Authenticity at work: English teachers' experiences of authentic and inauthentic acting

Abstract

For teachers, self-reflection involves the questions 'who am I as a teacher?' and 'how am I as a teacher?' While the 'who' question involves teacher identity, the 'how' question involves self-authenticity. This chapter reports on a study examining the self-authenticity experiences of teachers of English at a secondary school in Sweden. With a focus on narrative evaluations of practice events, three types of authenticity experience are identified: perceptions of authenticity/inauthenticity in relationships, perceptions of authenticity/inauthenticity in the creation of meaningful learning opportunities, and perceptions of frustrated authenticity when managing challenging situations.