Personal Narratives as a Way to Understand the Worlds of College Lecturers

Authors

  • Vered Tohar Kaye College of Education Beer Sheva
  • Merav Asaf Kaye College of Education Beer Sheva
  • Anat Kainan Kaye College of Education Beer Sheva
  • Rakefet Shachar Kaye College of Education Beer Sheva

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.17169/fqs-7.3.146

Keywords:

personal narratives, narrative analysis, teacher education, faculty improvement, teacher education college

Abstract

Personal narratives about the workplace were collected from 28 lecturers at a teacher education college in order to study their personal and professional worlds. The topic, characters and workplace terminology of the narratives were examined. Additionally, they were analyzed using LEVI-STRAUSS' structural approach, GERGEN and GERGEN's evaluative model, and ARISTOTLE's aesthetic approach of the dramatic plot. The analyses reveal that the lecturers have no unified terminology or conception regarding their place and role. Issues of identity are revealed in the narrators' overt and tacit attempts to gain acceptance in the college and to have input in what goes on there. We thus infer that the lecturers are occupied with questions of belonging and control. Since many of the lecturers are part-time employees, they have few interactions in the college and this may have resulted in their lack of full participation at the college. URN: urn:nbn:de:0114-fqs0603123

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Author Biographies

Vered Tohar, Kaye College of Education Beer Sheva

Vered TOHAR, PhD., is the Head of the Literature Department at Kaye College of Education. Her research interests are in narrative analysis and in thematology.

Merav Asaf, Kaye College of Education Beer Sheva

Merav ASAF, MA., is a lecturer and researcher at Kaye College of Education. Her research interests are in writing in computerized environments and in teacher education.

Anat Kainan, Kaye College of Education Beer Sheva

Anat KAINAN, Prof., is the Head of the Education Department at Kaye College of Education. Her research interests are in teacher education and text analysis.

Rakefet Shachar, Kaye College of Education Beer Sheva

Rakefet SHACHAR, MA., is a lecturer and researcher at Kaye College of Education. Her research interests are in adult education, informal education and teacher education.

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Published

2006-05-31

How to Cite

Tohar, V., Asaf, M., Kainan, A., & Shachar, R. (2006). Personal Narratives as a Way to Understand the Worlds of College Lecturers. Forum Qualitative Sozialforschung Forum: Qualitative Social Research, 7(3). https://doi.org/10.17169/fqs-7.3.146