Re/Imagining time, space and identity through qualitative narrative research with teachers: “These ghosts came back to haunt me”

Abstract

The concepts of haunting and performativity are enmeshed to explore how teacher identity is materialised through shared stories. This sharing is interpreted as a calling forward of ghosts that inhabit memories via an analysis of educational narratives derived from twelve semi-structured qualitative interviews conducted with teachers working in England. Inspired by the quote from a teacher in the title; “these ghosts came back to haunt me”, the narratives offered are interpreted as haunted by individual past histories and experiences of education as well as the ghosts of others. This analysis considers the implications of haunted stories in terms of how they shape the ways individuals materialise their professional identities within conversations. I conclude with a consideration of how haunting can be understood as more than a concept or theoretical lens, but as a central aspect to narrative life history as a qualitative research methodology.