Peer group as a meeting place: Reconstructions of teachers’ self-understanding and the presence of vulnerability

Teacher students’ meaningful learning in widening learning worlds

“…This supports Wenger's (1998, p. 227) assertion that learning is fundamentally experiential and social. The data also suggest, in line with other recent studies (Timoštšuk & Ugaste, 2010;Uitto et al, 2016), that becoming a teacher is a highly emotional experience.…”

“…We agree with Kelchtermans' (2009) notion of the self as an individual product at a certain moment and as a process of making sense of one's experiences and their impact on the self. Our research demonstrates how teacher students' self-understanding develops and is reconstructed in interactions with others (see also Arvaja, 2016;Gossman & Horder, 2016;Uitto, Kaunisto, Kelchtermans, & Estola, 2016).…”

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“…This type of lens is also necessary to the trajectories that involve transforming self-image and widening agency, because in both, existing beliefs and assumptions are challenged by new information to enable change (Pajares 1992: Arvaja, 2016. This is in line with Mezirow's (1991) transformative learning theory, in which collaborative consensus-seeking and validity-testing act as bases for transforming perspectives on meaning (see also Uitto, Kaunisto, Kelchtermans & Estola, 2016). Mastering new theoretical concepts and communication skills and challenging one's existing beliefs and assumptions in discussion groups seem to strengthen adult learners' capabilities for argumentation and self-expression, which, in turn, increase feelings of empowerment (see also Aarto-Pesonen, 2013).…”

Teachers’ Emotions in Teacher Development: Do They Matter?

“…Kelchtermans (2005) spoke of five components to self-understanding: (1) self-image, the manner through which teachers define themselves; (2) job motivation, the driving force to perform their profession; (3) future perspective, the expectation teachers have of their future selves; (4) self-esteem, an assessment of their teaching; and (5) task perception, an ethical dimension containing assumptions as to what teachers have to do to become good teachers and carry out their profession in the best interest of their students. These components then together influence how teachers deal with professional challenges and how they approach their further education and development (Uitto, Kaunisto, Kelchtermans, & Estola, 2016). This is because it is teachers' self-understanding that can explain their commitment to change along with the behavior that accompanies it.…”