A Teaching Life: Dispositions of Curiosity, Innovativeness, Hopefulness, Caring, and Presence

Publication Date

1-1-2024

Document Type

Article

Publication Title

Teacher Educator

DOI

10.1080/08878730.2024.2400666

Abstract

Increased teacher attrition has gained attention globally. Stories of teachers who leave chronicle how the accountability climate diminishes teachers’ agency and removes the moral rewards that bring teachers to their profession. Veteran teachers’ stories deepen and broaden our understanding of how teachers express moral dispositions when they stay. This phenomenological study explored one veteran teacher’s stories and how they revealed dispositions through interviews with the veteran teacher and five of her mentees. The dispositions evidenced in the data–curiosity, innovativeness, hopefulness, authentic caring, and presence—add to our understanding of how moral dimensions of teaching operationalize in practice; suggest the relevance of veteran-teachers’ stories for cultivating dispositions in teacher education; and, illuminate possibilities for teachers to reap the moral rewards of teaching and remain in their profession.

Department

Teacher Education

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