Recommended Citation

The purpose of this study was to explore the identities and discourses of 10 students who were completing their Literacy Education MS studies to gain certification as literacy specialists. More specifically, it asked: 1) What do beginning literacy specialists ’ discourses reveal about their evolving identities? 2) On what discourses do they draw? 3) How are situational, institutional, and societal contexts implicated? A sociocultural view that context, history, culture, discourse, power, and ideologies influence literacy, instruction, and teacher identity grounded this study. The analysis drew on Gee’s (2000) notions of identity and discourse. It used critical discourse analysis to consider the oral and written texts produced by 10 graduate students. Data sources included interviews, field notes, and other documents that provided details about the context in which participants were situated. These students ’ discourses revealed that they were somewhat (un)certain about their identities as teachers, literacy specialists, and people at an important life transition. (Un)certainty, with parentheses, represents individuals ’ simultaneous uncertainty and certainty