In this qualitative case study, we explored the experiences of beginner teachers who chose two different routes-full-time and part-time studying-on the journey to becoming teachers and we report on the influences of this choice on their emergent beginner teacher identities. We purposefully selected two groups of participants, each consisting of three who studied full-time and three who studied part-time. The latter worked part-time at schools or in similar educational contexts while they were studying. Epistemologically underpinned by the interpretivist paradigm, we employed the Possible Selves theory (Marcus & Nurius, 1986) as the theoretical lens. Inductive thematic analysis of data demonstrated three main themes. First, data showed a distinct divergence between the perceptions of initial beginner teacher identity states in the two groups of participants. Second, both groups of participants agreed that time is a significant factor in the complex psychological processes required for the construction of a beginner teacher identity. Third, both groups strongly considered practical experience as an essential factor for beginner teacher identity development.
Traditionally, teacher credibility has been influenced by how others perceive them. However, exploring teachers' own perceptions of their credibility through the observation of learner behaviour may prove to be meaningful to teacher credibility. The aim of this study was to explore Intermediate Phase beginner teachers' perceptions of their own credibility based on displayed learner behaviour in their classrooms. This qualitative study was presented through a case study research design. Eight Intermediate Phase beginner teachers were purposively selected. The data collection techniques used were interviews and observations. Semi-structured interviews and a researcher journal were used as data collection instruments. The data were analysed using inductive thematic data analysis. The conceptual framing of this study was underpinned by a modified theoretical model developed by McCroskey, Valencic and Richmond (2004). The findings showed that teachers' perceptions of their own credibility were fluid as they engaged with various learners' behaviour, which was used as a form of feedback during lessons and this feedback impacted teachers' reactions and decisions to classroom situations. Ultimately, teachers' perceptions of their own credibility focused on their immediacy, trustworthiness, competence and dynamism displayed in their practices.
This study adopted autoethnography as a research methodology to relive and reflect on my experiences as a White Afrikaner girl in a history class during the apartheid era in South Africa. This paper focuses on how the grand narratives of Afrikaner Nationalist ideologies and Whiteness in South Africa influenced girlhood or girl-becoming within the History classroom during apartheid in the late 1980s. This paper purposefully interrogates how ideologies of white supremacy, such as ordentlikheid (ethnicised respectability), found their way into the micro-context of a primary school history classroom through small acts of oppression. Epistemologically, I underpin this this paper by an interpretative paradigm to justify the meaning-making of personal experiences, which form the core of this paper. Methodologically, the study adopted a qualitative approach, and the research design comprised of an autoethnography. Data consisted of a personal narrative developed from a reflective piece of personal free writing into a crafted story by relying on memory work and checked by verisimilitude to remember specific details. I was the sole participant in that I generated the data through my narrative. An analysis of the findings showed 'place' as predominant convergence of identity marker, namely the place of 'outsider-girlhood' within the socio-educational context and intersectionality as Nationalist influence on white girlhood. I conclude the paper with my final reflections as a form of meaning-making. Keywords: Afrikaner; Autoethnography; White girlhood; History education; Role-play, Whiteness.
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