Teacher Identity and the Struggle for Recognition

In this book, Patrick Jenlink has collected a provocative set of essays about the meaning and nature of teacher identity in today’s acutely political educational climate. With striking clarity, the essays make two arguments: that invisibility based on cultural difference is a deep threat to public education, and that constructing pedagogy and curriculum for America’s schools based on recognition can be a powerful antidote. -- Marilyn Cochran-Smith, Cawthorne professor of teacher education for urban schools, Lynch School of Education, Boston College
The novelty of this important book is in the way it presents teacher identity within the context of society and culture. It poses a unique perspective of the teacher as a whole, as a professional, and as an individual – not only in the classroom, but also in society and cultural contexts. As such, it is a teaching-learning text for teacher educators in addition to all those who care about making the person visible in a global, multicultural society. -- Professor Hanna Ezer, Levinsky College of Education, Israel
One of the first realizations most educators with social justice ambitions make is that teachers who are wont to interrogate their own identity positions are more likely to reproduce inequities in the classroom. Patrick Jenlink and a diverse array of contributors construct an impressive topography of identity that can help educators, educational leaders, and scholars alike understand the varied terrains of identity and do the work necessary to enact such interrogations. Jenlink’s book builds nicely on his previous works on the cultural recognition and the struggle for identity in America's schools. -- Kris Sloan, associate professor and chair, Teacher Education Program, St. Edward’s University, Austin, Texas
This book invites the reader on a journey of metamorphosis through personal reflection – evoking a passionate re-commitment to the human race through action with regards to social and moral responsibility. The voices held on these pages seek to unravel the threat of invisibility while returning significance to one’s search for identity. A profoundly important and necessary book – not just for teachers, but also for all engaged in the development of others. -- Terri Hebert, assistant professor, School of Education, Indiana University South Bend