Teacher Identity and Hierarchy: Narrative Inquiry of Primary Teachers in Nepal’s Public Schools

Abstract

The article explores how Nepalese public schools’ traditional hierarchy-dominated educational culture shapes teachers’ professional growth and sense of identity. Through the narrative inquiry approach, I explored teachers' professional identity development using Gee’s (2000) identity framework. The data revealed that hierarchy and power relations between the teachers and the social context fundamentally shaped teacher identity development. However, the study further showed that professional hierarchy was not uni-layered, the power was not one-directional, and the domination was not permanent but rather dynamic. Factors like academic qualifications, job status, technological skills, and social status made the hierarchy complex. More interestingly, hierarchical relationships did not always undermine teacher empowerment but confidence in some cases. For example, when a teacher in a marginalized position due to some factors such as poor health condition was viewed as a role model or capable of success despite challenges, they achieved high value from their colleagues.

Mapping the Landscape of Data Collection: A Reflection on the Dynamics of Fieldwork in Qualitative Research

“…For instance, Markham (2013) states that "fieldwork is often used as a method of engaging with the phenomenon to gather information/data or to analyze practices in situ" (p. 435). Arguably, making data in qualitative fieldwork is influenced by several factors such as local culture, researcher identity, hierarchy, power relations, and gender matching between the researcher and the participants (Mishra, 2018;Punch, 2012;Subedi, 2023;Subedi & Gaulee, 2023). Likewise, the researcher enters the field with feelings, aspirations, and assumptions concerning their embodiment in the fieldwork.…”

“…I thanked him for talking and left the school. (Fieldnotes, July 3, 2021) The unequal hierarchical position between the university teacher and the school teacher unintentionally creates power relations (Subedi, 2023) because of their different positionality. Confronting such a situation of unmatched identity between the researcher and the participants, I highlighted my earlier status and experiences as a primary teacher during conversations with other participants.…”

“…While the role of gender in qualitative fieldwork is much discussed in the Western setting, it is minimally addressed in the non-Western context. Considering the literature in Nepal is rare in the role of gender matching during fieldwork, a few studies (Mishra, 2018;Subedi, 2023;Subedi & Gaulee, 2023) discussed the role of complex gender dynamics during the in-depth interview. While interviewing the female teacher, I realized that the extra layer of gendered complexity was negatively influenced.…”