Abstract

This study uses a narrative inquiry and an oral history approach to illuminate the unique voices of three experienced Latina teachers within the context of daily classroom practice working with diverse learners. This study examined how teachers’ lived experiences, assumptions, and professional development served as the foundation for developing their professional identities. Individual, semi-structured interviews with follow-up questions by email served as the focal narratives for the study, which also examined personal pedagogy self-studies completed by the participants and informal conversations. Intentionally guided by the concept of shared authority, the participants and researchers co-constructed the stories of the participants, allowing for the teachers to have final control over the story each one told. The three narratives told here suggest that professional identity development is multifaceted, not only socially situated within their classrooms and schools, but also within their families and communities, shaped by the contexts in which we all practice.