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"Four teachers–Carol, Toni, John, and Ruth–braid their personal stories into the larger story that David and Joy tell, illustrating in powerful ways how narrative is a catalyst for reflecting, critiquing, revisioning, and becoming as teachers."
–Ruth Vinz, Teachers College, Columbia University
"In this rare book, David Wilson and Joy Ritchie explore the power of narrative in understanding the complexities and contradictions of what it means to develop as a teacher. Not content with studying their teacher informants and moving on, however, they allow themselves to be transformed as researchers and teacher educators in the process."
–Susan Hynds, Syracuse University
"Through engaging case-study profiles of teachers coping with change in their teaching and their lives, Wilson and Ritchie demonstrate how teachers’ narrative constructions serve to define their teaching practices and identities . . . a strong case for teachers to explicitly acknowledge and cope with conflicts and tensions in their teaching."
–Richard Beach, University of Minnesota
Research on teacher learning has too often excluded personal development in considering professional development. This timely book argues that the development of a professional identity is inextricable from personal identity. It suggests that when teachers are given the opportunity to compose their own stories of learning within a supportive community, they can then begin to compose new narratives of identity and practice. This book is a critical tool for educators seeking to refine their teaching practice and author their own development.
Joy S. Ritchie is an associate professor of English and women’s studies in the Department of English, University of Nebraska, Lincoln. David E. Wilson is an associate professor of English education in the Center for Curriculum and Instruction, University of Nebraska, Lincoln.
