My research project is investigating aspects of professionalism and our understanding of our own professional identities.  This work builds on the development of a previous paper titled ‘Acting In-between: The Professional Identity of an Art Educator’ that focused on my own journey as an educator and how personal perceptions were aligned with two dominant discourses as highlighted by Sachs (2003).  This process resulted in the acknowledgment of an ‘in-between’ state of identity, that fluctuated through exposure to new experiences, and is linked with the notions of democratic education (Biesta, 2006).  This project involves a more in depth investigation in to how other art educators in the UK perceive their own identities as artists, researchers and teachers.

References:
Biesta, G. (2006) Beyond Learning: Democratic Education for a Human Future. London: Paradigm Publishers.
Sachs, J. (2003) The Activist Teaching Profession. Buckingham: Open Univ. Press.