Presentation Schedule
Reimagining Teacher Identity Through Place Conscious Pedagogy in Urban Educational Contexts (108190)
Session Chair: Kazi Hossain
Saturday, 11 July 2026 12:40
Session: Session 3
Room: UCL Torrington, G10 (Ground Floor)
Presentation Type:Oral Presentation
This study explores how teacher identity emerges among teachers in urban settings through lived relationships with place and through the integration of place-conscious pedagogy in professional practice. Drawing on semi-structured interviews with six elementary, middle, and secondary teachers in urban Alberta and British Columbia, the research examines how educators’ identities are formed in relation to place-conscious pedagogy and how these understandings evolve over time. Informed by hermeneutic philosophy, particularly Hans-Georg Gadamer, the research employs a hermeneutic methodology in which interview data are interpreted through careful, reflective engagement with participants’ accounts. Within this approach, meaning is not treated as fixed or immediately transparent; rather, findings are developed through interpretive analysis and deepened through sustained dialogue with relevant scholarly literature. Clear themes emerged from teachers’ descriptions of their pedagogy, revealing the ways in which place-conscious practice shapes teacher identity.
Findings suggest that place is not merely a backdrop or instructional resource, but a pedagogical encounter that shapes both teaching practice and professional self-understanding. Participants describe how ecological relationships, local histories, and community contexts give meaning to their work and inform the learning opportunities they create. Although each teacher articulates a distinct approach to place-conscious pedagogy, all express a strong affinity for the natural world and demonstrate pedagogical confidence in situating learning within local environments. The study contributes to scholarship on teacher identity and urban pedagogy by showing how attentiveness to place fosters reciprocal teacher-student relationships, supports responsiveness to emergent curricular possibilities, and deepens relational understandings of teaching. It also points to practical implications for teacher education by highlighting the value of preparing educators to engage urban places as pedagogical partners.
Authors:
Sharon Pelech, University of Lethbridge, Canada
Darron Kelly, Memorial University of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada
About the Presenter(s)
Dr Sharon Pelech is a University Associate Professor/Senior Lecturer at University of Lethbridge in Canada
See this presentation on the full schedule – Saturday Schedule
Conference Comments & Feedback
Place a comment using your LinkedIn profileShare this Presentation
Comments
Powered by WP LinkPress