Conference Agenda

The idea that the essence of the self can be located within the narratives individuals construct in response to the question “Who am I?” has been conceptualized as the narrative self (Bruner, 1990, 2002; Crossley, 2000; Gergen & Gergen, 1983, 1988; McAdams, 1985, 1993). Narratives of the self are commonly formed through a dialogical process involving two interrelated perspectives: how the self is perceived by others (“me”) and how the self understands itself (“I”) (Hermans & Kempen, 1993; Hermans, 2001). While such expressions are often shared through language, self-expression is not limited to linguistic forms alone. In response to this broader understanding of self-expression, the present study adopts a visual narrative approach, which recognizes visual imagery as a meaningful medium for narrating the self. Visual narratives refer both to the act of expressing events, experiences, beliefs, and values through images and to the visual artifacts produced through this expressive process. This study examines expressions of the self as they emerge within childcare as a social practice, drawing on visual data produced by nursery teachers in Japan. Participants created drawings depicting aspects of their work that they valued most. The study consisted of two components: (1) the creation of drawings representing participants’ childcare practices across the past, present, and future, and (2) focus group interviews in which participants reflected on and discussed their drawings. Analysis of the drawings revealed multiple dimensions of the self, including the observing self, guiding self, cultivating self, co-growing self, and embracing self. These findings demonstrate the potential of visual narrative methods to capture the self as intertwined with time, place, events, and relationships with others. Future research should further examine the relationship between modes of self that appear contemporaneously and those that emerge teleologically, within ongoing social practices.