She's still on my mind : teachers' memories, memory-work and self-study

The purpose of this study was to gain an understanding of how the memories of past teachers "live on" and are manifested in the work of teachers. Employing the method of memory-work to engage in self-study, the author worked with three other women teachers and teacher educators, as she explored the relationship between the memories of former teachers and their influence on her life as a woman and teacher educator. Although there has been a great deal of interest in the significance of autobiography and life history approaches to narrative inquiry over the last decade, and a considerable acknowledgment and appreciation for how past experiences shape the present, the act of remembering, memory itself, has rarely been looked at within the context of narratives in teacher education. Thus, while teachers' anecdotes and stories have gained acceptance and recognition as valuable educational research tools, aspects of memory that make up, influence and ultimately shape the narratives have not been the subject of much discussion. In response, this study investigated how the remembering process shapes the memories themselves in terms of how and what is remembered and how those memories may be constructed. Through the careful consideration and reflection of the past, there lies the potential to understand more fully why and how we have come to be who we are. Further, within this reflection there lies the potential for change as we endeavor to become whom we wish to be. The study concludes with a discussion of research implications and recommendations for further research in the area of self-study and memory-work in pre-service and in-service teacher education