Hybrid Identities Under Construction: Outcomes of a Collaborative University-Based Course Revision Project

Abstract

In this dissertation, I examine three perspectives on a collaborative action research project centered on revising the “Foundations of Education” course in George Mason University’s Secondary Education (SEED) program for students seeking a Master of Education degree and/or initial teacher licensure. This course revision project was conducted over a four month period in the spring and summer of 2022, including the teaching and evaluation of the pilot course during the Summer 2022 semester. Guided by a third space theoretical framework focused on spaces for and implications of collaboration between teachers and university staff, each of these articles focuses on the notion of a ‘hybrid identity.’ This includes the identity(ies) of a course (Foundations of Education) situated at the theory/practice divide; of a teacher participant balancing his insecurities as an early-career teacher with new opportunities in the university; and of my own uncertain, hybrid identity as a former teacher, sometimes teacher educator, and almost academic.