A Case Study of Self-Affirmations in Teacher Education

Abstract

This qualitative study reports on what was learned from two former teacher candidates, who engaged inself-affirmation writing exercises in an education seminar during their final semester in a teachereducation program. Self-affirmations, as presented here, are brief psychological interventions designed toenhance the self-integrity of teacher education candidates, so they can persist and overcome challengesand demands encountered during their field placement teaching assignments. The research questionsguiding this inquiry are: a) to what degree do self-affirmations minimize stereotype threat among teachercandidates; b) in what ways do self-affirmations help candidates remain optimistic in their roles as teachercandidates; and c) how can candidates apply self-affirmation writing with their own secondary students?A central finding from this case study is that self-affirmation writing sustained the teacher candidatesthrough the challenges they encountered during their field experience teaching. The research participantsdescribe how self-affirmations helps them focus on their own positive inner voice, or whispering self, thatencourages self-acceptance and a belief that they are good persons who care for themselves and others.Additionally, candidates apply, or envision how they might apply self-affirmation writing exercises intheir own middle and high school classrooms.

Defying “those who cannot, teach” and other stereotypes about teachers: Analyzing the Just Because poems written by ELL teacher candidates

“…For example, Cahnmann‐Taylor, Bleyle, Hwang, and Zhang (2017) studied the transcultural exchanges and shifts of identities among international teacher candidates and found that poetry writing offered emerging TESOL professionals an opportunity to reexamine their “complex emotional and cultural experience” (p. 94). Robinson (2014) investigated two former teacher candidates’ self‐affirmation writing exercises and found that “self‐affirmations help them focus on their own positive inner voice, or whispering self, that encourages self‐acceptance and a belief that they are good persons who care for themselves and others” (p. 27). These studies confirmed the need to further investigate teachers’ identities through self‐affirmation activities.…”