Exploring the Evolution of Experienced Elementary Science Teachers' Identities in the Context of Reform-Based Science
Year: 2026
Type: dissertation
Abstract: Andrea L. Woodring EXPLORING THE EVOLUTION OF ELEMENTARY SCIENCE TEACHERS’ IDENTITIES IN THE CONTEXT OF REFORM-BASED SCIENCE 2025-2026 Joanne Connor, Ed.D. Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership This qualitative narrative inquiry examined how experienced elementary teachers narrated the development and evolution of their science teacher identities within the context of reform-based science education, particularly the adoption of the Next Generation Science Standards. Guided by Identity Theory (Burke & Stets, 2022), narrative analysis (Polkinghorne, 1995), and narrative inquiry scholarship (Kim, 2016; McCormack, 2000), the study positioned teachers’ stories as the primary findings rather than as examples of theory. Five experienced elementary teachers participated in two narrative interviews that explored their life histories, professional trajectories, and experiences teaching science across periods of continuity and disruption. Findings revealed that science teacher identity developed through long-term, storied processes shaped by early experiences, professional roles, and institutional contexts. Reform-based science was narrated not as a single event but as an ongoing condition that required teachers to renegotiate their self-understandings as science educators over time. Student engagement and curiosity functioned as central sources of identity verification, stabilizing teachers’ commitment to science teaching amid systemic constraints. Teachers also drew upon established disciplinary identities to navigate uncertainty and sustain inquiry-based practice, positioning reform-based science education as an identity-centered process grounded in teachers’ narrative meaning-making across time.
Author: Woodring, Andrea
Institution: Rowan University
Language: English
Subfield: Education
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
SDG: Quality education
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7160969703