Nurturing Teacher-Learner Relationships Through Personal History Self-Study

• In Event: Honoring Localized Knowing in Teacher Education Spaces

Abstract

I sought to enhance my teaching practice by unpacking my childhood memories to better understand and respond to my Grade 4 learners’ lived experiences. Self-study encourages teachers to reflect and look back at their personal histories with inquiring minds. I adopted a sociocultural theoretical perspective to explore my personal history with reference to teacher-learner relationships. I used photographs of personal artefacts to evoke my memories. This self-study underlined the significance of revisiting the past and honestly narrating personal memories. I learnt that, as teachers, we need to look deeply and with compassion into our own emotions, such as grief and loss, in the interest of developing empathetic teacher-learner relationships.

Author

• Ntokozo Mkhize Mthembu, University of KwaZulu-Natal