LITERACY OF LEARNING: FOUR MID-CAREER ENGLISH TEACHERS REFLECT ON INTERESTS AND EXPERIENCES INSIDE AND OUTSIDE OF THE CLASSROOM

Abstract

This dissertation examines the storied lives of four mid-career English teachers through their experiences with lifelong learning and individual academic curiosities. The examination provides depth to discursively constructed identity and resilience within the frame of the teacher as a learner. I use narrative inquiry to highlight the fluid identity work crafted by teachers in and outside classrooms while reflecting on teaching, learning, and self. In the research, I analyze 2 interviews per participant and a series of poetic transcripts and Google search elicitations. The dissertation uses poetry and art to examine the themes of growth and resilience within teacher identities as learners. Finally, the dissertation offers a concept of learning as an embodied literacy that supports the development and flexibility of teachers.