Romance and the Teacher: A Dissertation Revisited

Authors

Amy B. Spiker Ed.D, University of WyomingFollow

Abstract

This article is an auto-ethnographic study of my own deeply held metaphors about teaching and how I carry them into my university classroom work with preservice teachers. It is a continuation of a previously shelved dissertation. Ignited by a simple question during an encounter with a former student and research participant, this article looks at the dissertation work carried out previously through a new lens. The dissertation focused on my participants who were students and student teachers and their metaphors about teaching. Years later I was challenged to revisit this work and identify my own teaching metaphors. By holding a metaphor of teaching as a romance I was challenged to consider how that metaphor carried itself into my teaching and into my relationships with students. Through honest reflection and self-examination, I learned that my metaphors must be recognized and challenged. They do carry into my work with students and can change how I see them as future teachers.

Keywords

Metaphor, Teacher Education, Teacher Identity, Autoethnography

Author Bio(s)

Dr. Amy Spiker is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Teacher Education housed in the College of Education at the University of Wyoming. She teaches Literacy methods courses and supervises student teaching residency experiences. Correspondence regarding this article can be addressed directly to: aspiker@uwyo.edu.

Publication Date

7-8-2018

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0 International License.

DOI

10.46743/2160-3715/2018.3213

Recommended APA Citation

Spiker, A. B. (2018). Romance and the Teacher: A Dissertation Revisited. The Qualitative Report, 23(7), 1550-1560. https://doi.org/10.46743/2160-3715/2018.3213