A narrative inquiry into understanding the drama of encounter at the borders of identity, six second-generation Italian Canadian women teachers speak

grantor: University of TorontoThis is a narrative inquiry into the experience of six second generation Italian Canadian women teachers. An examination of these women's pluridimensional experiences will yield understanding of the dilemma faced by them in creating a sense of self amidst different sociocultural expectations and in nurturing a sense of belonging in their personal and professional knowledge landscapes (Connelly & Clandinin, 1995). To my knowledge these women will provide a voice that has never been heard in empirical research. As Canadian daughters of immigrants, we were socialized by our parents' regional hometown milieu which includes a dialect, a family-oriented, male-dominated, mother-centred Italian culture of the 30s and 40s; by the Anglo-Saxon mainstream school culture with its infusion of an individualistic, male-oriented dominant culture and the English language; by the 'distant and mythic' concept of mainstream Italy (Spezzano, 1995) and its standard language; and by the Italo-Canadian "community" and its 'koiné' ('italiese '). The negotiation of identity amidst these forces of socialization is the fulcrum from which we give meaning to our lives. This negotiation addresses the quintessential question: Who am I? It also begs the epistemological question: How do I come to know myself? In this study, identity is understood as 'stories to live by' (Connelly & Clandinin, 1999). Consequently, this study is also of methodological interest because it engages in the systematic evoking of personal experience which serves to validate one's 'stories to live by'. This shift in knowledge base, according to Cummins (1996), is multiculturalism in action. Concepts of the personal and professional knowledge landscapes are suited to this study because they embrace the multi-layered experience of these women. The concepts help capture the life threads of the Italo-Canadian experience and help profile the intergenerational life experiences and identity formation of these six individuals. Narrative inquiry is used as a means to understand the ways these women have experienced and interpreted their educational lives. Gaining a better understanding of one of the largest ethnic groups in Canada will provide increased understanding of the implications of immigration on Canadian ethnicity generally and on multicultural teacher and student populations in the Ontario educational system specifically.Ph.D