Narrative analysis of ‘hidden stories’: a potential tool for teacher training

Abstract

The phenomenon of ‘hidden stories’ is presented here through an exemplary story told by a woman teacher, who revealed it for the first time in a seminar work, employing narrative analysis to examine its long-term effect on her. Through that intimate narrative and its analysis, this study seeks to understand how narrative analysis contributed to the teacher’s self-assessment and reassessment of her identity. The work is analysed in relation to five questions, derived from the teacher’s own narrative analysis, employing a methodology termed ‘analysis of an analysis’. The findings reveal how narrative analysis facilitated her in-depth understanding of her identity at different life stages, thereby enabling her to reconstruct it anew. In regard to teachers (as indeed to all individuals), painful school memories offer an important source for the study of identity construction. Intimate narrative research is thus suggested as a useful tool for inclusion in teacher training, enabling student teachers to investigate their autobiographical narratives in relation to emotions and self-identity.

Keywords:

• teacher identity
• early painful memories
• emotions
• autobiographical writing
• intimate narrative inquiry

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank Nili, who revealed to me her personal world and gave me the enriching experience of observing her and other student teachers with new eyes.