Interrogating Academic Motherhood in Teacher Education: From Dual Imposter Syndrome to Integrated Identities

• In Event: Sheraton Roundtable Session Eleven
  In Roundtable Session: Equity, Culture, and Identity in Self-Study (Table 7)

Abstract

We present our collaborative self-study on the ways we perceive bi-directional influence between our roles as teacher educators and mothers. Our collaboration opened a necessary and consequential space for acknowledging our multi-faceted identities and emotional experiences as academic mothers and teacher educators. We were able to conceptualize our emotional, physical, and intellectual journeys from divergent identities as academics/teacher educators and mothers to our current integrated identities. During this process, we developed a sense of advocacy in our roles, and we’ve committed to showing up in academic spaces and both reframing deficit discourse around motherhood in academia and calling for policies in educational spaces that value the contributions of those who identify as mothers and teacher educators.

Authors

• Sarah A. van Ingen Lauer, University of South Florida
  Presenting Author

• Jennifer Ward, Kennesaw State University
  Presenting Author

• Eugenia Vomvoridi-Ivanovic, University of South Florida
  Presenting Author