Positional Identity IST

JOURNAL OF RESEARCH IN SCIENCE TEACHING VOL. 45, NO. 6, PP. 684–710 (2008)

Positional Identity and Science Teacher Professional Development

Felicia M. Moore

Teachers College, Columbia University, 525 W 120th Street, Box 210,

New York, New York 10027

Received 22 October 2005; Accepted 7 December 2007

Abstract: The aim of this study was to understand the positional identity of three African American secondary

science teachers. Positional identity was operationally defined in terms of race, ethnicity, economic status, gender,

religion, and age. Positional identity was posited to inform why diverse teachers with differing knowledge and

experiences in science exist. An analysis of the findings suggested that the teachers’ positional identity was defined

beyond race, ethnicity and gender. Although the three science teachers came from very similar social backgrounds and

were members of the same racial/ethnic group (African American), their positionality manifested itself in different ways:

meanings of their life experiences; orientations to professional development; and future career goals in science education.

Thus they possessed multiple positional identities that intersected in various ways which resulted in them having different

perceptions of the world and subjectivities as science teachers. Implications included addressing positional identity and

the creation of professional development models that are framed around incorporating teacher identity in addition to

furthering teachers’ personal and professional advancement within science education. � 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

J Res Sci Teach 45: 684–710, 2008

Keywords: general science; professional development; diversity; science education

Researchers are calling for more scholarship in the areas that touch upon race, ethnicity, gender, class,

sexual orientation, and ableness (Atwater, 2000; Tisdell, 1998). For example, ‘‘Females in science education:

White is the norm and class, language, lifestyle, and religion are nonissues,’’ Atwater (2000) affirmed that

there is diversity found among females based upon class, race, ethnicity, language, lifestyle, region of abode,

and religion. However in research, participants are grouped together so that diversity and difference are

covered up, making light of ‘‘the multiplicities of interaction among social variables’’ (Rennie, 2000, p. 392).

Not only are social variables important in educational research but they are also important in understanding

the teaching and learning process (Martin & Van Guten, 2002; Merriam & Caffarella, 1999; Tisdell, 1998).

Therefore, these aspects of the individual should not be ignored in communicating results (McGinnis, 2000;

Rennie, 2000), nor should context be overlooked for understanding individuals in society (Howes, 2000).

Thus, social markers are important aspects for research.

Researchers have produced much knowledge about the various characteristics of effective professional

development—particularly those aimed at student learning, inquiry approaches, collaborations, knowledge-

based and content approaches, practical knowledge, and structural features (Bell & Gilbert, 1994; Porter,

Garet, Desimone, & Birman, 2003; Supovitz & Turner, 2000; van Driel, Beijaard, & Verloop, 2001). While

these approaches and characteristics of professional development draw strongly from constructivist views of

learning, they fall short of considering the influence of identity on professional development. Within the

models of effective professional development, the ‘‘socially reproductive or socially transformative aspects

of how we teach or what we teach remain invisible’’ (Mayberry, 1998, p. 444). Moreover, rarely do models of

professional development take a personal approach that identifies teacher knowledge generated from

teachers’ positionality and the contextual challenges of teacher development when there is no systemic

Correspondence to: F.M. Moore; E-mail: [email protected]

DOI 10.1002/tea.20258

Published online 23 May 2008 in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com).

� 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

professional development program in place. Though this perspective takes a rather individualistic stance,

it implies that the social aspects of who a teacher is becomes manifested through actions and beliefs within

the classroom, emanating from their unique personal histories, or positionality, and the contexts of their

teaching.

Thus, research on how multiple social variables affect teaching, learning, and professional development

in science education is the focus of this study. This study seeks to understand how positional identity, or

positionality (Holland, Lachicotte, Skinner, & Cain, 1998), creates and shapes the lives and professional

development of three African American secondary science teachers. The study takes place in a small rural

school district in the southeastern United States, thus this contextual factor adds to the significance of how

positionality influences where science teachers work and how they approach professional development. In

the following section, I discuss the theoretical framework of positional identity and how this construction is

operationally defined for use in this study.

Theoretical FrameworkPositional Identity

Holland et al. (1998) present an elaborate framework for understanding identity and agency in various

cultural contexts or figured worlds. They discuss that identities are formed through activity and participation

within these various worlds and explain positional identity in the context of daily interactions. They define

positional identities as ‘‘the day-to-day and on-the-ground relations of power, deference and entitlement,

social affiliation and distance—with the social-interactional, social-relational structures of the lived world’’

(p. 127). In other words, positional identity is ‘‘a sense of relative social position’’ (p. 132) within particular

contexts. School for example is one context, having its own forms of knowledge, language, practice, social

relations, and values (Giroux, 2003). Additionally, Maher and Tetreault (1994) explain that positionality

points to ‘‘contextual and relational factors as crucial for defining not only our identities but also our

knowledge as teachers and teacher educators and students in any given situation’’ (p. 165). More succinctly,

positionality stems from the larger ‘‘cultural, social, and political context of individual lives’’ (Goldberger,

1996, p. 4) generated from the unique ways in which we position ourselves within the world.

Taking these meanings, positional identity is a useful framework for this study. First, it provides a means

for understanding how African American science teachers construct science identities and develop

orientations to science teaching from being positioned within multiple social structures. How they understand

their identity as science teachers also provides insights into this relative positioning, power afforded them,

and the ways they negotiate this power and their role as science teachers. Related to the first, positional

identity is directly related to an individual’s life experiences, which are lived in culturally constructed worlds,

such as gender, class, race, ethnicity, age, and religion, to name a few. As individuals experience life, they

generate perspectives that allow them to live, function, behave, interact, and be in the world, and the lenses

they use to understand their worlds reflect how specific contexts shape voice and identity (Maher & Tetreault,

1994). For instance, these perspectives of living and meaning originate from being treated according to broad

social divisions such as gender, class, race, ethnicity, and sexual orientation, and ‘‘persons look at the world

from the positions into which they are persistently cast’’ (Holland et al., 1998, p. 44). The knowledge

individuals obtain from being a person in society is connected to their relative position in the world. In fact,

‘‘Persons are now recognized to have perspectives on their cultural worlds that are likely to differ by gender

and other markers of social position’’ (p. 31). Therefore, ‘‘There is history in the person, which also

significantly shapes social activity’’ (p. 189). Positional identity speaks not only to the individual but also to

contextual and relational meanings of who the person is and how the individual works within particular

contexts, such as schools. Thus, positional identity used in this study is essential because it provides a

framework for understanding teachers on a personal level, their classroom practices on a practical level, and

their professional development on a professional level.

Positionality, Teachers, and Classroom Practices

Several researchers have noted the importance of understanding diversity of the teacher as critical to

classroom teaching (Brown, Cervero, & Johnson-Bailey, 2000; Irvine, 2003; Martin & Van Guten, 2002;

Tisdell, 1998). In a study of seven African American women mathematics teachers, Brown et al. (2000) found

POSITIONAL IDENTITY AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT 685

Journal of Research in Science Teaching

that the positionality (race and gender) of the women affected their experiences in teaching. The teachers

constructed a teaching philosophy based on their marginalized history, thus raising issues of credibility with

students because of their race and gender and affecting classroom interactions and teaching strategies. They

concluded that race and gender affected the teachers’ experiences both negatively and positively in teaching.

Using narrative, Nee-Benham and Dudley (1997) retold the story of an African American woman

(Dudley) and her experiences as a teacher and leader. Dudley’s difficult life experiences helped her to define

herself as a teacher and contributed to a better understanding of how race and gender guided her beliefs,

instructional methods, and relationships with students. They concluded that ‘‘sexism and racism do not exist

apart but in unison and that professional and personal lives do not merrily follow separate paths but are

intertwined’’ (p. 78). Dudley became an advocate against racism and a promoter of social justice through

love, empathy, and caring because she came to understand her personal and professional history as integral to

her development as a person, teacher, and leader.

Positionality and Science Education

Several science education researchers have identified their own race, ethnicity, class, or gender in their

research (Atwater, 2000; Bianchini, Cavazos, & Helms, 2000; Brickhouse, Lowery, & Schultz, 2000;

Calabrese Barton, 1998; Gilbert & Yerrick, 2001; McGinnis & Pearsall, 1998; Moore, 2003b; Osborne, 1998;

Rodriguez, 1998; St. Louis & Calabrese Barton, 2002). However, in research using multiple social variables,

researchers predominantly focused only on the gender of their participants, yet some have focused on race/

ethnicity, or race/ethnicity/gender of teacher participants. For example, Bianchini et al. (2000) conducted a

professional development study with 60 secondary science teachers and university scientists. They were

concerned with four areas of research; however, two are particularly relevant to mention here: identity and

the gendered and raced nature of modern science. With particular attention to gender and/or ethnicities, the

researchers found that gender and/or ethnicity were enabling or constraining career paths in science. The

researchers admitted the limitations of their discussions ‘‘to consider issues of gender and ethnicity

simultaneously’’ (p. 542), yet they made an important contribution concerning professional development:

‘‘professional developers must not assume that all practitioners will have had the same experiences or the

same understanding of their experiences in science education and science-related careers’’ (p. 538). The

researchers also stated that ‘‘professional developers must not act as if all women regardless of ethnicity or all

women and men within a given ethnic group hold the same interests, understandings, and skills; experience

uniform obstacles; and respond to these challenges in the same ways’’ (p. 538).

The studies cited above provide knowledge regarding how positionality affects teaching, leadership,

career paths, and professional development in science for women and men. However, studies that address

African American teachers and their experiences in science education or professional development are

limited. Some scholars have found that African American women have unique personal, developmental, and

political histories that influence their views of education (Beauboeuf-Lafontant, 2002; Collins, 2000; Dixson,

2003; Foster, 1997; Ladson-Billings, 1994; Moore, 2003a; Parsons & Moore, in press). In fact, African

American teachers ‘‘execute their practice and look at teaching through their cultural eye’’ (Irvine, 2003,

p. 31). The cultural eye is the ‘‘culturally specific ways in which African American teachers see themselves’’

and ‘‘situate themselves professionally and personally’’ (p. 29). Teachers’ personal experiences and histories

are the pieces that construct identity and therefore influence their teaching. As Apps (1985) noted,

much of what we are as human beings is a product of our histories, where we were born, where we grew

up, where we went to school, who our friends were, who was our first lover. Who we are today is a subtle

mixture of all of these forces, and they influence how we think and what we do as educators. (p. 7)

Hence, our personal experiences, our identities, thus our positionality, influence what we teach, how we

teach, and how we continue to develop as teachers and researchers.

Purpose of This Research

Generally, we know that multiple social markers, life experiences, and beliefs all influence teaching and

learning, construction of knowledge, and classroom dynamics (Bianchini et al., 2000; Calabrese Barton,

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1998; McGinnis & Pearsall, 1998; Osborne, 1998; Tisdell, 1998). However, what we are not certain of is how

positionality impacts the kinds of decisions science teachers make in the classroom and how this also impacts

their professional development. For science education particularly, we are not sure to what extent

positionality influences actual teacher development, social and professional identities, and science teaching

practices. Enyedy, Goldberg, and Welsh (2005) stated that research should consider practice and identity

simultaneously. To borrow from Palmer (1998), ‘‘Good [science] teaching cannot be reduced to technique:

good [science] teaching comes from the identity and integrity of the [science] teacher’’ (p. 149). This

illuminates an understanding of good science teaching as who the science teacher is, what the science teacher

brings to the classroom, how the teacher teaches, and what the science teacher chooses to teach. Additionally,

this understanding may be extended to look at diverse teachers.

For instance, there is a great need to understand the lives of African American science teachers and their

experiences as legitimate and desirable forms of knowledge and research in science education. Research that

focuses on African American science teachers as having unique perspectives opens discourse around the

influence of identity on teaching practices. Accordingly, a focus on African American science teachers

and their perspectives allows educators to think more deeply about positionality and to consider alternative

forms of professional development that attends to the diverse and complex experiences of African American

science teachers. Considering teachers’ personal and professional goals and understanding where teachers

come from, what they have experienced, and what meanings they make of their experiences would

be informative for constructing more meaningful professional development opportunities for African

American science teachers.

Positional identity and professional development have not been dealt with extensively or simultaneously

in science education; therefore, this study gives attention to this matter. I argue that the way teachers approach

teaching, learning, and professional development in science is very much connected to their positional

identity. Teachers bring to teaching and to professional development their identities—the person who is

‘‘constantly negotiated, socially positioned, constrained by ethnicity/race and gender, and morally

grounded’’ (Bianchini et al., 2000, p. 514). For this study, positional identity (positionality) is operationally

defined from the relative positionings the teachers occupy, such that race, ethnicity, class, gender, age, and

religion, among many others, intersect in multiple ways, allowing individuals to acquire knowledge of

science and themselves and to define who they are in unique ways. Thus, our identities, even in the context of

specific practices, such as science teaching and professional development, are not ‘‘just a matter internal to

that practice but also a matter of our position and the position of our communities within broader social

structures’’ (Wenger, 1998, p. 148). The research questions for this study were:

1. What have been the experiences of African American teachers in science education as it relates to

their positional identity and development as science teachers?

2. How does positional identity influence or shape the lives of three African American science

teachers in science education, in terms of the goals they have for professional development?

Methodological ApproachNarrative and Life History

To understand the life experiences of the science teachers in this study, narrative and life history research

were chosen as they represent methods of qualitative research that intersect and connect the ‘‘lives and stories

of individuals to the understanding of larger human and social phenomena’’ (Hatch & Wisniewski, 1995,

p. 113). The narrative genres available for research, such as biography, autobiography, and life history, are

also ‘‘culturally determined, and thus inevitably gendered as well as raced and classed’’ (Munro, 1998, p. 5;

Rosenwald & Ochenberg, 1992). In narrative research, there is a focus on the individual and the subjective

(Ellis & Bochner, 2000; Hatch & Wisniewski, 1995). This focus is essential for understanding positional

identity of African American science teachers, individually and collectively, as members of society and

within science education. Narrative was well suited for making sense of particular experiences, stories, and

moments of a person’s life (Hatch & Wisniewski, 1995). Therefore, narrative research methods aimed to

reach both personal and social dimensions of a person’s life. Likewise, Watson and Watson-Franke (1985)

defined life history as ‘‘any retrospective account by the individual of his life in whole or in part, in written or



oral form, that has been elicited or prompted by another person’’ (p. 2). Life history is an analysis of the social,

historical, political, and economic contexts (Hatch & Wisniewski, 1995). Thus, life history and narrative in

concert provided avenues for connecting the lives and stories of the science teachers in this study to their

science teaching and professional development choices.

In Figure 1, the intersection of narrative, life story, and life history research approaches were ideal

for understanding positional identity because the narratives and life stories were analyzed within a

specific sociohistorical context. Considering the broader definition of narrative as a method for the

collection of life stories, and life stories as the re-telling of particular moments in time, life history became a

more specific term for the analysis of personal stories in order to understand and make sense of lived

experience. Therefore, the study of teachers’ lives through narratives has two benefits: first, it gives

access to privileged information that will improve our knowledge of science education; second, the

process of engaging in discussion about teaching provides teachers opportunities to reflect on past

experiences learning, teaching, and developing as science teachers. Moving back and forth from the

personal to the social situated the stories in a place or context (Clandinin & Connelly, 2000), thus giving

the teachers’ stories more tone and substance for understanding positional identity and the complexities

of their lives.

The Context of the Study

Carver County School District1 was a small, rural school district located in the southeastern United

States. The racial make-up of the elementary, middle, and high schools in the district was between 87% and

98% African American. This study took place in two of the high schools, Carver (student body enrollment

of 883 students) and Parks (student body enrollment of 313 students). Carver and Parks were considered

to be segregated schools—‘‘schools whose student population is predominantly composed of students of

color’’ (Atwater, 2000, p. 162). The two high schools were 98% African American and 2% Caucasian and

Latino/a.

I was introduced to Carver County in the summer of 2001 where I spent 1–3 days per week in schools to

provide support and professional development activities for K-12 teachers.2 I also participated in numerous

school and district extracurricular activities, such as chaperoning field trips, attending sporting events and

faculty meetings, and engaging in Science Club. I also attended Space Camp with K-12 teachers during

the summer 2002 as a district-wide science professional development activity. As a course instructor at

the State University,3 I placed several undergraduate preservice teachers from the secondary science

methods course in classrooms to make observations and teach science lessons within the two high

schools. Some of these students also attended Space Camp and participated in a district-university grant to

support use of technology in classrooms. I communicated periodically in person as well as through email

contact and via telephone with the district curriculum coordinator to discuss science professional

development opportunities, my work with the science teachers, and the placement of preservice teachers

in the district.

Figure 1. Intersecting research approaches.

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The Teachers

This study used interview data from a larger study of three African American science teachers (Moore,

2003b). I spent time with these three teachers in their classrooms co-teaching, planning, and discussing their

practices. I developed rapport and professional relationships with them and invited them to participate in the

study. The teachers represented a small minority of highly qualified4 science teachers in rural settings. The

three teachers were very knowledgeable in their content areas and collectively possessed more than 33 years

of teaching experience. They broke the stereotype of rural teachers as ‘‘young, beginning and often

inexperienced’’ who have taken on teaching positions because ‘‘no other appointments were available’’

(Boylan & McSwan, 1998, p. 49). These teachers chose to teach in Carver County and had an invested interest

in teaching in this small predominantly African American school district. Two of the teachers were born and

raised in the county—Mr. O’Neal and Mrs. Nelson. The third teacher, Mrs. Martin, was born and raised in the

southern part of the state. Because this study highlighted the intersection of multiple social markers,

additional information about the teachers are presented in terms of their gender, race, ethnicity, class, and age,

as well as family background, education, and teaching experiences in science.

Mrs. Martin was a married mother of two teen-aged daughters. Because she lived in the next county over,

she commuted 30 minutes to Carver High School every morning. Mrs. Martin has a Masters Degree in

Education and taught grades 10–12, which included General, Honors, and Advanced Placement Biology, and

Environmental Science. She sponsored many extracurricular activities such as Science Club and the band’s

auxiliary units. As an adjunct, she taught one section of an undergraduate biology laboratory one evening per

week at her alma mater, King University, a historically Black University located about 30 miles southeast of

Carver County. At the time of this study she was in her fifth year of teaching science—all done at Carver High

School.

Mrs. Nelson was a married, ‘‘older’’ mother of one 6-year-old daughter. Mrs. Nelson grew up in Carver

County and lived less than three miles from the high school. She was very active at Carver High School and in

the community. She was the science department chair, district science fair coordinator, and cheerleading

coach. Mrs. Nelson graduated from King University with a Bachelors Degree in Vocational Home

Economics, but she taught science first as a middle school teacher and transferred to the high school a few

years later. She has certification in Middle School Sciences, grades 6–9. Mrs. Nelson has taught for more than

22 years in the district as the ninth grade science teacher and the home economics teacher for grades 9–12.

Mr. O’Neal was a single father of two. Having taught science previously, he returned to teaching after

working 16 years as an insurance agent. He taught undergraduate biology courses and biology labs at King

University as an adjunct while completing his Masters degree there. He was the only biology teacher at Parks

High School, where he taught for 6 years and commuted about 30 minutes to the high school. He too was

active in after school activities and sponsored the Science Club where students grew plants in the greenhouse

and donated them to teachers and elderly persons in the community. At the end of the academic year 2002–

2003, Mr. O’Neal left Carver County School District and took a position at a small rural Community College

about an hour’s drive from his home. At the Community College he taught Anatomy & Physiology, Biology

II, and the labs that accompanied these courses.

Data SourcesInterviews as Conversations

Interviews as conversations consisted of the science teachers re-telling narratives and life stories from

their lives. I used a basic interview guide (Merriam, 1998) of open-ended questions (Appendix A) that all

three teachers were asked regarding their teaching and learning of science throughout their lives; however, the

informal nature of dialogue and conversations allowed teachers to talk from their own experiences and take

the conversations in different directions. The conversations took place during the teachers’ planning and

lunch periods and lasted 30–90 minutes per session over 5 months (September 2002 to February 2003).

Each teacher participated in five audiotaped interviews. During the first interview teachers discussed

their teaching practices, constraints in teaching, and their professional development history and goals—

activities done in the past, currently doing, and planning to do. Teachers talked about critical moments in their

lives that influenced their personal and professional development in science teaching and learning. For



example, teachers discussed their entry into education, views of professional development, and the types of

activities they engaged in during their science teaching careers. In the second conversational interview, the

teachers discussed teaching African American and Latino/a students in their classes and overcoming

obstacles in teaching and learning science. Conversations pertained to specific teaching situations at their

particular high schools or being teachers in Carver County, and their perceptions of self, students, and

administration. The third and fourth interviews involved discussions about their views of science, their

positionality (race, ethnicity, class, gender, age, religion) as teachers, relationships with students, colleagues,

and administration, and the influence of family on their teaching. From their experiences teachers were asked

additional questions for clarification of ideas, feelings, content of their stories, and meanings they made of

their experiences.

All audiotaped interviews were transcribed. Prior to the next interview, each teacher was given his or her

transcript, which contained some initial interpretations, reflective memos, and questions for further

discussion. Teachers responded to these memos, interpretations, and questions in written and oral form which

were discussed in subsequent interviews as a form of member check (Guba & Lincoln, 1989). This process

aided in a continuous dialogue for clarifying stories and interpretations. The fifth or last conversation was

used as a final member check to review interpretations, synthesize ideas, and share meanings generated from

the conversations. Suggestions for future professional development were discussed with each of the teachers

on separate occasions. Finally, I shared findings with the Assistant Principal at Carver High School and the

district curriculum coordinator. We discussed future professional development plans for all teachers in the

school district.

Researcher Reflective Journal

As a participant observer (Merriam, 1998), I collected data and fieldnotes (Emerson, Fretz, & Shaw,

1995) from August 2001 to May 2003. I kept a researcher reflective journal that was used as an additional

source (Clandinin & Connelly, 2000) for data triangulation (Janesick, 2000). For example, I kept notes on

classroom observations, as well as notes from numerous informal conversations, fieldnotes, professional

development activities, and reflections related to my understanding and learning from being in the district and

interacting with the teachers. The classroom observations were used to compare what teachers stated in

informal and formal conversations and how teachers interacted in their science classrooms teaching science

and interacting with students.

Data Analysis

The fundamental task associated with coding was using the ‘‘narratives (stories) as data,’’ and producing

‘‘taxonomies and categories’’ (Hatch & Wisniewski, 1995, p. 125). The first level of analysis consisted of

reading and re-reading the transcripts and assigning codes to the teachers’ stories (Creswell, 2003). Attention

was given to stories where race, ethnicity, class, gender, age, and religion were explicit in the conversations.

These were the primary structural markers of positional identity that emerged and were used in this study. For

example, when teachers spoke of personal stories that referenced their ‘‘gender’’ as important in learning or

teaching science, discussed ‘‘Black/White’’ interactions in their learning or teaching of science, expressed

feelings of being ‘‘old,’’ or discussed issues related to finances, these were coded as gender, ethnicity/race,

age, class/socioeconomic status respectfully. Religion was also a structural marker that emerged as teachers

discussed ‘‘prayer,’’ ‘‘faith,’’ ‘‘grace,’’ and ‘‘blessings’’ as part of their narratives in relation to science

teaching, learning, and professional development.

After the first level of initial coding, a second level of analysis was done, which looked more closely at

intersectionality—how multiple social variables simultaneously interact and influence each other.

Intersectionality was a method of comparing, building upon, questioning, and finding relationships between

and among multiple social variables. In this process of analysis, relationships emerged beyond descriptions of

one teacher’s experiences into making connections that were relevant along multiple variables. To do this type

of analysis, I looked at stories that discussed race, ethnicity, gender, class, and age in multiple ways and at

various times within the teachers’ personal histories. During this process, researcher subjectivity was an

integral part of the analysis. Therefore, two additional processes were considered for analysis and

interpretation of the teachers’ narratives.

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First, as a researcher I was cognizant of my own positionality—an African American woman, from a

Southern, rural upbringing, from a working-class background, in my late thirties, and a Christian. I was also a

former high school science teacher who taught in the south. From my own relative positioning, I was aware of

the various intersections these variables have on my experiences in science, my personal history, and

interaction with students, as well as my professional development and construction of knowledge. This

personal awareness of my narrative and life stories gave me an ‘‘insider’’ perspective that was influential in

interpreting both implicit and explicit meanings in the teachers’ stories, giving attention to African American

perspectives, especially in sharing an orientation based upon similar cultural, historical and political

experiences (Lynn, 2006; Tillman, 2006). Thus, my positional identity made me more sensitive to the

narratives and histories of the teachers of the study. Second, as a researcher in understanding positional

identity for African American teachers, I viewed the analytical process in two essential ways: individually

and collectively. I looked for both similarities and differences in experiences that the teachers shared as

science teachers. For example, the teachers shared very similar backgrounds: they identified with the African

American culture; they were from working-class backgrounds; they were raised in the south; and they were

over 40 years of age; yet there were differences in how they discussed and constructed meaning from their life

experiences. These similarities and differences have important implications for understanding experiences of

African American science teachers as a collective and then as unique individuals in the construction of

professional development opportunities for diverse teachers. Although the teachers may be viewed in similar

ways, as some of their narratives revealed; they however were uniquely different. Their positionality thus

created three different science teachers, whose identities, practices, and goals for future professional

development underscore these differences.

Prolonged engagement with the teachers, observations in the two schools, member checking, and peer

review enriched the data collection and analysis and thus increased the validity of the findings of this study

(Creswell, 2003; Guba & Lincoln, 1989). In the following section, the findings are presented.

Findings

The voices of the teachers are presented as individual cases. Each case discusses the teachers’ entry into

science teaching, their learning and teaching of science, and their plans for professional development in

science. A summary of teacher profiles and professional development goals are given (see Table 1). After the

findings are presented, an extended discussion in the form of a professional development model is offered in

order to grasp connections and gain insights into positional identity individually and collectively for African

American science teachers. The model discusses the possibility of creating professional development

opportunities that consider positional identity as a means of redirecting and expanding notions of effective

professional development, not just for African American teachers but also for the goals and unique

experiences that all teachers have as reflected by their positionality.

Mrs. Martin: Positional Obligation

Entering Science Teaching. Being a science teacher was not Mrs. Martin initial career goal. As a young

high school student, she assumed she would go into journalism because ‘‘she liked to talk’’ and ‘‘Oh you read

well,’’ people would say. After graduating from college with a degree in biology, Mrs. Martin was

discouraged because she could not find a job immediately. She encountered many educational obstacles and

personal life altering events which forced her to look at different career options. She wanted to be a

pharmacist but did not complete the program; her parents were divorcing after 22 years of marriage; her father

had brain surgery; and she became pregnant. When she finally entered science teaching, it was at a time when

she was ‘‘older.’’

I came into teaching at a time where I was older. I went to school to be a pharmacist, and in my senior

year several things didn’t work. So I found myself just crazy. . . So I came out of college instead of

being twenty-four, I was twenty-seven, twenty-eight, with a child who was one or two. So that meant I

had to find a job, which was difficult. I thought that I would get a job as a drug representative; that

didn’t happen. I felt that I could come into teaching in my [home] county; that didn’t happen. Then I

said let me go back and finish pharmacy school and that didn’t happen. That added three more years

on. So I found myself being thirty and not really having a job.



As Mrs. Martin shared stories of her family background, she talked of early connections to education.

She grew up in a family where her mother and aunts were teachers, and many of her relatives worked with

children or worked in educational settings. With more questioning about her family, Mrs. Martin explained

that entering education was just a part of her. It was an expected course of action being in a family of

educators. Because she could not find a job, teaching became an option worth pursuing. She worked for a short

time as a substitute teacher after graduating from college.

After not being able to find a job and being raised with teachers, I went into teaching. My mother is;

my aunts are. Basically everyone on my mother’s side of the family, even cousins, we all have our

finger in education. We have daycare owners, teacher aides, and teachers, cafeteria workers—just

everything was school in my development and growth. I learned that my grandmother’s grandfather

was a principal in [the south]. At one point I said, ‘How dare I think that I could do something

else other than what my family has been doing forever!’ So I just think it is just a part of us. I can’t

explain it.

Learning Science. Mrs. Martin was not encouraged to pursue science in high school. Race, ethnicity

and economic status were not perceived as issues in learning science, though gender was noticeably more

obvious. Her high school science teacher set up an opposing dichotomy in the classroom for access to

knowledge; men were at an advantage over the women.

With that particular science teacher, he was a boy’s type of teacher. He was the kind of guy that took to

the boys. It didn’t matter if they were jocks, athletes, or if they were intellectually studious, just as long

as you were a boy. . . There were wealthy Black students at my school that still didn’t receive the

information that they needed.

Table 1

Teacher profiles and professional development goals

Teacher/positionalityDegree certification andteaching responsibilities

Professionaldevelopment activities

Personal/professionaldevelopment goals

Mrs. MartinRace/Ethnicity:African AmericanClass: working class

backgroundGender: femaleAge: 44Marital status:

married motherof two

Masters Education;Certification SecondaryScience, grade 9–12

Adjunct at KingUniversity

Professional MembershipsAttends district and

state workshopsPast Candidate for National

BoardScience Club sponsorExtracurricular activities

Ph.D. in Administrationor Science Education

Mrs. NelsonRace/Ethnicity:African AmericanClass: working

class backgroundGender: femaleAge: 48Marital status:

married motherof one

Bachelors HomeEconomics;Certification Middle GradeScience,grade 6–9

Attends district workshopsScience department chairScience fair

coordinatorExtracurricular activities

M.S. Administration,or National BoardCertification inScience

Mr. O’NealRace/Ethnicity:African AmericanClass: working

class backgroundGender: maleAge: 46Marital status:

divorced fatherof two

Masters Biology;Certification Secondary,grade 9–12;Community CollegeInstructor, Biology

Adjunct at KingUniversity

Professional MembershipsAttends district and state

workshopsPast Candidate for National BoardExtracurricular activities

Ph.D. in Biology orScience Education

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As we discussed more of her early experiences in learning science, Mrs. Martin’s explanation centered

on her positionality and the historical time of being in middle school and high school during the 1970s

and 1980s. She remarked, ‘‘I think it was just the times. I think we were just coming out of integration

10 years, and people just were not interested in [teaching] a little Black girl like me. I think that was really

what it was.’’

Teaching Science. Not learning science in high school placed Mrs. Martin in a unique situation as a

science teacher. She viewed both gender and race/ethnicity as equally important in teaching her African

American students. She felt a strong sense of ‘‘duty’’ to share the knowledge she had gained despite the

challenges and experiences she encountered in high school science as a ‘‘little Black girl.’’

Oh, I think because of my gender and because of my race [her emphasis], it’s my duty that I

understand as many things [as I do]. It’s my duty. . .because I understand the things I do about science

for me to pass it on. I think I’m just supposed to do it. . . I think it would just be disrespectful to our

future, to my future if I don’t. I don’t think that I have had the good experiences and even the

bad experiences that I’ve had, and I am just supposed to sit on them. . . And for me to have that

knowledge and not pass it on or try to teach the underlying things behind it, I think that would just be

horrible.

Looking over her life, Mrs. Martin also expressed that this sense of obligation and duty came from

having a faith in God. She attributed her job—the way that she was able to impact and to influence her

students—as ‘‘the grace of God.’’ She had a strong spiritual background and support of family who invested in

her financially and through prayer and faith that she would complete college.

I left [home] with, I think, a hundred dollars in my pocket. But my granny, by the grace of God, had

given me to enroll in this college class that I wanted to do. So I packed my car with everything I

owned, and I stayed on the sofa bed with a girlfriend because the lady that I had planned to stay with

had already had her tenants for that semester. I stayed on the sofa bed with my AFDC and my WIC

checks, and my Medicare. . . Anyway it was just really amazing that I look back on those days and how

the Lord has graced me to be here impacting the way that I am. I just know that I cannot be a regular

teacher. I have to give it back. I just can’t come to work. I just can’t do it without acknowledging all

that I have been through.

Mrs. Martin explained her role as a science teacher as particularly important to the students she taught at

Carver High School. In our conversations, she spoke several times of this sense of obligation to teach science.

Teaching in Carver County was a privilege and an opportunity to share her knowledge and experiences. She

also expressed her desire that African American students would enter science related fields.

Because I am in a county where there are a lot of minority students that don’t get a chance to see the

science that I have been afforded and exposed to, I feel a need to share with my students what I have

been exposed to in my life. I see where there is a need for them to learn the things that I learned so that

they can go into non-traditional areas. We need Black physicians; we need African American

veterinarians; we need people that can go out into the community to do scientific things; we need food

inspectors, you know. We need African American teachers.

Professional Development. As an African American female science teacher, Mrs. Martin felt a

sense of obligation to teach science to African American students in Carver County. Her professional

development as a science teacher was rooted in a desire to be more than a ‘‘regular’’ teacher but a good

science teacher who gave back to her community. Early in her career, she admitted that professional

development was focused on securing a job. Now, she viewed her job and professional development

differently: ‘‘I am in a whole different vein. Growth has definitely occurred in me because of my desire to

secure a job. It is not job-based anymore. I am now motivated to help other people to enjoy science because I

have received a lot.’’



Professional development for Mrs. Martin was connected to student achievement and personal goals in

education. She had undergone the National Board process more than three times but had not passed. She was

reconsidering her professional development goals and wanted to get an advanced degree or obtain an

administrative position.

It is still a little gray as to where I would like to be five years from now. I know that I would love to be able

to work on my Ph.D., and I know that I would be of assistance in nurturing teachers, be it science or just

beginning new teachers, and I know that I would be a good resource person. I’m just trying to tie my

teaching and my personal goals together; however, I have not come to the end and just decided what I want

to do professionally. I know that I am a good teacher, and I would like to very much hone my teaching

skills, yet there is an administrative piece there that I know is within me but I am not clear on it yet.

Mrs. Nelson: Positional Privilege

Entering Science. Mrs. Nelson was born and raised in Carver County. Similar to Mrs. Martin, Mrs.

Nelson had a family history of teaching. She commented that it was because of her ‘‘daddy’’ that she became

interested in teaching: ‘‘I wanted to go into teaching from childhood because my daddy was a teacher. . .There were some [teachers] who made me not want to go into teaching, but I have always wanted to teach

because my daddy was a teacher.’’ Mrs. Nelson’s father had a Master’s degree in Mathematics and taught at

Carver High School for many years. She recalled how she enjoyed grading papers and admired her father as an

intelligent African American man and role-model in the community.

As a child [my siblings and I] would grade papers for him and put his grades in his roll book. And

when I would go to the school that he worked at, I picked up his papers for him in the mornings. I did

his paperwork for him. He was super. He was well-like by the community. We’d ride through the

community and people just held my daddy like he was president or something. Super dude, super

dude!

Entering teaching for Mrs. Nelson was similar yet different from Mrs. Martin’s entrance into education;

both needed a job to support their families, but Mrs. Nelson became a science teacher in order to keep her job.

As a first year teacher, Mrs. Nelson was the only African American home economics teacher in the county.

She taught at the middle school, and the following year, she transferred to the high school to teach science.

The first year I taught Home Economics all the teachers in Carter County [were] funded, and I taught

at the middle school. Every home economics teacher was White. And the next year in order to keep a

job, I had to certify in science because there was no opening in home economics, so I got certified in

middle grade sciences which was the area I needed the least number of classes. . . Over the years my

interests have grown full scale. I have seen science teachers come and gone and not been in place, and

now I am to a point where I like science.

Learning Science. Mrs. Nelson enjoyed science in high school, but she felt pressured to do well in

chemistry like her older sister. Although she was a good science student, she did not want to major in science

in college. She did not have ‘‘faith’’ or the confidence in herself that she would be as successful as her older

sister.

When I went to college, I majored in Home Economics, and my science background was so good that

when I took my chemistry classes, I didn’t take science because my grade was so good in freshman

chemistry and stuff, so I guess there has always been a love for science. I guess I was afraid to really

major in one of the sciences because I didn’t want to follow my sister, the one that is two years older,

who is a pharmacist, and I didn’t want to follow her footsteps and not be able to succeed. I lacked the

faith to do it. I didn’t go to school to major in science. Home Economics is my first love.

Issues of race, ethnicity, class, and age were prominent in Mrs. Nelson’s stories of college. For example,

at King University, Mrs. Nelson felt a sense of security and pride in having African American professors.

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While in school, there were discussions about merging the predominantly White State University with King

University. In the merger, students from King would attend classes at State. Mrs. Nelson recalled that race

relations and tensions over the merger created a difficult campus climate for her and other African American

students at King. She transferred to State her senior year but ‘‘there was a lot of resentment at the time’’ and

‘‘negative’’ feelings. She refused to participate fully in learning science in her classes. The professors did not

make the learning applicable to her life. Being ‘‘young and stupid’’she did not appreciate the position she was

in as an African American student on a predominantly White campus.

I was at King and didn’t want to go to State. I wanted King, and we felt like we were being forced to

attend a school we had not chosen. . . So going to State with White teachers and White classmates

wasn’t something that I was ready for. So the science classes like we had in Science and Nutrition and

other classes, I didn’t do well in because I just could not appreciate it. I could not, being young and

stupid, I could not find myself in something that I didn’t want to be apart of. I didn’t get a good

background in science from my home economics classes because I refused to accept that. I could have,

but the professors in the Science and Nutrition classes made so little application to what we were

doing. . . I wish now that I had handled that better. It was such a negative experience in my life. It’s so

negative. I felt so uncomfortable.

As an African American woman from a working class background at a predominantly White institution,

Mrs. Nelsonviewed her positionality negatively. As an adult looking back on those experiences, she admitted,

‘‘I think now if I had to do it, it would be different. Because coming from [Carver] high school, I knew that

there was a great heritage at King, and now I understand I can get some money from State. I would look at it a

whole lot differently now.’’ Mrs. Nelson reflected on the privilege and opportunities that she could have

benefited from as an African American student at State University.

Teaching Science. Mrs. Nelson and I talked about her being an African American teacher

in a predominantly African American school district. Seeing her relative positioning here was different

from her positioning as a student on a predominantly White campus. She felt that Carver County was where

she belonged. Mrs. Nelson understood that being an African American teacher in Carver County and teaching

science and home economics held certain privileges for her. She could not imagine being a different person

and teaching here, or teaching somewhere else. She replied, ‘‘Well there is a privilege here. Now, if I were

somebody else, I would probably feel the opposite. . . I have always wondered what it would feel like not as an

African American teacher, but as an African American teacher teaching White students, I don’t know.’’

As another example of privilege, Mrs. Nelson shared a story of her presence in the community: ‘‘The

young man at the filling station where I get my gas from, he was speaking to me the other day, and I said,

‘When did I teach you?’ And he called me Miss Patterson, [my maiden name], and when he did that I tried to

age him. He said, ‘You didn’t teach me,’ but I finished school back in 1974 and everybody knew Miss

Patterson.’’ Mrs. Nelson was known in the community and her reputation stretched across generations. She

felt a sense of privilege teaching and being part of the African American community in Carver County.

Regarding her teaching, Mrs. Martin commented that she was ‘‘getting too old to teach.’’ She had taught

many of her current students’ parents, and she struggled with the idea of leaving or remaining in the

classroom. Despite age and the generation gap, she felt she could ‘‘relate’’ and ‘‘hang’’ with the current, or

younger student body.

Sometimes I feel old; sometimes I don’t feel old. Most of the time I don’t feel old, though in my mind

something tells me that I shouldn’t be teaching these children, but I think I relate to them pretty good. I

really do because I don’t use words like ‘I taught your mother.’ I don’t paint myself like that, and I

don’t date my expectations of them as to what their parents were like, or their brother or sister, or

cousins were like. In that aspect I think that I can hang.

Mrs. Nelson admitted that she strongly considered leaving teaching; however, her age and family’s

financial situation were critical elements in her decision to either remain or leave the classroom and pursue

other career options. First, she had to consider how leaving teaching and perhaps going to graduate school



would impact her family. She explained that ‘‘the timing has to be right,’’ and that retiring from teaching or

going back to school would create a financial burden for her family.

Well, I sat down one day and said, ‘No, I can’t continue [to teach].’ I have eight years left before

30 years, actually seven. I am working on year 22 now. In seven years my daughter will only be

13 years old. So I don’t think I will be able to go out in retirement and afford our lifestyle, like I know

our lifestyle should be (Laughing). So I am looking at maybe teaching at least four more years until

[my daughter] reaches high school, and then at that point, I still can’t retire on what I am making for

teachers.

Professional Development. Mrs. Nelson had professional development goals that were connected to her

personal goals. Similar to Mrs. Martin, she wanted to obtain an advanced degree or go into administration.

Going back to school and earning an advanced degree brought with it a certain amount of power, prestige, and

self-confidence that Mrs. Nelson wanted.

There is a certain factor that makes you want to have every kind of title, and you want to prove that you

are, I don’t want to say as good as [others], that you can do it. I mean, I am a very competitive person,

and I like to do whatever somebody else is doing. I don’t want to think that I cannot do that; that I

cannot succeed. It is a personal goal of mine. It looks good.

Mrs. Nelson was also motivated to obtain an advanced degree and go into administration because she

knew two African American women in leadership positions, whom she considered to be ‘‘older role models.’’

She had a great deal of respect for these women, and she viewed these role models as knowledgeable and

‘‘dynamic women.’’ Like these women, she could see herself in an administrative role.

I need to go back to school and get a Masters degree so that I can become an administrator. Miss

Owens, my principal, and I have had an assistant principal that I worked with three or four years ago,

and she is a friend of mine, and we are in contact with each other almost every week, and she’s my role

model. She’s an older lady, a straight edge, and when she asks you for a report, she knows just what

and how she wants it, and you follow her guidelines. She is cool. She retired in 1997, and I’ve not had

anybody like that since then, except Miss Owens. I tease the other lady that Miss Owens is trying to out

do you, but my goal is to be as super as she is, as Miss Owens is too. Both of these women are dynamic

women. Both are very organized and timely. They are organized and really sharp with it. They are

statistical nuts and can ramble off stats like it ain’t nothing to it, and that’s where I see myself.

Mr. O’Neal: Positional Knowledge

Entering Science Teaching. Like Mrs. Nelson, Mr. O’Neal was born and raised in Carver County. His

father and grandfather were farmers. In fact, he was ‘‘intrigued’’ by animals as a young child while working

on his ‘‘daddy’s hog farm.’’ From this early exposure to science, Mr. O’Neal majored in science in college. He

wanted to attend medical school, but he did not get accepted after 2 years of seeking admissions. He got a job

teaching for a couple of years and left teaching because he was dismissed from a coaching position. After this,

he started selling insurance. After 16 years of selling insurance, he went back into teaching. His decision to

return to teaching was personal. He said, ‘‘My blood pressure was 195/105. I needed to make a choice. . . [The

divorce] was a lot of stress, and to relieve my stress, I sold my business, paid my bills off, and then got into

[teaching].’’ Mr. O’Neal also stated that re-entering the science classroom was a ‘‘comfortable fit’’ because he

had taught science previously.

Learning Science. Mr. O’Neal attended a large predominantly White institution in the state. He

recalled that college was the first time he encountered blatant racism and prejudice: ‘‘I had just never looked

at color in that sense that people would purposefully do things to hurt me.’’ It became obvious after several

years of reflection that an incident with his college professor was viewed as racially motivated. The benefit of

being ‘‘older’’ helped Mr. O’Neal to make sense of his past history as an African American male in learning

science.

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I was probably a sophomore in college, and I was taking a physics class and lab, and in this particular

lab we had to have everything checked before we could leave. After I finished my work, I got in line,

and when I got to the front of the line, my professor would not take my paper. He reached behind me

and took the next person’s paper. It became more obvious of what he was doing. It was enough

students to realize that. I guess I could have gotten angry. The students these days would not be as

tolerant over what happened. As I have gotten older, I’ve looked back over that several times and really

I could have handled that a lot of different ways, but I probably handled it the best way of being

patient. . . I was being naı̈ve because I just stood there until he took my paper and he graded it, then I

left. That was probably a really racial situation for me.

Still reflecting on the incident, Mr. O’Neal wished he had said something to his professor, or told the

department head or someone else. He did not want anyone else to be subjected to that type of treatment. He

acknowledged, ‘‘But at that time I was just naı̈ve, a young kid from Carver County trying to get an education. I

really didn’t think about it.’’ Mr. O’Neal was not prepared to address these issues as a young adult. For

instance, he recalled from his youth that Black people were treated differently, but mentioned that he ‘‘just

never thought about it. My parents did not raise me to be prejudice to the point where I had to be conscious of

that, I guess. As you get older you get confronted with things, you learn quickly.’’

Teaching Science. Mr. O’Neal had taught several years in Carver County before taking a position at a

small, rural predominantly White Community College. As the only African American male science teacher,

his credibility, knowledge and experiences were often questioned and challenged by the European American

male students in his science classes.

Sometimes because of my experiences, not my knowledge to a certain extent. . .so I have both kinds of

confrontations with the students because I guess they don’t want me to be right, or they want to be

right. They are always trying to discredit me. It could be I’m a Black man, I don’t know. I never looked

at it that way. I mean, I just perceived it as I have had a lot of students, quite a few students, but some

students, especially two males and one male student last semester, who were always challenging me.

When I told them they were wrong they had a problem with it.

Similarly, female students challenged his authority in the classroom and questioned his teaching

methods.

I require my students to do concept maps, which I think is great for studying and also for recording

information. And one [White] student went off blank, told me that she didn’t like it, and I pretty much,

you know, smiled and kind of joked with her about it, and told her that’s what I want you to do. I kind

of held my ground, and at every opportunity she gets she will let me know that [she] really don’t like

doing this. [I say], ‘but you are going to do it, aren’t you?’

Mr. O’Neal told me that students would ask him questions thinking that he had not read the assignments

which he had given for them to complete. Students asked him difficult questions, not expecting him to be able

to answer them. He believed it was challenging for his students to accept a young-looking, African American

male [college] science teacher. He talked about how his age influenced how students saw him as a science

teacher. He commented that his positionality played a role in classroom interactions.

I teach Black and White kids, and I have to be able to see both sides of the coin. They may be looking

at me, some of them thrilled. It is not easy for them to accept the fact that here I am, a Black teacher,

and I guess my youthfulness confuses them about my age because they do not know what I have

experienced, how long I have been here on earth, so they have no idea that I am 46 years old, so the

experiences that I share with them sometimes they feel like where did you get that from, that kind of

thing. . . I have to deal with that, and I have to be conscious of the jokes I may crack or the statements I

may make. And at the same time, I see it is still somewhat prejudice.

With the confrontations from White male and White female students, Mr. O’Neal was reluctant to

categorize the interactions as racially motivated, saying ‘‘It could be [that] I’m a Black man, I don’t know. I



never looked at it that way. I hate to try to categorize it. I try to be closed-minded to that.’’ However, at King

University as an adjunct, he began to see that confrontational relationships were an issue with African

American students and African American faculty members. Tensions and interactions between people were

not racially motivated or gendered. He viewed knowledge as an African American man more salient than

race, ethnicity and gender.

But I have issues at King University working with Black students and Black teachers. I have problems

with the head of my department. . . I can’t say if it is a Black or White thing. I think they have a

problem with someone who is secure in himself, or I may have a little knowledge. I know how to relate

to other things. I don’t know. But I have problems with male students in class. I have problems with

female students. I have problems with female faculty.

For Mr. O’Neal’s relative positioning to others, he understood this to be more influenced by

knowledge than by race, ethnicity, gender, class, or age, though all of these markers played some

role. However, as an African American man, he believed having knowledge was a threat to most people in

general.

I hate to say this, but I think there is a problem with the Black/White situation. I don’t think it is a

racial thing, but just an uncomfortableness with Blacks who are vocal, who tend to feel like they have

rights too, or they have a knowledge base, and when you voice that, or when you walk around like you

know what you are doing to a certain extent, you are not asking for help on a daily basis, then that

might be somewhat threatening.

The reluctance to assign issues of race to his experiences were challenging for Mr. O’Neal. He viewed

‘‘knowledge’’ as being significant to understanding relationships with African American men and women,

and European American men and women, and students and faculty. He used his knowledge of relationships to

live peacefully with others by choosing battles. He would ‘‘pray’’ and think about situations before speaking

or acting.

First of all I don’t say anything to anybody right then. I have to think about it, so usually when

someone does something, I pray about it, and I don’t say anything right then. Usually I wait a day or

two before I deal with it because I feel like I need that time to make sure I have analyzed it and decided

how I am going to handle it. As an individual, I have to know when to choose a battle and when not to,

as an individual, period. . . Do I make this an issue or do I not make it an issue?

Professional Development. Similar to Mrs. Martin and Mrs. Nelson, Mr. O’Neal had personal goals of

obtaining professional credentials and an advanced degree. Like Mrs. Martin, he had undergone the National

Board certification process in science. His participation in national organizations, attendance at science

conferences, and plans for completing a doctorate were considered to be both professional and personal goals.

Well, I just finished my masters, you know that, and I am still waiting on my results for my National

Boards. So right now, for me, I’m involved, or signed up for different types of workshops like National

Association of Biology Teachers, trying to gain more knowledge and more skills in the laboratory and

that kind of thing, so I signed up for those things. If I can get the school to pay for them, I’ll be going to

Cincinnati, Ohio in October. I am also geared up for my doctorate work, and working on that, which is

another one of my goals. That’s what I am doing for me.

When thinking about professional development, it was hard for Mr. O’Neal to separate professional

development opportunities that would benefit him personally from those that would benefit his students.

Professional development was to benefit students as well as advance his personal goals.

I think it is almost hard to separate the situation where you want to improve yourself and that not

benefit someone else when you are a schoolteacher. So even though it might seem [selfish], I don’t

think it is a selfish thing, you know, when you look at situations where you want to participate [in

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professional development]. I wrote a grant, and it was for me. I got credit for it, but at the same time it

was going to benefit the students, or being in the National Association of Biology Teachers was for me,

but I wanted to go to those workshops which were going to benefit me and indirectly benefit the kids to

share that knowledge with them, or going to the national convention, those types of things.

Mr. O’Neal described himself as ‘‘goal-driven.’’ By setting goals and working hard, he would be in a

position to accept a ‘‘blessing’’ or opportunity that would come his way. At the same time, he wanted to be

‘‘qualified’’ or prepared to take advantage of these opportunities. He explained, ‘‘I will always be updating

my goals and moving forward and thinking of something else to do, or once I have accomplished that then

there is obviously something else. So, I’m goal-driven.’’ Mr. O’Neal wanted to be in a place that if he were to

apply for a position or take advantage of an opportunity that would come his way: ‘‘They can’t tell me I’m not

qualified.’’ Thus, this goal-driven attitude kept him prepared for new opportunities.

Discussion and Implications

In this study, three African American secondary science teachers share narratives of entering careers in

science education, learning science as students, and teaching science. The teachers create science identities

and relationships with students that are directly related to their personal histories. The teachers also discuss

professional development activities and goals that extend beyond the classroom into attending conferences,

participating in workshops, and aspiring for advanced degrees and national science teacher certification.

From the narrative accounts, the three teachers support the idea that, ‘‘There are no universal teachers but,

rather, there are teachers whose experiences are affected positively or negatively by their positionality in

society’’ (Brown et al., 2000, p. 286). In other words, individuals are not the construction of just gender, or just

race, but have multiple positions that intersect and create for them their perception of the world. Because of

their positionality, the three teachers create different and similar identities and orientations to science

teaching and professional development.

Below, a discussion of the findings and implications for the study are extended. First, positional identity

is further discussed in terms of obligation, privilege, and knowledge as insights into the lives of the teachers

and their goals for professional development. Second, a focus on teacher-centered professional development

is argued, and a model is brought forth that adds a noteworthy aspect not addressed in models of effective

professional development.

Positional Identity as Obligation, Privilege and Knowledge

First, positionality, or positional identity, is important in understanding how three African American

science teachers see their roles within science classrooms and their communities. Their positionalities as

science teachers influence how and why they teach science and shape relationships they develop with

students. For instance, Mrs. Martin and Mrs. Nelson find that their positional identity affords them certain

privileges teaching science in Carver County. Mrs. Martinviews her race/ethnicity and gender specifically, as

influential in teaching science, though these same social markers are oppressive in learning science as a ‘‘little

Black girl’’ in the south. She feels a personal obligation to share her knowledge and experiences of science

with her students. The students in Carver County are predominantly African American from low-income

families, and the majority of them have few experiences in making connections to science learning outside of

the traditional classroom setting. Therefore, Mrs. Martin feels a strong sense of duty to encourage her students

in learning science so that they enter science related careers. Connected to this obligation to teach, Mrs.

Martin comes from a long legacy of African American female teachers. The female teachers in her family

make her entry and commitment to teaching seemingly ‘‘natural.’’ The discourse of teaching as ‘‘women’s

true profession’’ situates women to enter teaching because of women’s propensity towards nurturing (Carter,

2002; Walkerdine, 1990). In Mrs. Martin’s case, she has several female relatives as examples to support that it

is natural for women to go into teaching. Similarly, Mrs. Nelson’s commitment to teaching in Carver County

comes from her father, who was the mathematics teacher at Carver High School, where she and Mrs. Martin

are science teachers. Mrs. Nelson understands her place in Carver County from this deep family and

community connection.



Equally, Mrs. Martin and Mrs. Nelson have strong family roots and commitments as teachers,

and they see their identities as African American teachers in Carver County as a an obligation and privilege.

Both feel that Carver County is where they belong, acknowledging their obligation and privilege as teachers

here. This suggests that positionality plays an important and vital role in how teachers construct their own

identities in relation to the students and communities they serve. Being a teacher in the Black community

often means ‘‘visibility’’ where classrooms are used ‘‘to promote African American community

development,’’ and Black teachers feel they have a ‘‘special responsibility to their respective communities’’

(Collins, 2000, p. 212). Mrs. Martin feels obligated to pass on her knowledge of science with students, and

Mrs. Nelson believes she can ‘‘hang’’ and ‘‘relate’’ to her students, even though she is ‘‘older’’ and has taught

their mothers or fathers. Therefore, as African American female science teachers, Mrs. Martin and Mrs.

Nelson’s identities provide a presence for their students and the general community. Their personal histories

shape their science identities and reinforce their commitment to teach in Carver County as a privilege and

obligation.

Furthermore, understanding positionality of the teacher is important to classroom teaching and student

interactions. For this study, positionality not only influences how teachers interact with students but also how

students perceive teachers. For Mr. O’Neal, his positionality as an African American male science teacher

impacts his views of knowledge, how he interacts with others, and how others view him. However, he argues

that knowledge, and to some extent his age, but not race/ethnicity or gender, creates tensions between himself

and males and females, African Americans and Whites, students and faculty. The challenges he faces as an

African American teacher in the science classroom are similar to findings of teachers of color in academia

(Brown et al., 2000; Green & Scott, 2003; Johnson-Bailey, 1996; Lynn, 2002; Mabokela & Green, 2001).

Some of these challenges are problems of access, inclusion, and promotion; voice and invisibility; lack of

support; and oppression and discrimination. Indeed, positional identities involve systems of interlocking

oppression, privilege, and power that are experienced simultaneously and have a cumulative effect on

teachers and the meanings they give to their lived experiences. For the three teachers, their cases highlight

these effects.

Scholars of color argue that race, ethnicity, class, or gender are limiting as separate categories

of analysis in viewing people of color (Atwater, 2000; Collins, 2000). However, coming from similar

social backgrounds, being members of the same racial /ethnic group, having similar class levels, and

being close in age, these particular social markers intersect in similar yet different ways for the three

teachers in this study. Collectively, Mrs. Martin, Mrs. Nelson, and Mr. O’Neal reveal gender and racial

oppression in their narratives. They suffer oppression and discrimination in learning science in high school

and/or college and then in teaching science. Particularly, Mrs. Nelson and Mr. O’Neal recall feelings of

isolation, alienation, and discrimination from gender and racial exclusion in college. Likewise, Mrs.

Martin retells of gender exclusion in high school. These feelings are major deterrents for many African

American females and males in learning science at the high school and college levels, especially in

predominantly White institutions (Anderson, 1988; Lewis & Collins, 2001; Moore, 2003a; Russell &

Atwater, 2005). Therefore, as African Americans in science they experience similar forms of oppression

based upon their positional identities. However, in very different ways, their relative positioning allows

them to create knowledge about science, teaching, and themselves based upon their unique personal

histories and identities, which influences classroom interactions. Indeed, ‘‘the race, gender, class, or sexual

orientation of instructors certainly has an influence on teaching and learning, on instructor’s construction

of knowledge, and on classroom dynamics’’ (McGinnis & Pearsall, 1998; Osborne, 1998; Tisdell,

1998, p. 147).

Therefore, I argue that positional identities have an influence on professional development

as well. Although the teachers entered teaching for multiple reasons, their own goals for pro-

fessional development extend beyond a focus on student learning to include both personal and

professional goals. This point is relevant for professional developers as professional development

must consider meeting both personal and professional needs by providing opportunities for teachers to

advance themselves in more meaningful ways. In the following section, the discussion will focus on two

important aspects of teacher professional development: positional and teacher-centered professional

development.

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Positional Professional Development

This first aspect recognizes the influence of positional identity as a necessary component of professional

development. Professional development with a focus on positional identity should include the teaching and

learning of multiple perspectives that seek to understand, critique, challenge, and change oppressive and

inequitable social structures (Knight, 2002), while also allowing teachers to re-interpret and gain a deeper

understanding of personal history. Barnes (1992) proposes that having multiple interpretive frames helps

teachers to become more effective and to make better choices. For example, science educators and teacher

practitioners must possess the knowledge and skills to assist teachers in the reinterpretation of their cultural

experiences (Atwater & Crockett, 2003). This means that African American teachers, in fact teachers of

color, may gain a deeper understanding of their life experiences from having a greater appreciation of how

intersectionality or multiple social variables work simultaneously in their lives. Knight (2002) states that,

‘‘facilitating dialogue across differences of power in terms of privilege, oppression, and access in shaping

pedagogical practices and building coalitions among [inservice] teachers entails acknowledging and

rethinking these differences’’ (p. 220). Thus, professional development opportunities can help African

American science teachers learn about equity, power, and oppression from their past experiences and connect

them to issues of oppression at the societal level and within their classrooms. This uses positional identity as

an important analytical lens for knowledge construction about the multiple ways of understanding

experience, stories, life and the world. Holland et al. (1998) remark, ‘‘Remembered stories, re-creations of

one’s story, can be purposively used to redirect oneself away from the [negative experiences in science] to

interpose new actions, and to cast oneself as a new actor in a new social play’’ (p. 281). The knowledge

generated from viewing narratives in multiple ways is translated into teaching practices aimed at educating

students and promoting personal knowledge about one’s life. If science teachers are not aware of how

interlocking and intersecting systems of power, privilege, and oppression work in their narratives, the

likelihood that they will be able to inform and teach their students is not to be expected. Thus, it is important

that African American teachers and teachers of color become cognizant of how oppressive structures impact

their lives so that transformations can be made in their teaching. This knowledge may foster supportive

relationships among teachers and students in science. Relationships such as these are especially necessary for

students traditionally marginalized from science—African American students and students of color

navigating the science pipeline (Lewis & Collins, 2001; Maton, Hrabowski, & Schmitt, 2000; Russell &

Atwater, 2005). In order to build upon the strengths and knowledge that African American teachers bring to

science teaching, they need opportunities to reflect on their personal experiences, to critique both institutional

and societal systems, and to develop understanding of experience from multiple perspectives. Lewis (1993)

acknowledges that we cannot solely look at and reduce every individual to the collective of their group

membership, but ‘‘we cannot shrink away from uncovering those forms of social relations that mark and

brutalize’’ which are also ‘‘forms that continue to perpetuate oppressive and hurtful experiences’’ (p. 13).

This is the manifestation of our positionality, our identities, and warrants further research into its impact on

teaching, learning, and professional development.

Similarly, learning from personal experience offers very valuable material and knowledge for teachers

to share with their students. In Teaching to Transgress, bell hooks (1994) discusses the benefits of knowledge

that is gained from the ‘‘authority of experience’’ (p. 84) in ways that deepen classroom discussion. Using this

authority of experience in science for African American science teachers presents them as successful role

models in the field. They (we) are able to mentor, encourage and advise African American students in science,

science teaching, and science-related careers. Consequently, African American teachers will need

professional development programs that will support them in developing knowledge, skills, and methods

to teach, encourage, and mentor students for science and science related careers (Russell & Atwater, 2005),

to see the financial and educational rewards of a career in science-related fields (Lewis & Collins, 2001),

and to inform students of the challenges of being African Americans in science and science-related

fields (Carlone & Johnson, 2007; Maton et al., 2000; Moore, 2003a; Parsons & Moore, in press). Again, this

notion of authority from experience in science must be grounded in personal histories where they will have

the most impact personally and professionally. Science teachers then may speak from a deeper understanding

of their positional identity and how it influences teaching, learning, and professional development. Thus,



positional professional development is understood to include learning from life histories and the authority of

experience. It is ‘‘the development of self-understandings (identities) on intimate terrain as an outcome of

living in, through, and around the cultural forms practiced in social life’’ (Holland et al., 1998, p. 8), and

specifically, in the social practices of science. Positional professional development emphasizes the

uniqueness of individual experience and captures the personal aspects of who we are most deeply. When

we re-tell stories of experience we inevitably reveal our identities and the positions from which our stories

are re-told.

Teacher-Centered Professional Development

Second, moving from narratives and positional identity to implications for professional development,

the notion of teacher-centered professional development is discussed. But, first, a summary of professional

development models is presented. Traditionally, professional development opportunities are generally in the

form of in-service programs, which generally have a number of goals, for example to:

1. raise student scores and increase science learning (Kahle & Boone, 2000; Loucks-Horsley &

Matsumoto, 1999);

2. promote inquiry-oriented, project-based approaches through teacher institutes (Freeman, Marx, &

Cimellaro, 2004; Lord & Peard, 1995);

3. foster self-study and action research approaches (Elliott, 1990; Loucks-Horsley, 1998);

4. engage in practical inquiry and study group methods (Bell & Gilbert, 1994; Olson & Craig, 2001;

Shimahara, 1998);

5. work collaboratively with colleagues and scientists for inclusive instruction (Bianchini et al.,

2000);

6. develop teachers’ practical knowledge (van Driel et al., 2001);

7. engage in curriculum development (Parke & Coble, 1997);

8. promote systemic reform models centered around standards (Supovitz, Mayer, & Kahle, 2000);

and

9. build partnerships with professional development schools (Sheerer, 2000).

Similarly, recent studies of professional development contribute models that:

1. focus on teachers’ views of the nature of science (Akerson & Hanuscin, 2007);

2. use professional communities, collaboratives, and networks (Bianchini & Cavazos, 2007; Judson

& Lawson, 2007; Robertson, 2007);

3. utilize distance-learning strategies (Annetta & Shymansky, 2006); and

4. implement interventions to support of teacher learning to better serve students of linguistic and

cultural diversity (Lee, Deaktor, Hart, Cuevas, & Enders, 2005; Lee, Maerten-Rivera, Penfield,

LeRoy, & Secada, 2007).

These studies of high-quality professional development programs cover a wide variety of topics, target

various faculty populations, and use a range of delivery methods. Together, they support the idea that effective

professional development should focus on science content, state and district standards, involve collaborative

participation, be of long duration, connect to system-wide or school-wide change, foster continuous

improvement, and improve learning for students of diverse backgrounds. Banilower, Heck, and Weiss (2007)

argue for empirical research on the relevant impacts and effectiveness of various professional development

models that consider these elements for particular goals and within different contexts. Thus the ultimate goal

of professional development is to change teacher behavior and practices leading to student achievement

(Loucks-Horsley & Matsumoto, 1999), and to help teachers deepen their knowledge and transform their

teaching (Borko, 2004). I do not argue against the typical or traditional professional development model and

their goals aimed at student achievement and teacher learning; yet I challenge these traditional models to

consider another purpose for teacher professional development: teacher-centered professional development

aimed at meeting personal and professional goals.

Professional development as discussed by the teachers in this study is conceptualized slightly different

from traditional views of professional development. As teachers mature in their profession and in life, they

desire to participate in other types of professional development, some of which may take them out of

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classroom teaching. Their attention to professional development is teacher-centered, in terms of meeting

personal and professional goals. For example, Mrs. Martin, Mrs. Nelson, and Mr. O’Neal view professional

development as achieving personal goals, which include obtaining advanced credentials and degrees in or

outside of science education or positions in academia and administration (see Table 1). These are reasonable

goals considering their life and teaching experiences.

To illustrate, Mrs. Martin and Mr. O’Neal discuss goals of obtaining a doctorate in science education.

Faculty of color in colleges and universities in the United States in 2003 were only 15 percent (National Center

for Education Statistics [NCES], 2006). The NCES also reported that 6% of the faculty were Black, with

5% Asian/Pacific Islanders, four percent Hispanic, and only 0.5% American Indian/Alaska Native; half of

college faculty were White males (47%), and White females were 36%. During this same time, about 17% of

executive, managerial, and administrative staffs were minorities. Taking these numbers and the teachers’

personal and professional goals into consideration, teacher-centered professional develop may increase the

presence of African Americans and persons of color in faculty and administrative positions in academia.

The notion of teacher-centered professional development seems anti-theoretical to student-centered

learning, which is the primary focus of high quality professional development; however, a teacher-centered

professional development model considers ways of creating opportunities for teachers to develop personal

and professional goals while simultaneously adhering to student learning (see Figure 2). The teachers see

professional development as student-centered, focusing on science teaching to improve students’ learning

and interest in science. While models of effective professional development focus principally on student

learning, at the expense of overlooking teachers and their personal and professional goals, a model of teacher-

centered professional development situates student development as a goal yet in a different way. For example,

as the teachers discuss their personal and professional goals, they have a desire to influence student

development in unique ways. They feel that they can impact student learning and achieve personal goals

simultaneously and perhaps at a greater level as they move beyond the class to take positions as administrators

and science educators. As teachers move from the science classroom into positions that affect policy, student

learning, and science teacher education, they will need mentoring in negotiating these new roles and staying

connected to classrooms and students. Teacher-centered professional development models would add a

substantially personal element to assist teachers in transitioning from the classroom into leadership roles as

administrators and science educators. In fact, professional development in this way positions teachers in

novel ways to influence student learning on a different level.

For instance, moving from science classroom teacher to science educator can include working with

preservice teachers in teacher education programs, conducting research in their own classrooms, working

with practitioners and science educators on research projects, and attending professional conferences where

they become actively engaged as members—presenting and serving various roles within the science

education community. This engagement may evolve as they position themselves in ways that open

opportunities for further educational and career advancement. Traditional science professional development

Figure 2. A model of teacher-centered professional development.



models do not consider this important aspect of teacher development. A model that considers the teacher as

the frame of reference, accounting for both personal and professional development, while also being inclusive

of student learning and development, warrants consideration. This is critical as the personal and the

professional often go unarticulated as important aspects of teacher professional development (Clandinin &

Connelly, 2000; Connelly & Clandinin, 1990; Osborne, 1998; Palmer, 1998). Therefore, teacher-centered

professional development allows teachers to achieve both professional and personal goals without losing

attention to student learning on a broader scale.

These findings relating positional identity and professional development compliment work of Bell and

Gilbert (1994). They articulate three main features of professional development—professional (cognitive

and action development: changing concepts and beliefs about science education and classroom activities);

personal (feelings about the change process, being a teacher, and about science education); and social

(collaborating and working with teachers and students in new ways). Although the overview and framework

of their study coincides with aspects of the current study, Bell and Gilbert do not consider, like most models of

professional development, teacher identity. The researchers conclude that there are two purposes of teacher

development: teachers who feel better about themselves and teachers who have better learning outcomes in

their classrooms. However, the researchers note that professional, personal, and social aspects of professional

development are ‘‘interactive and interdependent’’ and that ‘‘development in one aspect cannot proceed

unless the other aspects develop also’’ (p. 494). Their study relates an important connection of teacher

development on multiple levels—the professional, personal, and social.

The findings of the current study do not argue that students and their learning, achievement, and

development in science are not important in professional development models; even so, because of teachers’

personal goals and desire for more prominent roles in science education, the findings from the study suggest

that teachers require more from their professional development programs. Therefore, professional developers

should create space within professional development models to facilitate teachers’ advancement pro-

fessionally and personally, which will focus on the teacher—his and her goals. The study also suggests that

professional developers and science educators cannot lose sight of the different professional routes and future

directions that teachers have as they grow in their science careers as teachers. These routes and directions are

closely connected to their positional identities and personal histories in science education; and in this study,

the positional marker of ‘‘age’’ is very significant in how the teachers plan and discuss their personal and

professional goals. As a result, some routes may take teachers out of the classroom into other areas where

there is potential to impact policy, teacher education, and student learning more broadly in science and

education.

Finally, teacher professional development programs in science have consistently been designed to

address needs that may or may not be consistent with personal and professional needs of individual teachers.

A paradigm shift is needed in order to account for what teachers want on a very personal level that still

connects to reform goals of student achievement and improvements in science teaching practices. This shift

must recognize the power, strengths, and potential that teachers bring to science education as starting points

for the creation, design, and implementation of professional development opportunities that are both teacher-

centered and child-oriented. As shown in this study, teachers are diverse in a myriad of ways, and professional

development models must consider ways to utilize the varied experiences and knowledge of diverse teachers.

The teaching context along with teachers’ personal and professional goals and positional identities present

unique spaces in terms of the kinds of professional development opportunities that teachers want. The

challenge for science educators and professional developers is to consider new models of professional

development that are framed around incorporating important aspects of teacher identity in addition to

furthering personal and professional advancement.

Conclusion

Truly, we are more complex than just our gender or race/ethnicity, yet the intersection of multiple

identity markers reveal our relative positioning and the knowledge that we gain from our identities in society

and how this positioning impacts our teaching, research, and interactions with others. Positional identity

simultaneously influences how we teach, how others perceive us, and how we plan our futures. Obviously,

‘‘People’s representations of themselves in the stream of everyday life reveal a multitude of selves that are

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neither bounded, stable, perduring, nor impermeable’’ (Holland et al., 1998, p. 29). It is difficult to think of

one common experience that many share, but looking at individual and collective aspects of our histories, we

begin to understand individuals and groups more thoroughly. For example, the three teachers share some

common experiences across race, ethnicity and socioeconomic status, yet their stories reveal both individual

and collective meanings that are expressed and experienced differently due to their relative positions in

society. They are conscious of their positionality in how they teach science and interact with students. Thus,

this sense of awareness is important to recognize as it impacts their orientation to science teaching and their

identities as science teachers.

The intersection of multiple social variables affects women and men in different and similar ways.

Therefore, in this study, the differences in the three teachers reveal how diverse they are and at the same time

how akin they are in life experiences, teaching, and professional development goals as science teachers. The

focus on gender, class, race, ethnicity, age, and religion from their stories stresses the ‘‘varying degrees of

advantage and power’’ (Zinn & Dill, 2000, p. 25), or obligation, privilege, and knowledge due to multiple

group memberships seen individually and collectively in the telling and interpreting of life narratives.

Research on multiple group memberships has much to offer in terms of providing not a new direction in

science education research per se, but a necessary shift in the way that research is conducted for those

traditionally marginalized from science education research (McGinnis, 2000), and new challenges for

creating professional development models that take into account positional identity. Positional identity is

often disregarded, making it seem insignificant for research and professional development. Neglecting this

important aspect in science education thus eliminates the vast array of experiences and knowledge generated

from looking at the influence of identity on teaching, learning, and professional development. Positional

identity not only complicates but entertains possibilities of extending research and professional development

beyond traditional notions of one size fit all models that overlook identity and personal history as significant

factors. Thus, the ways in which individuals represent themselves add another dimension for researchers and

professional developers to re-conceptualize our work and to create more meaningful professional

development opportunities that connect identity to personal and professional goals and student development

all together.

Notes

1All proper names used in study are pseudonyms.2Some of the science professional development activities consisted of conducting inquiry-focused science

workshops, assisting in setting up the district Science Fair, helping teachers write individual professional development

plans, taking notes on teaching practices and offering suggestions for improvement, discussing science curriculum and

assessments, conducting workshops on preparing for the state assessment test, preparing materials for the National Board

certification requirements, and teaching and co-teaching within science classrooms. These professional development

activities were done mostly in the middle and high school, and a couple of activities were done as district-wide

opportunities for elementary, middle, and high school teachers.3The State University is the large, predominantly White university that is located about 30 miles southwest of the

school district.4Highly qualified teachers as defined by No Child Left Behind are teachers who ‘‘have a bachelor’s degree, full state

certification or licensure, and prove that they know each subject they teach’’ (United States Department of Education Fact

Sheet, March 2004, www.ed.gov).

Appendix A: Interview Protocol

Interview #1: Professional Development Activities (Past, Present, Future)

1. What are your goals or plans for professional development: past, currently, future?

2. What strategies do you have for your goals, for making the goals, and reaching the goals?

3. What areas do you think you need to grow in or develop in?

4. How is your professional development related to your personal development in any way?

5. How is your professional development connected to student achievement?

6. How did you enter teaching?

7. What were your experiences like in science as a student: elementary, middle, high, and college?

What do you remember about your teachers?

8. How would you describe your teaching style?



Interview #2: Past Experiences and Relationships

1. What is it like teaching in Carver County?

2. Have you always taught predominantly African American students?

3. What do you want to accomplish personally and professionally as a teacher?

4. What are some challenges and successes as a teacher in Carver County?

5. What kinds of barriers do you have in teaching science?

6. What was science like as a young child? Do you remember learning science in elementary,

middle, and high school?

7. What are your views of teaching and learning science?

Interview #3, #4: Positional Identity

1. What are some extracurricular activities that you do at school?

2. How important is language in the classroom to learning science?

3. How does your race, gender, or age affect your teaching of science?

4. Do you see yourself being female/male and African American as a privilege?

5. Do you feel that you have power as a teacher; define that word in any way you like.

6. Are you a different person in different contexts: school, church, in the community?

7. How much of an impact has your family been on your development as a teacher: how has your

family encouraged you or helped you to develop as a teacher?

8. As a parent, are there things that help you as a teacher?

9. What is your relationship like with other teachers, students, and administration?

10. You have been assigned a first year teacher to mentor. What kind of advice would you give to the

teacher about: teaching, teaching science, teaching in Carver County School district, and pro-

fessional development?

11. What are your plans for yourself over the next year or two: How do you see yourself as a teacher

in the next 5 or 10 years: What have you learned about yourself as a teacher over the years?

12. If you had to write an educational obituary, what would you say about yourself as a teacher: how

do you want to be remembered as a teacher?

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