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Ivor Goodson & Pik Lin Choi

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Teacher Education Quarterly, Spring 2008

Life Historyand Collective Memory as Methodological Strategies:Studying Teacher Professionalism

By Ivor Goodson & Pik Lin Choi

Thelifehistorymethod,whichachievedaprominentpositionintheChicagotraditionofsociologicalresearchintheearly1920s,hasbeenwidelyadoptedfor

Ivor Goodson is a professor of learning theory with the Education Research Centre at the University of Brighton, Brighton, East Sussex, United Kingdom. Pik Lin Choi is a assistant professor in the Department of Education Policy and Administration of the Hong Kong Institute of Education, Hong Kong.

educationalinquiriessincethe1980s(Casey,1995).BallandGoodson (1985)pioneereda seriesof studiesonteachers’professionallivesandcareers.Broadfootandothers(1987) in theircomparativestudyexplored thewaysinstitutionalstructures,ideologicaltraditionsandpolicy initiatives mediate teacher thinking. Other lifehistoryresearchersunveiledfemaleteachers’oppressedexperiencesinthecurrentofpostmodernity(Choi&Tang,2005;Middleton,1989;Nelson,1992).Thepowerofthelife historymethod in illuminating subjective teacherexperiences in social historical contexts has made it‘probablytheonlyauthenticmeansofunderstandinghowmotivesandpracticesreflecttheintimateintersectionofinstitutionalandindividualexperienceinthepostmodernworld(Dhunpath,2000,p.544). Inthisregard,wemadeanattempttoemploythe

Life History and Collective Memory

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lifehistorymethodtostudyteacherprofessionalism,anareaofconcernwhichhasbeenincreasinglytiedupwitheducationalqualityandglobalcompetitionattheturnofthetwenty-firstcentury.Individuallifehistoryhasbeenusefulinhighlightingtheuniquenessofpersonaltrajectoriesintheinstitutionalcontexts.Nevertheless,asourstudyoftwelvebeginningteachers1graduallyunfolded,wewerechallengedbyanumberofsharedpatternsofteacherprofessionalismmanifestedamongtheinformants.Thisledustoexperimentinusingthecollectivememorymethod. Thispaperaimsatexplainingwhythecombinedmethodsoflifehistoryandcollectivememoryareconsideredusefulinanalyzingteachers’professionalism.Wefirstgiveabriefaccountofthestudy,whichprovidesthebackgroundfortheunderstandingofthemethodologicalinnovation.Thenafewexamplesaregiventoillustratehowdataanalysiswascarriedoutbothatanindividualandacollectivegrouplevel.Finallywediscussthepotentialsofthecombineduseoflifehistoryandcollectivememoryineducationalresearch.

Development of the Study Design

The Life History Method Ourstudyissituatedinrecurrentcontextofconcernaboutthequalityofeduca-tionandconcernaboutteacherprofessionalism.Therehasbeenageneralimpressionthatteachersfallshortofsocietalexpectationinplayingtheirprofessionalroles(Choi,2001).Thuswewereinterestedinasystematicinquiryintothefeaturesofteachers’professionalism.Thestudywasinitiallylaunchedemployingthelifehistorymethodbecauseitwasdeemedpowerfulfortheanalysisofindividualbeginners’subjectivecareerexperiencesandthesituationalresponsesoftheselftodailyinteractionalcon-tingencies(Denzin,1989).Weintendedtogathersomeknowledgeofwhatinfluencedthedevelopmentofteachers’professionalismaftertheyenteredteachingandwhatcontributedtothegaps.Wepurposefullyallowedinthesampledprimaryschoolteachersvariablessuchasinitialcommitmenttoteaching,gender,teachingsubjectsandtypesofschoolsinorderthatrichbiographicalandcontextualdatacouldbecollected.Thetwelveteachers,whowereclassifiedintothreegroupsaccordingtotheirinitialcommitment2toteachingbeforeenteringtheprofession,werefollowedthroughinthetwo-yearstudy.Fourresearchquestionsguidedtheinquiry.

1.Whatarethesocietalexpectationsofaprofessionalteacherasexpressedinpublicdiscourses?

2.Whatcharacterizedtheteachers’conceptsandpracticesasaprofessionalteacherintheirbeginningyears?

3.Whatarethefactorscontributingtotheprofessionalsocializationoftheteachersandwhatarethedynamicsinvolvedintheprofessionalso-cializationprocesses?


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4.Whatarethesimilaritiesanddifferences,ifany,betweenthesocietalexpecta-tionsandtherealitiesofteachers’professionalismasacollectivegroup?

Documentaryanalysis,whichinvolvedanumberofwidelyrepresentativepolicydocumentsrelatedtoteachingandschooleducationinHongKong,wasconductedtoidentifythepublicdiscoursesonteacherprofessionalism(CouncilonProfessionalConduct inEducation,1995;EducationCommission,1992;EducationCommis-sion,1996;EducationCommission,1997;EducationCommission,2000;EducationDepartment,1997;EducationDepartment,1998).Theunderstandingofteachers’professionalismwastobeinferredfromthelifehistoryinterviewsanddocumentaryanalysis.Fiveface-to-facesemi-structuredlifehistoryinterview-conversations,whichlastedforaboutoneandahalfhourseach,werecarriedoutwiththeinformantsinthetwoyears.3Anaverageoffourtelephoneinterview-conversationswasconductedwithmostinformantsbetweentheface-to-faceinterviews.Contextualdata,includ-ingtheinformants’annualjournalwriting;interviewswiththecolleaguesoftheinformants;questionnairescompletedbytheinformants’students;andinformationaboutthenovices’workplacecontexts,werecollected.

Life History and Collective Memory: The Combined Methods Whenweexaminedthelifestoriesoftheinformants,wecametoanunderstandingofthetwelvebeginners’teacherprofessionalismasarticulatedandascareerpracticeatanindividuallevelbyusingthelifehistorymethod.Therichnarrativesallowedustoseetheinteractivedynamicsbetweenteacherprofessionalismandthebeginners’upbringing,educationalbackground,initialcommitment,immediateworkplaceaswellasthewidersocialhistoricalcontexts.Asdataanalysiswenton,clearpatternsof teacherprofessionalismwere found in thecareerof the twelve teachers.Thispointedtotheneedofanalysisatacollectivelevel.Webecameawarethatthesub-jectivenatureoflifehistorymethodwasinadequatetotakeusfurtherinexplainingthe inter-subjectivityof teacherprofessionalismmanifested invariousgroupsofteachers.Thequestionofwhatconstitutedthecollectivesimilaritiesanddifferenceswithregardtotheseteachers’professionalpracticesstimulatedoursearchforanewanalyticalframework.Thenextsectionsdetailtheemergenceofcollectivememoryworkasanepistemologicalandmethodologicaltool,whichwasfollowedbyabriefintroductionofthefindingsthesemethodsunveil.

The Epistemological Origin of Collective Memory Qualitative research stresses understanding meaning within contexts. Thecareerstoriesasrememberedbythebeginnersarecollectivememoriesofcultureandcontextaswellasindividualexperience.Heschel’swork(1965)shedslightontheepistemologicalandmethodologicalpowerofmemories.

Ultimatemeaningisnotgraspedonceandforallintheformofatimelessidea,acquiredonceandforall.Securelypreservedinconviction.Itisnotsimplygiven.


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Itcomesuponusasanintimationthatcomesandgoes.What is left behind is a memory, and a commitment to that memory.(Italicsaretheauthors’emphasis)Ourwordsdonotdescribeit,ourtoolsdonotwieldit.Butsometimesitseemsasifourverybeingwereitsdescription,itssecrettool.Theanchorofmeaningresidesinanabyss,deeperthanthereachofdespair.(1965,p.79-80)

Inthissenselifestoriestoldbythebeginnersarememories(Goodson&Sikes,2001).What individual teachers rememberedare significantepisodesand suchengagementwiththepast indicatesanongoingsearchfor theunderstandingoftheirselvesandtheenvironment(Thomson&Holland,2005).Sharedmemoriesfoundamongtheteacherspointedtotheexistenceofdifferentversionsofcollectivememories,whichcouldbeunderstoodinrelationtothesebeginners’professionalidentities.ThecloserelationshipbetweenmemoryandidentityhasbeenclearlyexplainedbyMauriceHalbwachsinhis1950bookThe Collective Memory:

wepreservememoriesofeachepochinourlives,andthesearecontinuallyre-produced;throughthem,asbyacontinualrelationship,asenseofouridentityisperpetuated.(Coser,1992,p.47)

Puttingthisinthecontextofteachers’professionalsocialization,thememoriesof thebeginnerswerenotmerelyrandomaccountsof their lifeexperience,butconstitutedtheirinterpretationsofwhatkindofteacherstheywere.Shotter(1990)highlightedthesociallyconstructednatureofremembering.Assuch,therecol-lectedaccountsoftheteacherswerenotmerelyadescription,butanaidtotheirperception.Inotherwords,therecollectionsarethelivedrealitiesasexperiencedbythebeginnerssincerememberingis“‘embodied’withinusasapartofwhoweare”(Shotter,1990,p.135).Orr(1990)furtherrelatedstorytellingofcommunitymembers to identity and community memory. He found that stories served tocelebratewiththemselvesandotherpeople’sidentity,thatis,thestoriesshowthattheyaremembersof thecommunityandcontributors to thesharedcommunitymemory.Moreover,collectivelifestoriesdonotoccurinasocialvacuumbutareembeddedincollectivesocialconditions.Coser(1992)notedthatpeopledrawonaspecificcontexttorememberandrecreatetheirpast.Thenovices,likeeachofusascollectivebeings,aresubjecttosharedopportunitiesandconstraintsataparticulartimeandspace.Thustheuseofcollectivememoryasaconceptualframehelpsusseethesharedpatternsofteachers’identitiesasprofessionalteachersandtheirrelationswiththecontextsinwhichtheywerecollectivelysituated. Ontheotherhand,thewayteachersinteractedwiththeirimmediateschoolcom-munitieswasmediatedbythenovice’sdifferentversionsofcollectiverememberingaboutteaching.Theseversionscouldberelatedtotheteachers’biographicaltrajecto-riesorculturalconfiguration(Ho,1996;Nias,1989).Halbwachsexplainsclearlytheinteractiverelationshipbetweenfamilyasaninstitution,andthewidersociety.

Eachfamilyendsupwithitsownlogicandtraditions,whichresemblethoseofthegeneralsocietyinthattheyderivefromitandcontinuetoregulatethefamily’s


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relationswithgeneralsociety.Butthislogicandthesetraditionsareneverthelessdistinctbecausetheyarelittlebylittlepervadedbythefamily’sparticularexperi-encesandbecausetheirroleisincreasinglytoinsurethefamily’scohesionandtoguaranteeitscontinuity.(Coser,1992:p.83)

Byemployingcollectivememoryasaconceptualtool,wewereabletouncoverhowteachersfromdifferent‘families’ofteacherbeliefsorleadingdissimilarlifetrajectories,wereengagedinthenegotiationoftheiridentitiesintheprocessofprofessionalsocialization.

Research Findings Unveiled by the Combined Methods Akeyfeatureofqualitativeresearchisthattheresearchersdonotenterthestudywithpre-sethypothesesortheoriesinmindtoproveordisprove.Butrather,theyengageindialecticratherthanlinearprocessofdescribing,analyzingandin-terpretingtheempiricalevidence(Wolcott,1994).Westudiedthelifestoriesofthetwelveinformantsincontextsandmadeconstantcomparisonacrossdifferentcasesorwithinthesamecaseatdifferentphasesofthestudy.Variousthemesemergedfromthedatawhentheworkplacecontextswereanalyzed.Thestructuralcontextsindifferentschoolgroupsandacrossthesesampledschoolgroupsconstitutecer-taincollectivecontexts,whichwereconsideredtohavecontributiveimpactonthecollectivememoriesofdifferentgroupsofteachers. Ontheotherhand,thelifestoriesoftwopairsofinformantswhoworkedinthesameschoolsalsorevealedtousthatindividualbeginnerscouldhavedifferentlivedexperiencesinsimilarworkplacecontexts.Thecareerstoriesasrememberedbythebeginners,andrepresentedindifferentversionsofcollectivememories,illu-minatedtheirnegotiationofprofessionalidentitiesintheirearlyprofessionallives.Thecollectivememorymethodfittedinwelltoilluminatehowvariationsofthebeginners’self-identitiesinterplayedwiththeworkplacecontextsintheprocessofprofessionalsocialization,thusleadingtovariationsintheirprofessionalpracticesandteacherprofessionalism. Fouraxesofteacherprofessionalismwerethenconceptualizedandthesewillbedescribedasselectivelyexemplifiedinalatesectionwhichprovidescaseillus-tration.Therealtiesofteachers’professionalismwerecomparedwiththesocietalexpectationsasprojectedinthepublicdiscourses.Inconsiderationofthefocusofthispaper,wewillnotgointodetailstheproceduresrelatedtothefindingsofthegapsbetweensocietalexpectationsandtheteachers’professionalism.Butrather,wefocusontheprocessesandtechniquesthatenableustounderstandthefeaturesoftheteachers’professionalismbothatanindividualandacollectivelevel.

Combined Methods in Action: Processes and Techniques Methodologicallyastudywithlifehistoryandcollectivememorymethodsinvolves subjective/ inter-subjectiveaswell ascontextual/ inter-contextualdata


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interpretation.Lifehistoryandcollectivememorystudiesinvolvearelativelylargenumberofinformants,thusacomputerpackage,Non-numericalUnstructuredDataIndexingSearchingandTheorizing(NUD.IST)wasemployedtofacilitatesystematicdatastorageandanalysis.Dataanalysisofthecombined-methodstudyconsistsofthreecycles,whichinvolvepotentialinnovativecombinationofthetechniquesofcategorization,constantcomparison,translationandsynthesisrespectively(Doyle,2003;Glaser&Strauss,1967;Noblit&Hare,1988;Strauss&Corbin,1998).

Categorization The life stories of the informants collected at each stagewere transcribedverbatim.Thenthetextswerecategorizedintobroadcategories.Thispreliminarycategorizationwassimilartotheopencodingofthegroundedtheoryapproach(Strauss&Corbin,1998).Whendataweretranscribedintotext,relevantinforma-tionwasclusteredintocategorieswithacode.Textsmightgoundermorethanonecodewhentheywereconsideredtohavemultipleperspectives.Thishelpedsystematicdataanalysis.Thecreationofthefirstlevelcodessuchas‘Biography’and‘Workplace’wasinformedbothbyprevioustheoreticalunderstandingofprofes-sionalsocialization,theresearchers’contextualunderstandingaslifehistorians,aswellasappropriateemergencefromthedata.Asdatacollectionproceededthefirstlevelcodeswerefurtherrefined,inaccordancewiththeirdimensionandproperties,tobuildupthesecondlevelcodessuchas‘Biography/Family,’‘Biography/TeacherEducation,’‘Workplace/PrincipalLeadership,’and‘Workplace/ColleagueRelation-ship’whendataappearedtoincreaseindiversityandcomplexity.Insomecases,thecategorieswereevenextendedfurthertothethirdlevel(Forexample,Workplace/Colleague/SupportandWorkplace/Colleague/Dispute).ChunksofverbatimwerethenstoredinNUD.IST.foreasyretrievalanddatadisplay.Thelifehistoriesofeachofthetwelveinformants,whichinvolvedacontextualunderstandingofthelifestoriestoldbythebeginners,wereformulatedandpresentedbytwelveinformantprofiles.Bytheendofthefirstcycleofdataanalysis,theuniqueportrayalofeachofthetwelveinformantsgraduallytookshape.

Constant Comparison and Translation Constantcomparisonandtranslationcharacterizedthesecondcycleofdataanalysis.The lifehistorymethodallowedus tocapture theuniquenessofeachinformantwhenwebuiltuptheinformantprofiles.AsconstantcomparisonwasmadepossiblebetweenthetwelveinformantswiththeassistanceoftheNUD.IST,wenoticeddistinctiveaxesofteacherprofessionalisminthecollectivememoriesoftheinformants.Theprocessof‘translation’tookplace.NoblitandHare(1988)providedapreciseexplanationofthestrategyoftranslation:

Initssimplestform,translationinvolvestreatingtheaccountsasanalogies:Oneprogramislikeanotherexcept...Ontheotherhand;translationismoreinvolvedthanananalogy.Translationsareespeciallyuniquesyntheses,becausetheyprotect


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theparticular,respectholism,andenablecomparison.Anadequatetranslationmaintainsthecentralmetaphorsand/orconceptsofeachaccountintheirrelationtootherkeymetaphorsorconcepts in thataccount. Italsocomparesboth themetaphorsorconceptsandtheirinteractionsinoneaccountwiththemetaphorsorconceptsandtheinteractionintheotheraccounts.(p.28)

Translationofthetwelvecasesinvolvescollaborativeinterpretationbetweentheresearchersandtheresearched.Whensectionsofinformationwerecomparedandtranslated,bothcommonalitiesanduniquenesswereidentified.Weobservedthatcertainexemplaryaspectsofteacherprofessionalism,suchasthenatureofteacher commitment and coping strategieswere identified from their decisionsandactionsmadeintheirprofessionallives.Analogiesofteacherprofessionalismwereestablishedasaresultoftranslationandthedistinctivefeaturesoffouraxesofteacherprofessionalismweredifferentiated.

Synthesis Thefinalcycleofdataanalysisisachievedbymeansofsynthesis.Bythetimewearrivedatthefouraxesofteacherprofessionalism,wehadgroupsoflifehistorieswhichwereactuallycollectivememories.Collectivememoryresearchersthentooktheroleofameta-ethnographertomakesenseofthefourversionsofcollectivememoriesthroughconstantcomparisonandsynthesis.Synthesis,aselaboratedbyNoblitandHare,isenabledwhenresearchersmakecomparisonsbetweensetsoflargetranslationstoexamineiftypesoftranslationsorifsomemetaphorsand/orconceptsareabletoencompassthoseofotheraccounts.Thentheresearchersareabletodistinguishwhetheritisa‘samepracticehypothesis’or‘differentpracticehypothesis’andsubsequentlycreatedanexplanatory‘puzzle’(Noblit&Hare,1988;Turner,1980). Toexplainthisprocesswiththepresentstudy,itiswhentranslationdifferenti-atedtheprofessionalpracticesthataneedfortheexplanationtothedifferencestookplace.Inotherwords,westudiedthecollectivememoriestofindoutthefac-torscontributingtotheinformants’variationinprofessionalism.Throughconstantcomparison,weswitched toandfrofromthecontextual to the inter-contextualanalysis,aswellasfromthesubjectiveandinter-subjectivedataanalysistoiden-tifythecollectivecontextsforthecollectivememories.Bymeansofsynthesis,wefoundsomeanswerstothe‘puzzle’wesoughttoexplain,i.e.,whatcontributedtothemanifestationofdifferentaxesofteacherprofessionalism. Unlikepositivist research,whichaggregatesdata foranalysis, synthesis inqualitativestudiesisachievedbyinductionandinterpretation.Whenthecollectivememoriesofthetwelveinformantswerecomparedagainsteachother,theinterpre-tationsofdifferentinformantsrepresentmulti-perspectivesofsocialreality.NoblitandHareequatedthepowerofsynthesisofdifferentcaseswithGeertz’s(1993)viewthatinterpretiveexplanationhelpsusunderstandhowthingsmightconnectandinteract,thusholisticmeaningcanbedrawnfromthemultipleperspectives.Throughtheprocessofsynthesis,wewereabletoattendtotheindividuals’subjec-


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tivityaswellastheinter-subjectivityasilluminatedbytheircollectivememories.Thisfinallyledtoaholisticunderstanding,whichexplainedthepuzzle.

Combined Methods in Action: Case Illustrations Wenowgivesomeexamplestoelaboratehowthecombinedmethodsactu-allyworkoutdowntothesubstantivefindings.Acoupleofexemplarycasesareselectedtoillustratethedataanalysisprocessesthroughwhichtheaxesofteacherprofessionalismarearrivedatandhowthefactorscontributingtothesimilaritiesanddifferencesofteachers’professionalismwereidentified.

Identifying Different Axes of Teacher Professionalism

Categorization Inthefirstcycleofdataanalysis,theprocessofcategorizationandwritinguptheinformantprofileshelpedusunderstandthepersonalandprofessionallivesofeachteacherinanorganizedway.Understandingisaninter-subjective,emotionalprocess(Denzin,1997).Categorizationasthefoundationofaholisticunderstandingoftheinformants’personalandprofessionallivesinvolvesinter-subjectivitybetweentheresearchersandtheresearched.Intheinterview-conversations,theteacherswereeagertotalkabouteventsthatweresignificanttothem.Withthecollaborationoftheresearchers,theinformantswereabletoprovidecontextualinformationrelatedtotheirworkplaceandotherrelevantpersonallivedexperiences.Thetextualdata,likethoseshowninTable1,ofeachinformantwerecodedaftereachinterviewandassembledinthecomputerunderfourbroadareas,namely,biography,workplace,perceptionofteacherprofessionalismandcareerevents.

Summaries and Informant Profiles Summarieshighlightingeach informant’s critical career events and relatedcontextualinformationwerethendrawnaftereachphaseofdataanalysis.Theyinformedthenextphaseofdatacollectionandledtothecompilationofthein-formantprofiles.Twelveinformantprofilesrecordingtheuniquelifehistoriesofeachbeginnerwereestablishedalongsidethecodedverbatim.Thisallowedcross-referencingamongtherawdata,theinformantprofilesandthecodedchunksintheNUD.ISTallthewaythroughthethree-dataanalysisprocesses.Weareabletopreservetheuniquenessandcomplexitiesofeachinformant’slifehistoriesfortworeasons.First,thedatastoredintheNUD.ISTkepttheunabridgeddetailsoftheinformants’utterance.Second,theinformantprofilesorganizedunderthefourbroad areas provided us a holistic understanding of individual informants’ lifetrajectoriesinthesocio-historicalcontexts.

Constant Comparison and Translation Whenweexaminedtheinformants’lifehistoriesthroughtheinformantprofiles,


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wenoticedcertaincommonalitiesanddiversitiesamongthebeginners.Thenwebeganthesecondcycleofsystematicdataanalysis,bymeansofconstantcompari-sonandtranslation.Aseducatorsandresearchers,wemadesenseofthetwelveinformants’livedexperiencesbothasinsidersandoutsiders.Translationresultedintheformulationoffouraxesofteacherprofessionalismwithdistinctivefeatures.Theywerecoinedas‘TeacherProfessionalismofTheSuccessful,TheSuffering,TheStrategicandTheStruggling.’ ‘TheSuccessful’showedsatisfactionwiththeirprogressiveprofessionallearning.Theywereabletonegotiatetheirrolesinaproductiveway.Teacherprofessionalismasdisplayedby‘TheSuccessful’wasanenhancementofprofessionalknowledgeintheschoolcommunities.Theygraduallydevelopedacommitmenttowardteachingasacareer.Teacherprofessionalismof‘TheSuffering,’however,wascharacterizedbyunfulfilledgoalofserviceethicstopupils.Theywereforcedtocomplyintheworkplace.Restrictedparticipationintheschoolamong‘TheSuffering’wasanat-tempttopreservepersonalvaluesinteaching.Therewasdevelopingdetachmenttotheworkplace.Thecollectivememoriesof‘TheStrategic’weredominatedbystrategiccompliance.Teacherprofessionalismof‘TheStrategic’appearedtofulfillaccount-abilityasexpectedbythepublicbutwithproblematicserviceethics.Theyattachedtotheworkplaceforself-interest.‘TheStruggling’werefilledwithconstantprincipleddeliberationintheirrolenegotiations.Theirprofessionalismwasdistinguishedby

Table 1. Categorization.


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theirattachmenttoprofessionalaccountabilityandprincipledserviceethics.Theyweregraduallydevelopingacommitmenttoteachingasaprofession. Belowwedescribe,asanexample,thecareereventsoffourinformants,Sue,Jane,Carol,andFranktoillustratehowtranslationworkedthroughtextstounfoldtwo different versions of collective memories and the conceptualization of theprofessionalismof‘TheSuffering’(thecasesofSueandCarol)and‘TheStrategic’(thecasesofJaneandFrank). SueandJanebegantheirteachinglivesintheJone’sPrimarySchoolbutwesawthemfallintodifferentaxesofteacherprofessionalism.Acriticalcareereventrelatedtolessonrevisionwithstudentsfor theschoolexaminationsilluminatesthesediversities.AstheacademicachievementofthestudentswashighlystressedintheJone’sPrimarySchoolandstudentswererankedinaleaguetablewithintheirrespectivegrades,manyteachersdrilledthetestitemswiththestudents.BothJaneandSueconductedrevisionwiththestudentsbeforetheexaminations.YetitwasSuewhowasso‘unlucky’tobecaught,andwasaccusedtohavebreached‘thecodeofprofessionalconduct’.Asaresult,Suereceivedawarningletterfromtheschool.JaneandSueperformedexactlythesamepracticeinrevisingtestitemswiththestudentsbymeansofworksheets.YetJane’srevisionactwasnot‘discovered’andnodisciplinarymeasuresweretakenagainsther.Janeattributedher‘narrowescape’toluckandSue’sunfortunateexperienceto‘havingoffendedsomebody’intheschool.Ponderingthesituationafterwards,Suealsobelievedthatherexperiencewasapenaltyforherexpressivenessasanewentrantintheschool.

We(Sueandtheothernewrecruitswhoreceivedwarningletters)liketoexpressouropinionsandaskquestions.Soothercolleaguespaidattentiontous…Attheverybeginningoftheacademicyear,IthoughtIcouldsharemyideasinthemeet-ings.(Workplace/Feelings&Concerns/Stress—Sue,Interview2)

BiographicaldatashowedthatSuewasanassertivepersonwhoisactivetoraisequestionsandseekhelpfrompeople.Howeversheperceivedtheinappropriatenessofsuchpracticeafterworkingintheschoolforhalfayear.

WhenI’minanewenvironment,Itendtoaskquestions.IusedtoasksomeonefirstwhenIdon’tunderstand.Butherepeoplemaytakemeasatrouble-maker.Thisistheworstofall...NowIunderstandthatthemostimportantthingisnottosayanything.Evenwhenpeopleaskforyouropinions,youshouldn’tsaytoomuchormakesuggestions.(CareerEvents/Coping/Compliance—Sue,Interview3)

Suedecidedtoleavetheschool,physically,attheendofthefirstyearteaching.Infactsheemotionallywithdrewfromtheschoolcommunitybyremainingsilentintheworkplaceaftershereceivedherwarningletter.Shechosetostayawayfromtheseniorcolleaguesasfaraspossibleandevendidhermarkinginanemptyclassroomratherthanthestaffroomwithtwoothercolleagues.Sue’srestrictedparticipationtotheschoolcommunityandherdetachmenttotheschoolwasobvioustous.


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Wedon’twanttostayintheStaffroomasweareawfullyworriedthatwemaysaysomethingwrong.Theatmospherethereissuffocatingandscaring.It’sgoodtojointhisschoolforfortifyingoneself,butoneyearisenough.(CareerEvents/RestrictedParticipation;CareerEvents/Commitment—Sue,Interview3)

Sue’scareerexperiencewasbetterunderstoodwithmorecontextualdata.Shewasheavilyinvolvedinthecoachingoftheschoolbasketballteamforinter-schoolcompetitionsinthesecondsemester.SubsequentlyshewasnotabletopayequalattentiontotheteachingofChineseLanguageforherownclass.

Iwasexhaustedafterextensivecoachingeveryday.ItwassohotintheafternoonthatIreallywantedtosleep.ButIcouldn’tandmustfinishmarkingstudents’ex-ercisebooks.Ikeptmarkingandmarkinganddidn’thaveenoughtimetopreparetheChineselessonwell.MyPrimaryFiveclassstudentswhoIteachbothChineseandPEareveryloving.Somegirlstriedtocheermeupwhenwegotthefirstrunners-upinthebasketballcompetition.IlovethemsomuchbutIfeelsorryforthem.Thelessonswerenotwellplanned.PhysicallyIjustfeelwornout.(CareerEvents/ServiceIdeal—Sue,Interview3)

Sue’saccountrevealedthatsheconsideredherselfbeingunabletofulfillherserviceideal.Sue’professionalexperienceswerepermeatedwithhelplessnessandadesireforwithdrawal.Bymeansofconstantcomparison,wefoundthatthesefeatures,togetherwithothers,werealsoevidentinthelifestoriesofsomeotherinformants.Carol’scaseguidedustoseeinter-subjectivelytheprofessionallivesof‘TheSuffering’novices,andthecreationofthetranslation—Professionalismof‘TheSuffering.’ TheschoolwhereCarolstartedherteachingwasalsointensivelyinvolvedinedu-cationalinnovations.ThePrincipalpromotedacaringschoolclimateanddiscouragedstrictdisciplinarymeasures.Carolhaddifficultiesindealingwiththeunrulybehaviourofthestudents.ShefoundherselfhelplessastheDisciplineMasterwasnotsupportivetoinexperiencedteachers.HetoldCaroldirectlythatitwasshewhowouldbeheldaccountabletotheparentsforthebehaviourofherclasses.CarolwasoverwhelmedbythefearofhavingaccidentsinherPhysicalEducationlessons.Carolwasdisturbed,fromtimetotime,bynightmaresofbeingprosecutedbytheparents. Inadditiontostudentdiscipline,Carolalsofelthelplesstocopewithstudents’diverselearningneedsinthewaysheexpectedherselftodo.

Amongthethirtystudents,therearesomewhocan’tcatchupanditalwaysseemsthatthey’redreaminginclass,anddon’tknowwhatthey’redoing.They’requitehelplessandit’sverydifficultforthemtopayattentionintheclass.Itseemsthattheydon’twanttobethereandtheycan’tlearnatall.(Workplace/Feelings&Concerns/Stress—Carol,Interview5)

IalwaysthinkifIcanhelpthemonebyoneafterschool,theycanbenefitmorethanjustsittingintheclass;thiscanhelpmore…Butthere’resomanyofthemthateachofthemfallsfarbehindfromtheclassandIdon’tknowwhattodo.Thechangeistobecomemoretolerantandtoacceptthereality.Imaylowermyexpectationsovertime.(CareerEvents/ServiceIdeal;CareerEvents/Coping/Compliance—Carol,Interview5)


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CarolwishedshecouldjointheDisciplineCommitteetohelpestablishingaschoolethosthatwasconducivetolearning.ShealsohopedthattheSubjectPanelChairpersonwouldreducethecurriculumcontentsfor those lessablestudents.However,shefeltisolatedandwasreluctanttotakeaction.

Mylevelofacceptanceishighernow.It’sdifficulttochange.EvenifI’vechanged,theschoolwillstillnotchange!There’llonlybeachangeifthePrincipalandthemiddlemanagementarechanged...Ipreferdoingprivatetuitionandteachthosewhoarereallyinterestedinlearning.(CareerEvents/Coping/Compliance—Carol,Interview4;CareerEvent/Commitment—Carol,Interview4)

Constantcomparisonfacilitatedustoseeinter-subjectivityacrosscasesandwewereabletoidentifythesimilaritieswithregardtothestressorsandemotionalresponsesbetweenCarolandSue.Bothbeginnerssharedasimilardifficultyingainingparticipa-tionintheschoolcommunityanddidnothavesupportfromtheirseniorcolleagueswhentheyhadproblems.AsshowninTable2,theresponsesofSueandCaroltowardstheworksituationweresimilar.Bothofthemfeltobligedtochangetheirexpectationsorbehaviors.SuebecamereluctanttoinquireorexpressviewswhereasCarolforcedherselftolivewiththefactthatshecouldnothelpherstudentscatchupwithlearning.Thecopingstrategytheyadoptedwascharacterizedbyinvoluntarycompliance. Ontheotherhand,constantcomparisonrevealsdiversities.WeobservedthatJanewasalsocaught inavarietyofproblematicsituationsbutsheapproachedthemdifferently.Theschoolintendedtopromoteanimageof‘high’expectationsinEnglish.IthadtheEnglishsyllabusonegrademoreadvancedthanotherschoolsandadoptedthe‘allEnglishinEnglishlesson’policy.Attheverybeginning,JanewastemptedtosupplementthelessonswithsomeChinese.YetshesoonmadeanadjustmentafterherSubjectPanelChairpersontoldherthatthePrincipalwaskeenonmonitoringteacherperformancebypatrollinginthecorridors.

ItmightbethatoneofmySubjectPanelChairshasreportedtothePrincipalthatIdidn’tspeakallEnglishduringEnglishlessons...AnotherChairalertedmeofthesituation.Afterthis,IuseEnglishallthetimethroughoutthelessonsnomatterwhetherIcouldexpressaccuratelyorfluently.Althoughsomestudentslookedatmewithpuzzle,IkeptspeakinginEnglish.Andtheproceduresofmyteachingwerelikethis—IspokeanEnglishsentence,thenIwrotethemeaninginChineseontheblackboard.ThiswastohelpthestudentsunderstandwhatI’dsaid.AfterI’dwrittendownthemeaninginChinese,Irubbeditoffassoonaspossible,sothatnobodycouldfindoutwhat I’vedone. (CareerEvents/Coping/StrategicCompliance;Workplace/ColleagueRelationship—Jane,Interview3)

Intherespectofstudentachievements,Janeunderstoodtheimplicationsforherandherstudentsiftheyhadahighfailingrateintheexaminationleaguetable.Tobeanswerabletotheparentsandtheschool,Janeadoptedsimilarstrategiesaswhathadbeenpracticedbymanyothercolleaguesintheschool.

Fewerstudentsfailedinthefinaltestandtheexam.Beforetheexam,Ihadrevision


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withthestudentsmanytimes.ThatmeansIdidn’tarrangeanyotheractivitiesforthem.Iaskedthemtostaybehindduringtherecesses.SometimesIevendidn’tteachthemmusicduringthemusiclessonbutrevisedEnglishwiththem.(CareerEvents/Coping/StrategicCompliance—Jane,Interview3)

JanetaughtherlessonbyspeakinginEnglishbutwritingthetranslationontheboard.Thiscopingstrategykeptherfromadministrativepenaltyandseeminglyhelpedherstudentsgetabetterunderstandingofthelessons.Inasituationthatseemedtosatisfyallparties,thelearningopportunitiesofthestudentsweremisshapen.Inthecaseoftheschool-mandatedmediumofinstructioninEnglishlessons,itseemsthat

Table 2. Translation.


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theteacherwasconcernedaboutthelearningofthestudents.However,thequalityofstudentlearningsufferedconsiderably.Whatmadetheirteacherprofessionalismdifferentfromthatoftheotherswasthattheyhandledthediscrepanciespragmati-cally,whichledtodistortedaccountabilityandserviceethics. Teacherprofessionalismof‘TheStrategic’sharedsimilarcharacteristicswith‘TheSuffering’intherespectthatthebeginnerswereconsciousoftheunfavorableaspectsoftheworkingconditionsoftheirschools.However,theydifferedintheirsubsequentactions.SueandCarolwouldhavepreferredleavingtheirschoolshadtheemploymentopportunitiesbeenbetter.JanehadnolesscriticismaboutherschoolthanSueorCarol.However,shedecidedtostayintheunsatisfyingschoolswithapositiveoutlook.Eversincethetimeshesignedthecontract,shekeptapositiveperspectiveofhavingobtainedateachingpostinafamousschoolnearherhome.Althoughshecried,withmixedfeelingsoffear,doubtandworrywhenshedescribedthefactthatthreeotherteachersreceivedwarninglettersfromthePrincipal,shedecidednottotakeatransfertoanotherschool,asSuechosetodo.

JustlikeIsaidlastyear,I’mnotthekindofpersonwhocanadapttoanewenviron-mentandchangeeasily.Ihavetoattendmanycoursesduringtheseyears.IrealizethatIneedmoretimeforsleep.Idon’tliketotryhardandtravelalongwaytointerviewforanewjob.Ijusttrymybestnottobefired.Althoughthesituationisfarfromsatisfactory,I’dratherstay.IthinkIknowhowtoprotectmyselfandfeelsafe.(CareerEvents/Commitment—Jane,Interview5)

Constantcomparisonoftheinformants’lifehistoriesthatbeginnerslikeJanewasabletogetaccesstotheschoolcommunitiesmoresuccessfullythanothersandwasabletoadoptdifferentcopingstrategies.ThisisthesamecaseforFrank,anovicewhowasgoodatInformationTechnology.Frankwasabletobuildupgoodinterpersonalrelationshipsintheworkplacebecausehewasaresourcetosolvethehi-techproblemsofhiscolleagues.

They(othercolleaguesoftheITCommittee)haveallworkedintheschoolforalongtime,andthey’realsowillingtohelppeople.Butwhenourcolleagueshaveanyproblems,I’mthefirstpersonamongthe5membersintheITcommitteethatthey’llapproach.(Workplace/ColleagueRelationship—Frank,Interview4)

LikeJane,Frank’spersonalcareerdecisionsstoodindependentofhispoorevaluationoftheschool.WhenheanticipatedatoughBachelorofEducationpro-graminhissecondyearofteaching,hedecidedtostayintheschoolalthoughitsfacilitieswerebadlybelowstandard.

Iwouldn’tchoosethisschoolifIhadanotherchance.There’rethirty-sevenpupilswithonlythreevolleyballsforaP.E.lesson.Iadvisedthefreshgraduatestothinktwicebeforetheycametoteachinthisschool.…ButIwon’tquitnow.Thegoodthingisthattheschoolislessdemandingthanmostotherschools...IcanimagineI’llhavealotofassignmentstodointhecomingthreeyearswhenIstudythepart-timeB.Ed.(CareerEvents/Commitment—Frank,Interview3)


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Frankwouldliketogivehisclassthebest.Asaclassteacher,hehadcloserelationshipswithhisstudentsbecausehetaughtthemfromPrimaryFivetoPrimarySix.However,hefoundhimselfunabletoassumeprofessionalaccountabilitywhenhewasoccupiedbyhisownexaminationsinthesecondyearofhisteaching.Frankwasconsciousoftheethicaldilemmainhismotivesofteachinghisstudentswhathehadlearntinhisdegreeprogram;butheneededtodefendhisserviceethicstothestudents.

Sometimes,duringlunch,IwassotiredthatIfellasleepwhenIwaseating!Mystudentswere reallygood.Theyasked theirEnglish teacher if Iwas sickandwhyIseemedtobeverytiredrecently.ShetoldthemIhavetoworkveryhardformystudiesandmywork.Theyweresounderstandingthatoncetheysawmesleeping,thewholeclasskeptveryquietbecausetheydidn’twanttowakemeup—evenwhentheywantedtogetsomething…Luckily,mystudentsareveryun-derstanding.(CareerEvents/Teacher-studentRelationship;Workplace/Colleaguerelationship—Frank,Interview5)

WecouldshareFrank’sfeelingofguiltwhenhetalkedabouthisrelationshipwithhisstudents.

Actuallythisyear,IfeelthatIfailedmyclassofstudents.Iregretthatintheirgraduationcamp,Icouldn’tbewiththemmostofthetime.Ihadtotakemyexamsintheevening.WhenIgotbacktothecamp,manyofthemhadgonetobed.Andtheninthemorning,IhadtogivearidetothePrincipal,ortheECATeacher.ThenIhadtodrivesomestudentstoseethedoctor.Ikeptdrivingtoandfroduringthecampandhadverylittletimetostaywithmystudents.(CareerEvents/ServiceEthics—Frank,Interview5).

Frankexperiencedroleoverloadwhenhehadtocopewithhisdutiesintheschoolandhisdemandingdegreestudy.ThewayhemanagedhismultipleroledemandswassimilartothatofJane’s.

Now,Ifeelthatthestudyhashadagreatimpactonme.Ididn’texpectthatthestudywouldcausemesomuchpressureandI’dhavetospendsomuchenergyandeffortonit…Sometimes,IseizethechanceandtalktothestudentsinthelessonsaboutwhatIhavelearnedintheuniversity.Thishelpsmerevisethosestuffsintheexams.I’dsayItakeadvantageofthoseopportunities.Afterall,it’salsoachanceformetoseeifthosethingsworkforthestudents.(CareerEvents/Coping/StrategicCompliance—Frank,Interview5)

StrategiccompliancewasusedtodenotetheprofessionalpracticeofSueandFrank,whichwascharacterizedbydistortedaccountabilityandserviceethics.Inconjunctionwithotherfeaturessuchastheirattachmenttotheworkplace,thesefeaturesdistinguishcollectivememoriesthatwerequalitativedifferentfromthoseofSueandCarol.Twosetsoftranslationwerethencreated,theformerasProfes-sionalismof‘TheStrategic’andthelatter,Professionalismof‘TheSuffering.’


20

Identifying Encompassing Factors for Axes of Teacher Professionalism Whensectionsofinformation,ashighlightedabove,werecompared,webecameaware that informants shared different versions of collective memories. We useProfessionalismof‘TheSuffering’asananalogytodenotetheprofessionalcharac-teristicsofbeginnerssuchasSueandCarolandProfessionalismof‘TheStrategic’wasusedtorepresentprofessionalpracticeofJaneandFrank.AsshowninTable3,theprofessionallivesofinformantssuchasSueandCarolwerecharacterizedbysuppressingtheirpersonalityorabandoningtheirserviceideals.Theyledunsatisfy-ingprofessionallivesbecauseofunfulfilledgoalsofserviceethicstostudents.Theseteachersrestrictedtheirparticipationintheschoolandwouldmadeattemptstoleavetheworkplace.Ontheotherhand,JaneandFrankemployedstrategiccompliancetohandletheirroledemands.Theyappearedtofulfillaccountabilityasexpectedbytheschoolorthepublic,yetwithproblematicserviceethics.Unlike‘TheSuffering’beginners,theychosetostayinthedissatisfyingworkplacebecauseofperceivedfavorableconditionsthatmettheirpersonalandoccupationalneeds. Thesefindingsreadilybroughtustotheinquiryofthefactorscontributingtothedifferentaxesofteacherprofessionalism.Theepistemologicalunderstandingofcollectivememoriesinformedourinterpretationofthephenomena,togetherwiththetechniqueofsynthesis;webeganahigherlevelofdataanalysis.InfluencedbyHalbwachs’memorywork,wecametounderstandthatthememoriesoftheteachersdisclosedtheirprofessionalidentities.Thestoriestheytoldnotonlyshowedwhotheywerebutalsowhatkindofteacherstheywouldliketobe.‘TheSuffering’and‘TheStrategic’beginnerspreferred,asmuchasothercounterparts,tobeabletofulfillserviceidealsandprofessionalaccountabilityintheirprofessionallives.Yettheirprofessionalpracticevaried.Thesevariationsstimulatedustolookintothesocialhistoricalcontexts,ascollectivememoriesneveroccurredinasocialvacuum(Coser,1992).Bymeansofconstantcomparison,weworkedthroughthetwelvecasestoexaminethefouraxesofteacherprofessionalism.Thisallowedustodifferentiatethebiographicalandworkplacevariablesatacollectivelevel.

Constant Comparison and Collective Biographical Contexts The use of translation and synthesis, which are strategies of handlingmeta-ethnographicalwork,iscapableofhandlinglargesamplesizes.Wefoundsimilaritiesanddifferencesfromthebiographicaldataoftheinformants.JaneandFrankdemonstratedgoodknowledgeabouttheworkcontexts.Forexample,Frankwasawareofthepolicyconcerningtheupgradingofteachers’professionalqualifications.Thereforeheplannedtoobtainadegreeassoonaspossible.Hisunderstandingofthecontextsguidedhimmakeachoicetoteachinaschoolwithsub-standardP.E.facilities.Similarly,Janewasobservantaboutthe‘monitoringsystem’intheJone’sPrimarySchool.Shewassuspiciousofthegroupleadersassignedto‘support’theteachers.


21

Thisteacherchecksiftheirgroupmembersgivehomeworktostudentsandhowmany exercise books they mark, etc.They check the homework diary in theclassroom.Teacherssittogetherinaccordancewiththeirgroup...Ithinkthesemonitoringgroupleaderswillnotbreaktherulesofthissystem.Theyareveryloyaltothemonitoringsystem.Ifteachersmissfillinginthehomeworkdiary,theywillfoldthepageofthediary.Theytreatthismatterveryseriously.Theymayaskifyouhavemissedfillinginthehomeworkdiary...Actuallythey’vealreadymadetheirjudgment.TheymayhavereportedtothePrincipalsecretly.(Workplace/ColleagueRelationship/Micropolitics—Jane,Interview1)

Janegainedcomprehensivestoriesabouttheteacherswhohadresignedbeforeshewasrecruitedtotheschool.Onthecontrary,Sueshowedlittleawarenessofthe

Table 3. Synthesis.


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politicalstructureintheJone’sPrimarySchool.Shenoticedthattherewerefourothernewteacherswhojoinedtheschoolwithherandshecouldonlyrelateittoteachers’retirement.Sue’sinadequateknowledgeofworkcontextswasreflectedbyanotherfactthatshecouldnotrecognizeallherthreeSubjectPanelChairpersonsevenafterthewarningletterissue. Thefamilyupbringingandeducationexperiencesstronglyinfluencedinfor-mants’personality.Suestressedthatitwasdifficultforhertobecomea‘follower’likeJane.ThestructureandcultureoftheworkplaceposedagreatthreattoSue’ssubstantialself.Thisaffectedthestrategysheadoptedtocopewiththeproblemsintheworkplace.Carolsharedsimilarbiographicalcontexts,inwhichweidenti-fiedthedevelopmentofherstrongself-identity.Beingaself-disciplinedpersoninschoolandinthefamily,Carolhadhighexpectationsonclassethos,valuedgooddisciplineaswellasteachingandlearningoutcomes. Asacollectivegroup,wefoundthat‘TheSuffering’beginnershadstrongself-identitybutlimitedknowledgeofworkcontexts.‘TheStrategic’beginners,ontheotherhand,hadafluidself-identityandcomprehensivecontextualknowledgeoftheirworkcontexts.

Constant Comparison and Collective Workplace Contexts Schoolshavetheirstructuresandculturesbeforetheteachersjointhemastheirworkplace.Thepropertiesintheworkplaceinfluencethebeginners’professionalpracticeanddevelopment.Forexample,noviceswhoworkedinaschoolthatisactivelyengagedineducationalreformsbecamemoreconsciousofpublicdemandsofprofessionalstandards.Incontrary,beginnersinlessreformdrivenschoolshadmoreroomfortheirownprofessionallearning.Wealsofoundthatteacherscouldbepersonallyexposedtoverydifferentworkplacecontextseventhoughtheyworkedinthesameschool,aswecanseefromthecasesofJaneandSue. Janewasabletogetsocialsupportfromhersupervisors.Firstly,herexaminationrevisionactwasnot‘discovered’.Second,oneofherSubjectPanelChairpersonswaseagertoprotectherfromapotentialaccusationofspeakingChineseinEnglishlessons.Nevertheless,Suedidnotenjoyanysocialsupportintheschool.Thiswascrystalcleartoheraftershereceivedhersecondwarningletter.

AfterIgotthesecondwarningletter,anadditionalseniorteacherotherthanmygroupleader,wasassignedtochecktheexercisebooksImarked.IthoughtsheistheretohelpmebutlaterIrealizedthatsheonlykeepsarecordofthemistakesI’vemadeinmymarking.(CriticalEvents/Sue,Interview3)

Thecollectiveworkplacecontextsfor‘TheSuffering’shareacommoncharac-teristic,whichisthelackofsocialorprofessionalsupport.Therewasalsolimitedprofessionalsupportintheschoolsof‘TheStrategic.’However,aswecanseefromthecasesofJaneandSue,theteacherswereabletosolicitsocialsupportformtheircolleagues,whotoacertainextent,reinforcedthedistortedserviceethics.


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Synthesis: Encompassing Factors Synthesishelpedusexplainthesimilaritiesanddifferencesofteacherprofes-sionalism.Whenthecollectivecontextsofthefouraxesofteacherprofessionalismwerecompared,wecouldscrutinizetheinteractivedynamicsbetweenthebeginners’self-identity,theirknowledgeabouttheworkcontextsandthesupportprovidedintheworkplaceworkindifferentversionsofcollectivememories.ThecollectivememoriesofSueandCarolshowedthattheysufferedastheyfailedtoachieveaprofessionalidentitywhichcouldharmonizewiththeirsubstantialself-identity.Compliancecouldnotharmonizethesituationalself-identitieswiththeirsubstantialself,astheywantedtopreservetheirstrongsubstantialself-identity.SpecificallyCarolgaveuphopeofchangingtheschoolwhereasSuephysicallywithdrewherselffromtheschoolcommunity.Restrictedparticipationintheschoolwasanattempttopreserve their self-identity.Theunfulfilledgoalof serviceethics tostudentsandthedisharmonybetweensubstantialandprofessionalselvescontributedtoadevelopingdetachmentfromtheschool.Thesecharacteristicsaredistinctivedif-ferentfromthoseof‘TheStrategic.’ ‘TheStrategic’showedextraordinarilygoodsensitivitytowardsorganizationalstructuresandcultures.Theywereabletoanalyzethecomplexpowerrelationshipsamongtheactorsintheschool.Withafluidself-identity,theirsubstantialselfcould,ononehand,flexiblyandmomentarilyincorporatesthevaluesofdifferentsituationalselves;ontheotherhand,themultiplesituationalidentitiesintheirprofessionallivescoulddepartrathercomfortablyfromtheirpersonalidentity.Thustheymanagedtoaccommodatecontradictoryvaluesintheirprofessionallives.Professionalismof ‘The Strategic’ results from teachers’ success in accommodating situationalself-identitiesandconflictingsituationalvalueswiththesubstantialself-identity. Throughtheexaminationoftheinteractivedynamicsbetweenthebiographi-calandworkplacevariablewithinanindividualinformant’slifehistoryandacrossdifferentversionsofcollectivememories,wefinallyarrivedattheprocedureofsynthesis.Wewereabletoexplainthattheconditionsoftheteachers’self-identity,theirknowledgeofworkcontextsononehand,andtheavailabilityofresourcesforsocialandprofessionaldevelopmentintheworkplaceontheother,constitutedtheessentialfactorsthatcontributedtofeaturesofthebeginners’teacherprofes-sionalism.Throughsynthesiswewereabletogiveaholisticviewofthesampledteacherswithoutsacrificingthespecificitiesofindividuallives.

Conclusion:Evaluating the Potential of the Combined Methodology

Lifehistoryapproachhasan important role toplay in illuminatinghumansubjectivity.Collectivememorymethod,usedalongsidethelifehistorymethodcanhonorbothsubjectivityandinter-subjectivityinsocialinquiry.Thecreativeuseofthecombinedmethodinthestudyofteacherprofessionalism,asshown


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above,wasabletoilluminatetheinteractivedynamicsbetweenworkplaceandbiographicalcontextsof the teachers.Theyhelpusacquireadeepandbroadknowledgeandunderstandingoftherelationshipsbetweenthepersonsandthesystemsbothatanindividualandacollectivelevel.Weargue,andourrationalesaregivenbelow,thatthecombinedmethodisabletoovercometheconstraintsofthelifehistoryandhasthepotentialtoreunitetheseparateemphasesonsocialpsychologyandsociology,whichhavebeensegregatedartificiallybecauseofdifferentresearchanddisciplinarybiases. Thepostmodernworldhasbroughtarevivalinresearchusingbiographicalmethodssincethe1980s.Thisrenewedinterestwascoupledwithaninterpreta-tiveapproachofstudyingcultureandhumangrouplife(Denzin,1997).Manyeducationalresearchersengagedinstudiesofteachers’livesacceptthesharedassertionthatateacher’spersonallifeiscrucialfortheunderstandingofhisor her teaching. These methods of study, as pointed out by the first authorelsewhere,lieintheircapacitytoilluminatecomplexhumansubjectivity,andcounteractthepowerembeddedintheso-callobjectivityofquantitativedataaggregatedundertheassumptionsoftheresearchers(Goodson&Sikes,2001).Intheeducationalfield,avarietyofliferelatednarrativemethodssuchasauto-biographies,biographies,personalnarrativesandlifestorieshavebeenwidelyused.Nevertheless,wesoonfindamorefundamentalproblemoflifestudiesisthattheycanbeover-indulgentinlookingandatcelebratingtheidiosyncra-siesofindividuals.Indeedeventhoughpersonalagencyhasbeenhonouredinthepostmodernera,postmodernitycannotdeny the fact thatsocietyalwayspre-existspeople.AsBhaskar(1998)argued,societyconstitutesanecessaryconditionforpeople’sactivity.Wenoticethatthemorethescatteredvoicesattheperipheryseemedtobesponsoredwithpeople’signoranceofthesocialreality,themoreconcentratedthepoweratthecenterisreinforced.Writingbiographieshasbeencriticizedtobeatrivialpursuitwithoutrelatinglifetohistoryorthesocialsciences(Dhunpath,2000) Thelifehistoryapproachhasbeenadvocatedandwidelyusedtoaddresssuchproblems(Bullough&Gitlin,1995;Kelchtermans,1993;Stroobants,2005).Asdistinguishedbythefirstauthor,thelifestoryisthelifeastoldbythepersonwholivedandexperienceditwhereaslifehistoryinvolvesthestorytellertellingthestoryandtheresearcherworkwiththestorytellercollaborativelytoproducetheinter-textual and inter-contextual account (Goodson, 2005).Thus biographicalstudiesfollowingalifehistoryapproachcapturenotonlypersonalexperiencesbutalsothesystemiccontextsinwhichthelivedexperiencesarelocated. Whilethereisampleevidencethatlifehistorymethodfocusingonindividualsisusefulforustounderstandtheuniquenessofhumantrajectoriesinsocialcontexts,thereareconstraintsoflifehistoryintermsofitspowertothecollectivesocialimpactongroupsofmembersinsociety.Thesourcesofconstraintsinheritedinlifehistorystudyareatleasttwo-fold.Firstwhenasmallsamplingsizehastobeused


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asatradingpointforthethickdescriptioninmeaningfulcontexts,itisdifficulttoseethepatternofimpacts,andevencommonalitiesexistingbehindtheindividuals’privateinterpretations(Zeichner&Tabachnick,1985).Secondly,lifehistoryhasbeenregardedasproducingnodefiniteresults;itseemsirrelevanttostudiesthatemphasizegroupattributesandtheirinterconnections(Becker,1970). Collectivememorymethodhasthepotentialtoovercometheseconstraints.Theuseoftranslationandsynthesis,whicharestrategiesofhandlingmeta-ethnographi-calwork,hasdemonstratedtobecapableofhandlinglargesamplesize.Theuniquemethodofcomparisoninvolvedintheprocessoftranslatingareasonablylargenumberoflifehistoriesopensnewwaysforustoexamineiftherearevariedtypesinthetranslations,andifthesetranslationscanbesynthesizedunderoverarchingconcepts.Asthecombinedmethodsadoptpurposivesamplingstrategiestocollectlifestories,itcanbringtolightreasonablyrichvariations.Thestrengthsofthickdescriptioninnarrativestudiescanbesustainedwiththeassistanceofcomputerpackages.Thesystemicanalysisisthusmoreilluminatingthannarrowlyconceivedbiographicalstudiesinthequalitativeparadigm.Moreover,fromthelifestoriestoldbyteachersasindividuals,andtheresearchers’interpretationandtranslationofthemascollectivememories,itispossibletotapintoboththesubjectivityofindividualinformants’rolenegotiationsandtheconnectiontotheinter-subjectiv-ityof the teachers’ rolenegotiationsasacollectivegroup.Thecapacityof thecombinedmethodforlocatingthewidercollectivecontextsofcollectivemembersthushelpsustomakethetransitionfromsponsoringindividualvoicestoreflectionaboutsystemicissues. Thecombinedmethodcouldalsoaidtheongoingrevivalofthelifehistorymethodsincesociologistsgaveupitsuseinthelate1920s.Atthattime,sociolo-gistsseparatedthefieldofsocialpsychologyfromsociology,whichfocusedmoreonthe‘structural’variables.Socialpsychologyisalignedwithlifehistorytostudyfactorsrelatedtopersonallifeexperience(Becker,1970).Whenweexaminedtheinformants’lifestoriesandworkedcollaborativelywiththem,wewereengagedinaprocessofsociologicalanalysisofthecollectivecontexts.Commonfeaturesofthecollectivememoriesreflectedtheimpactofcollectivesocialconditions,aslivesembeddedinbiographiesaresimultaneouslypersonal,cultural,institutional,andhistorical(Cole&Knowles,1995).Collectivememoriesledustoseethekindofteachingprofessionaltheinformantswantedtobe.Theyunveiledtheextenttowhichtheseyoungprofessionalscouldbeflexibleandtranscendthecurrentsocialconditions,aswellasthebeliefstheyadoptedfromtheirearlysocialization.Ontheotherhand,lifehistoryprovidesinsightintothecollectiveimpactofstructure,withoutmissingtheuniquenessoftheinteractivedynamicsbetweenpersonalagencyandthestructuralcontexts.Thecombinedmethodcanexplorethesubjectivities,ambiguities,complexitiesandproblematicexperiencesinone’slifesituations(Den-zin,1989).Inotherwords,itcreatesanavenueforthedualanalysisofsubjectivepersonandobjectivesocialstructure,and it readilydrawsonframeworksfrom


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thedisciplinesofsocialpsychologyandsociology.Assuch,thedifferentlevelsofanalysis,whichhadoncebeensegregatedartificiallybecauseofdifferentresearchtraditionsanddisciplinarybiases,couldbereunitedbythecombineduseoflifehistoryandcollectivememorymethods. Agreatdifferencebetween thecombinedmethodandotherpositivist studymethods,isthatwhiletypologiessuchasthe‘TeacherProfessionalismofTheSuf-fering’emergethroughtheprocessoftranslation,therichdescriptionofcollectivelifestoriesincollectivecontextsstillallowsvividportrayalofindividuallifehistoriesinaholisticcontext.Thecollectivememorymethoddoesnotde-contexualizecausalrelationsasthatinthepositivisttradition,buthasthemunderstoodwithinasystemofrelations(Doyle,1990).Ourstudyhasshownthepotentialofthecombineduseoflifehistoryandcollectivememorymethodsineducationalresearch.Throughtheintegrateduseofthetwomethodsandtheinnovativeuseofdataanalysisprocedures,extendedknowledgeandunderstandingoftherelationshipsbetweenthepersonsandthesystemscanbeobtained.Theepistemologicalandmethodologicalfunctionsofthelifehistoryandcollectivememorymethodsthuswarrantfurtherdevelopmentandwiderapplicationtothestudy,aswellasinexploringthewidersocialworldofteachers,teachingandprofessionalism.

Notes 1Althoughthroughoutthispaperwearereferringto‘beginningteachers’,fromnowonwewillusethegenerictitle‘teachers’todesignateteacherswhoareatthebeginningoftheircareer. 2Twelveprimaryschoolteacherswerepurposefullysampledforthisprojectafterapilotstudy.Theseinformantsshoweddifferentlevelofinitialcommitmenttoteaching.Threeofthemwerehighlydevoted;fourwerereluctanttojointeachingwhiletheotherfourwerereadytobeateacher. 3Oneoftheinformants,Sue,wasonlyinterviewedthreetimesassheleftherschoolinthesecondyearofteachingandwithdrewfromthestudy.

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