Re/constructing Teacher Identity in Refugee Education : A Study on National and International Teachers’ Narratives Working in Greece

Sammanfattning: The global ‘refugee crisis’ is increasingly affecting Europe and especially Greece, which has been the country through which many people on the move enter Europe. Within refugee education the role of teachers is recognised as the key facilitator of education, yet there are few studies which centre on teachers. This paper aims to explore and compare how teachers re/construct their ideas about the value of education, their vision on education and their role as a teacher as a result of their experience working in refugee education. Key concepts of the study are a holistic approach to teachers’ professional development, construed as teacher identity, and refugee education. The study centralises the narratives of eight teachers of different nationalities who worked or are working in Greece, either on the mainland or on the islands. Data was collected through narrative interviews applying the biographical method. An inductive coding process led to four themes: teachers’ development, teachers’ profile, educating refugees, and vision on refugee education. Similarities and differences between the stories of teachers form the basis of comparisons about teaching refugees of different ages, female refugees, and at other locations. The findings are discussed in light of the principles and concepts of Life Course Theory and Transformative Learning Theory. The findings show that teachers’ choices and actions in teaching refugees are embedded in the contemporary context of time and place, motivated by the current global crisis. The experiences of teaching refugees impact teachers personally and shape not only individual but also collective attitudes through principles of linked lives, time, and place. Teachers describe their ongoing and cumulative teacher identity re/construction, including altering their perspectives on the narrative of refugees due to their work experiences, which aligns with key concepts and principles of (adult) learning in the Life Course Theory and Transformative Learning Theory.