Hard Graft: Collaborative exploration of working class stories in shaping female educator identities

Gillaspy, Emma orcid iconORCID: 0000-0002-6725-3331, Routh, Fiona orcid iconORCID: 0000-0003-4646-4276, Edwards-Smith, Amy, Pywell, Samantha orcid iconORCID: 0000-0002-0696-1967, Luckett, Alison orcid iconORCID: 0000-0002-4243-1306, Cottam, Sheena Louise and Gerrard, Sabina orcid iconORCID: 0000-0002-2984-8748 (2022) Hard Graft: Collaborative exploration of working class stories in shaping female educator identities. Prism . ISSN 2514-5347

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Official URL: https://doi.org/10.24377/prism.ljmu.0401219

Abstract

This empirical qualitative study investigates the ways in which working-class roots have shaped educator values and identity. Using collaborative autoethnography, we share an honest insight into the stories of seven female educators drawn together from a variety of health and social care disciplines. The five themes emerging from this research: Connection through differences and commonalities; graft; inner tensions; authenticity ‘I am who I am’ and the bigger picture are tightly interconnected, generating a complex and rich picture of contemporary female educator identity. This supportive and collaborative approach has been transformational in the realisation we are not alone, and it has provided a space to celebrate our ‘otherness’. As a result, we have embraced our collective responsibility to challenge inequalities and foster a more open, accessible and authentic HE future for all.


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