Becoming a Teacher as a Hero's Journey: Using Metaphor in Preservice Teacher Education

Teacher Education Quarterly, Winter 2005 by Goldstein, Lisa S

As I read and re-read these data, I used sticky notes to mark any statements that (1) directly addressed the hero's journey metaphor, (2) discussed or critiqued the utility of the word hero, (3) drew connections between the hero's journey metaphor and the students' lives or experiences in their field placement, and (4) mentioned characters or constructs from the Star Wars films. My next phase of analysis involved engaging in repeated readings and considerations of the marked entries, looking inductively for any patterns in the data. I developed working interpretations of these patterns, and attempted to warrant them with evidence pulled from the data set.

The patterns I had identified and my working interpretations of those patterns were used to generate the central questions posed to the focus groups. Rooted in Pamela Moss's work on the use of the hermeneutic circle in warranting knowledge claims (Moss, 1994), the focus groups played a central role in shaping the next phase of my data analysis.

Moss describes the hermeneutic circle as a means for arriving at interpretations of data "that seek to understand the whole in light of its parts, that privilege readers who are most knowledgeable about the context... and that ground those interpretations not only in textual and contextual evidence available, but also in a rational debate among the community of interpreters" (Moss, 1994, p. 7). This process involves an iterative cycle that begins with an initial interpretation of the data, followed by critical dialogue among a group of knowledgeable individuals committed to an "ethic of disciplined, collaborative inquiry that encourages challenges and revisions to initial interpretations" (Moss, 1994, p. 7). The participants in the focus groups served as my community of interpreters, testing and challenging my working interpretations of their experiences. Focus group discussions were audiotaped, transcribed, and used as an additional data source.

Following the focus group meetings, I returned to the data searching for evidence confirming and disconfirming my revised interpretations. Going back into the data with this focus, looking specifically for particular issues, allowed me to uncover relevant information that I had overlooked in my earlier readings.

Once I felt confident that I had constructed a trustworthy and believable account of the situation, I began to write up my findings. I invited the participants to read drafts of this manuscript, hoping to continue the hermeneutic process of input, feedback, critique and re-interpretation. Unfortunately, none of the participants were able to continue participation; the new school year had begun and most of them were busy facing the challenges of their induction year.

Findings

The hero's journey metaphor, looked at in isolation, served all of the students well. However, I found that in the specific context of this study the hero's journey never existed in isolation. I had assumed that it would be possible to separate the hero's journey from the image of the hero, but the data indicate the students did not perceive the metaphor in this way. Students' connection with the hero's journey metaphor forced them into an inevitable relationship - comfortable or uncomfortable - with the term hero.