MMITs to document the complexities surrounding conducting research in contexts where they were neither ‘complete insiders’ nor ‘complete outsiders’. The two researchers’ identity texts provide a mediational space for them to document the multiple, yet shifting identities they enacted, assumed and were assigned during their prolonged research journeys. The study reveals how the process of constructing and maintaining identity texts, as well as conducting constant critical conversations allows the authors to scaffold their learning processes while reflecting on their emerging professional identities.