Identity politics and politics of identity : a semiotic approach to the negotiation and contestation of music teacher identity among early career music teachers

Abstract

Includes abstract and vita. --- Overview of the study -- Review of the literature -- Methodology and research design -- Data analysis and storytelling -- Language ideology -- Identity politics and politics of identity -- Conclusions and implications.In this dissertation, I addressed early career music teacher identity as it relates to d/Discourse in the narratives of three second year teachers. I drew on existing narrative research in the field of music education (Barrett & Stauffer, 2006, 2009; Bresler, 2006; McCarthy, 2007). I used Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA; Gee, 1990; Fairclough, 1992, 2012; Wodak, 1996) to identify the three main themes that emerged from data: (1) Official Expectations, (2) Encountering Music Teaching, and (3) Negotiation and Contestation. I then overlaid the Irving and Gal (2000) model of language ideology onto the three themes drawn from data. This model is comprised of three linguistic processes: Iconicity, Recursivity, and Erasure. Finally, I discussed the process of how music teacher identity co-construction operates within the context of both identity politics and the politics of identity. I used these concepts to propose a possible explanation for how music teacher identify co-construction is affected by how d/Discourse flows through the sociolinguistic domain