Yhteisöpedagogiksi tulemisen tarinat : narratiivinen tutkimus pedagogisen osaamisen ja ammatillisen identiteetin rakentumisesta yhteisöpedagogiopintojen aikana

Abstract

The interest of this research is to explore community educator students’ construction of pedagogical knowledge and professional identity. The objectives of the research are to explore how community educator students narrate their pedagogical knowledge during their study. The research is focused on community educator training at Centria University of Applied Sciences. The study process of a group of students was investigated from the beginning of their training, i.e. for about three and a half years. The research data consisted of written course assignments completed by a group of 17 community educator students. The data unveiled meanings related the construction of pedagogical knowledge and personal practical knowledge as situated in the students’ narration. The aim of the inquiry was to describe, interpret and understand the construction of pedagogical knowledge through the students’ narration. The first research question was what the community educator students told about their pedagogical knowledge during their study. The second research question was how the students’ professional identity was constructed in their stories. The data generated by the students was processed by analysing the narratives and by using narrative analysis. Narrative analysis enabled the construction of nar-ratives with emplotment. Narrative emplotment of the typical stories was construed by integrating events and episodes in the narrative plot structure with the help of a hermeneutical process of understanding. The research report includes the four typical stories of Reima, Helmi, Aatos and Taru. In these typical stories, pedagogical knowledge, the construction of professional identity, and individual progress in the group process are revealed in various ways. Reima’s story is about the good group, Taru’s story deals with her reflections of personal practical knowledge, Helmi’s story is about her educator selfhood, and the process of finding oneself is embodied in Aatos’ story. This research shows how the community educator students construct their pedagogical knowledge and narrative identity in a community of practice. Theoreti-cal orientations, experiences, practical situations and social relations provide the basis for the community educator students’ construction of pedagogical knowledge and professional identity. The students learn, act and construct themselves in their community of practice.