Content and Sentiment Analysis of Autobiographical Narratives of Experienced and Well-Evaluated Teachers in Spain

Abstract

Analysing the content and feelings of teachers’ autobiographical narratives provides relevant information about teaching processes, challenges in professional development, performance, and identity. In this work, we analysed the narratives of five well-evaluated Spanish teachers with more than 10 years of experience. We used Iramuteq, RStudio, and TextRazor to describe the main themes, analyse the emotions, and check whether evidence-based teaching practices were mentioned. The results showed that emotional aspects were central, with positive feelings dominating. In the content analysis, themes such as mental health, inclusion, immigration, war, empathy, critical pedagogy, and autonomous and emancipatory education stand out. The analyses are relevant for teacher educators, policy makers, researchers, and teachers in training or in active service.