Unified Teacher’s Narrative:

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  • ISEMOTO Dai
    Ehime University Graduate School, Hiroshima University

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Other Title
  • 一元化される教師の〈語り〉
  • 一元化される教師の〈語り〉 : 「教師である」とはいかに語られるか
  • イチゲンカ サレル キョウシ ノ 〈 カタリ 〉 : 「 キョウシ デ アル 」 トワ イカニ カタラレル カ
  • How Can Teachers Talk of Being a Teacher?
  • ―「教師である」とはいかに語られるか―

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Abstract

<p>The purpose of this paper is to clarify how “being a teacher” is constructed from the narratives of teachers who are research collaborators.<br><br>In Japan, there is continuing criticism of the role of teachers and, viewing the school as a toxic working environment, emerging advocacy movements wish to change how teachers work. There are thus complicated feelings about teachers at present. What is needed is to explore the fundamental question “What is a teacher?” from the teachers’ perspectives.<br><br>Since 2012, I have been interviewing teachers who are working or have worked in schools about their life histories. In these interviews, we did not limit the conversation but instead listened to each teacher’s individual subjective views, including their interpretation of recent educational reforms and the situation in the schools from their perspective of being a teacher. In this paper, I analyze the narratives of 30 public elementary and junior high school teachers.<br><br>The paper reveals two aspects to “being a teacher.” The first consists of the internal dialogues of the teachers themselves regarding their image of a “dedicated teacher.” These dialogues, created through the use of what might be termed “narrative resources,” by which is meant the resources one has access to in order to produce a narrative, reference the expression “for the sake of the children.” The second aspect involves a teacher’s practice of flexible interpretation and negotiation through interaction with others that creates their professional identity. In this way, they are dealing with the image of a “dedicated teacher.” For example, some people adopt a positive strategy when talking about being “a devoted teacher” while others attach a negative meaning to teaching. What is suggested by these narratives is the violent nature in previous studies that hold essentialist views about a teacher’s professional identity. This past research overlooked the complex nature of being a teacher that is revealed through these teachers’ individual narratives.<br><br>In recent years, debate has progressed in the direction of viewing how work at school can help with the problem of teachers’ long hours. However, in shaping a rewarding reality for teachers, it is most important to understand them as human beings first of all, not as “sacred figures,” “laborers” or “(semi) professionals.” To do this will involve the accumulation of a body of work that guarantees the narratives of each teacher. The discussion in this paper suggests the significance of a framework for guaranteeing the individuality of teachers who have not been interested in the sociology of education.</p>

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