A Parallel Education: An Autoethnography of Ms. Robin and Mrs. Tillotson

As the mother of a first-year-teacher, I began thinking of ways in which to provide encouragement and support to my daughter and to other beginning teachers. I believe that successful teachers should not only share their knowledge and expertise with novice teachers, but also their struggles, their frustrations, and their methods of managing the complexities of teaching. The purpose of this study was to describe the milieu that self-authorship plays in the personal and professional development of a veteran teacher (Baxter Magolda, 1998, 2009; Kegan, 1994). Conceptually, my study was framed by the theories of transformation-self-authorship (Baxter Magolda, 1998, 2009; Kegan, 1994) and transformative learning theory (Mezirow, 1997, 2003) and by my status as a first-generation college graduate. Methodologically my study was an autoethnography, which falls under the Ethnography Approach to qualitative research (Creswell, 2007). Autoethnography is the vehicle to drive ethnography "away from the gaze of the distanced and detached observer and toward the embrace of intimate involvement, engagement, and embodied participation" (Ellis & Bochner, 2006). I served as both the research subject and the researcher. Moving toward a position of self-authorship requires an epistemological, interpersonal, and intrapersonal evolution a shift from "'how you know' to 'how I know'" (Meszaros, 2007, p. 11). In this study I traced the path I followed from being a "silent woman" with little knowledge of her own to the woman I am today--a woman who "integrate[s]" personal knowledge with outside knowledge to create a "unique and authentic voice" (Belenky, Clinchy, Goldberger, & Tarule, 1986, p. 134). These transformations were the result of moving away from wholly accepting external voices toward creating my own internal voice. Understanding the transformations that I have undergone over the years, helped to explain what attributes of my personality provided the ability to remain in the. My research resulted in the identification of the following themes: (1) facing challenges with courage; (2) finding my own voice; and (3) providing support and scaffolding to students. Within these frameworks, I followed the paths of my transformation from the woman I was groomed to be into the woman I am. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]