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Amid growing diversity and shifting sociopolitical currents, teacher education programmes must prepare critically reflective, place-conscious educators. This study explores how a sense of place – including the biophysical environment, personal histories, and sociopolitical contexts – shapes the professional identities of teacher candidates working with diverse learners. This qualitative study explored how 12 teacher candidates at a rural Midwestern U.S. liberal arts college constructed their professional identities. Analysed through narrative hermeneutics, data from visual narratives, audiovisual reflections, and interviews revealed three themes: (a) time and temporal identity formation, (b) social environments and sociocultural identities, and (c) place-based critical consciousness and professional identities. The findings of this study illuminate implications in both research and practice. Theoretically, place-based identities further inform the theorisation of teacher professional identity development. The findings also underscore the importance of embedding systematic exploration of place into teacher preparation curricula. Methodologically, arts-based methods, such as visual narratives, proved an especially powerful medium for eliciting rich reflections and helping teacher candidates connect personal experiences to professional goals. Implications for future teacher education research and practice are discussed.
Kim et al. (Sat,) studied this question.