Teachers as Narrative Constructors and Deconstructors

As part of their ongoing meaning-making and informal learning, teachers construct and deconstruct complex narratives about their work and their identities. In doing so, they tell diverse kinds of stories to different audiences—including students, parents, school leaders, fellow teachers and themselves—about the character and significance of their work, and they also use carefully selected narrative conventions to tell those stories. Creating and analysing these narratives, and telling these stories, are crucial strategies for teachers to enhance their success and their students’ learning outcomes. Analysing these narrative constructions, deconstructions and reconstructions also shed new light on the material conditions framing teachers&s; work and identities.