Conference Agenda
Overview and details of the sessions of this conference. Please select a date or location to show only sessions at that day or location. Please select a single session for detailed view (with abstracts and downloads if available).
Please note that all times are shown in the time zone of the conference. The current conference time is: 19th Aug 2026, 21:28:45 EET
|
Daily Overview |
| Session | ||
01 SES 12 C: Workshop: Visual Narratives as a Methodological and Pedagogical Approach for Teacher Identity Construction
Research Workshop | ||
    | ||
01. Professional Learning and Development
Research Workshop Visual Narratives as a Methodological and Pedagogical Approach for Teacher Identity Construction University of Oulu, Finland Presenting Author:This arts-based workshop is the result of extensive developmental work carried out as part of doctoral research (Holappa et al., 2022; Kettunen et al., 2023; Kettunen & Lutovac, 2026; Kettunen, 2026) and two research projects: ‘The Unpacking and Redefining Changing Relationships in Teachers’ Work’ (Research Council of Finland, RELA 2020–24) and ‘Pre-service Teachers Navigate Relationality of Changing Teachers’ Work’ (the Eudaimonia Institute, 2022–25). The workshop is based on the idea that teachers’ voices need to be heard; pre- and in-service teachers need opportunities for reflection on their teacher identities amidst the hectic and multidimensional working conditions to be able to anticipate change, respond to it and act as agents of changes (Lutovac et al., 2023). The workshop is designed for teachers, teacher educators, and professionals within teacher education. It presents an opportunity to reimagine what it means to be a teacher and to explore themes critical to the participants’ own identity construction. Furthermore, it introduces a practical pedagogical approach that participants can adapt for use with their own students. Building on the increasing interest in arts-based methods within narrative research, this workshop offers a place and time for creating and sharing ‘visual narratives’: stories told through, by, or with visuals (Bach, 2007; Bell, 2013; Kettunen et al., 2024). Visual narratives are particularly potent as they can help tell stories that might otherwise be overlooked in purely verbal discourse (Morris & Paris, 2022; Traue et al., 2019). They enhance empathy, encourage the surfacing of embodied knowledge, and provide a medium for reflecting on a multitude of emotions (Eisner, 2008). The 90-minute session begins with an introduction to the underpinning research and theoretical framework, providing a foundation for the workshop activities. Following this, participants engage in hands-on arts-based narrative exercises, such as combining autobiographical writing with photographs, using drawing as a medium for thinking, and creating collages from images. The workshop includes small group discussions facilitated by three researchers, with a maximum of five participants per group. The session concludes with a summary discussion where insights and experiences are shared among all participants. The workshop is open to a maximum of 15 participants to maintain an intimate and safe environment. No prior preparation or special artistic skills are needed. Methodology, Methods, Research Instruments or Sources Used In this workshop, the narrative approach is understood as a methodological and theoretical lens through which individuals construct meaning of themselves, their lived experiences, and the world (Hyvärinen, 2007; McAdams, 2017; Polkinghorne, 1988). Following the onto-epistemological perspective of Spector-Mersel (2010), narratives are seen not as mirrors of an objective world, but as constructing and re-constructing subjective reality within specific social and cultural contexts. In the workshop, narratives are utilized as a pedagogical approach. The narrative approach acknowledges the existence of multiple truths and diverse ways of knowing and interpreting stories (Etherington, 2006). Furthermore, the sociocultural context provides shared meaning systems that act as scripts for individual stories, meaning that narratives are always situated and bound within their specific contexts (Polkinghorne, 1988; Tuval-Mashiach, 2014). While the narrative approach has traditionally been based on verbal expression, the use of art in this workshop is grounded by the idea that people narrate themselves and the world through non-verbal means as well, especially in a multimodal society and highly visually saturated culture (Morris & Paris, 2022; Traue et al., 2019). Thus, words alone are not always enough to describe and communicate one’s lived experiences, as communication can take place through visuals, bodies, gestures, movements, and sounds (Kettunen et al., 2024; Riessman, 2008). Visual narratives are stories told through, by, or with visuals, such as photographs, drawings, and collages (Bach, 2007; lisahunter, 2017). The term visual art in this context encompasses multiple formats and techniques, including installations and sequence visuals (Leavy, 2020). Visual narratives evoke emotions, help tell stories that might otherwise be overlooked, and encourage embodied knowledge (Kettunen et al., 2024; Eisner, 2008). Furthermore, they facilitate self-awareness, allowing participants to recognize new perspectives on teacher identity and teachers’ work. This includes the recognition and challenging of normative cultural stories as well as the emergence of embodied, non-verbal narration (Kettunen, 2026). By employing an arts-based narrative approach, this workshop aims to push the boundaries of traditional power relations between researchers and participants, leaning towards a state of not-knowing (Morris & Paris, 2022). This stance involves a conscious setting aside of researchers’ or facilitators’ assumptions to allow the participants' own meanings to emerge. In doing so, the goal is to facilitate a welcoming space and time where diverse ways of constructing understanding of oneself are possible. Conclusions, Expected Outcomes or Findings The workshop is expected to provide the participants with both personal insights and practical pedagogical tools for (teacher) identity construction. On a personal level, the participants will engage in a process of identity work that allows them to explore the personal and cultural narratives that shape their professional lives. By using non-verbal and visual media, the participants are expected to reach layers of their identity, such as vulnerability, emotional labor, and tacit knowledge, that often remain unarticulated in more traditional verbal reflection exercises. On a pedagogical and methodological level, the outcome is the dissemination of an emerging research-based approach for teacher reflection. Participants will gain first-hand experience of how visual narratives can be used to facilitate difficult conversations about the realities of teachers' work today. The expected outcome is an increased sense of agency among participants; by reimagining their stories through art, they become better equipped to challenge normative, often restrictive, cultural stories about what it is to be a good teacher. Ultimately, the workshop aims to demonstrate that arts-based narrative methods are not merely creative add-ons but essential methodological and pedagogical approaches for capturing the complexity of human experience in education. The findings from these collective identity-work sessions will contribute to the ongoing discussion on how to support teacher resilience, identity construction, and professional development in changing working conditions. The participants will leave with knowledge of how to implement these exercises in their own contexts, valuing diverse ways of knowing and being. References Bach, H. (2007). Composing a visual narrative inquiry. In D. J. Clandinin (Ed.), Handbook of narrative inquiry: Mapping a methodology (pp. 280–307). Sage. Bell, S. E. (2013). Seeing narratives. In M. Andrews, C. Squire, & M. Tamboukou (Eds.), Doing narrative research (2nd ed., pp. 142–158). Sage. https://doi.org/10.4135/9781526402271 Eisner, E. (2008). Art and knowledge. In J. G. Knowles & A. L. Cole (Eds.), Handbook of the arts in qualitative research: Perspectives, methodologies, examples, and issues (pp. 3–13). Sage. Holappa, A., Lassila, E. T., Lutovac, S., & Uitto, M. (2022). Vulnerability as an emotional dimension in student teachers’ narrative identities told with self-portraits. Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research, 66(5), 893–906. https://doi.org/10.1080/00313831.2021.1939144 Hyvärinen, M. (2007). Towards a conceptual history of narrative. In M. Hyvärinen, A. Korhonen, & J. Mykkänen (Eds.), The Travelling Concept of Narrative. Helsinki Collegium for Advanced Studies. Kettunen, A. (2026). Pre-service teacher identity construction through visual narratives: Studying the emotional dimension. [Doctoral dissertation, University of Oulu]. Acta Universitatis Ouluensis. Kettunen, A., Lassila, E. T., Lutovac, S., & Uitto, M. (2023). Becoming a safe adult for pupils: Emotions as part of first-year student teachers’ narrative identities told with photographs. European Journal of Teacher Education, 48(3), 526–543. https://doi.org/10.1080/02619768.2023.2211730 Kettunen, A., & Lutovac, S. (2026). The emergence of work-related pressure in pre-service teachers’ identity co-construction through visual narratives. Teaching and Teacher Education, 171, 105330. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2025.105330 Leavy, P. (2020). Method meets art: Arts-based research practice. Guilford Publications. lisahunter. (2017). Visual narrative inquiry. In A. C. Sparkes (Ed.), Seeking Qualitative Rigor in Sport, Exercise and Health (pp. 165–184). Routledge. Lutovac, S., Uitto, M., Keränen, V., Kettunen, A., & Flores, M. A. (2023). Teachers’ work today: Exploring Finnish teachers’ narratives. Teaching and Teacher Education, 137.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2023.104378 Morris, M., & Paris, L. F. (2022). Arts-based research in education. Routledge. Polkinghorne, D. E. (1988). Narrative knowing and the human sciences. SUNY Press. Spector-Mersel, G. (2010). Narrative research: Read my story, from eight to one. Journal of Qualitative Research, 10(2), 204–224. Traue, B., Blanc, J., & Cambre, C. (2019). Qualitative Methods and Visual Communication. In P. Atkinson, S. Delamont, A. Cernat, J. W. Sakshaug, & R. A. Williams (Eds.), SAGE Research Methods Foundations. Tuval-Mashiach, R. (2014). Life stories: The construction of the self within a sociocultural context. Israel Studies in Language and Society, 6(2), 116–135. | ||