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This study investigates how prospective language teachers develop critical intersectional awareness through narrative inquiry and autoethnographic practices within a university course context. Drawing on Crenshaw’s intersectionality theory (1989, 1991) and language teacher identity research, the investigation examines how pre-service teachers navigate multiple, overlapping systems of privilege and marginalisation while constructing their professional identities. The research employed a case study design involving 20 prospective English language teachers at a German university, most from working-class or migrant backgrounds. Data collection occurred through a semester-long course intervention combining narrative inquiry and autoethnographic reflection, analysed using Barkhuizen’s (2008) three-dimensional narrative space framework and positioning theory. Three representative cases illustrate varying levels of intersectional consciousness development: from explicit theoretical integration to emergent awareness. Results reveal that the practices facilitate movement between experiential storytelling and critical analytical engagement with identity construction processes. All participants demonstrated connections between their intersectional positioning and emerging pedagogical commitments to inclusive education and social justice. The study contributes methodological insights for critical language teacher education by demonstrating how structured self-reflection can promote intersectional awareness regardless of initial theoretical familiarity. Implications suggest that teacher education programmes should provide multiple entry points for developing intersectional consciousness while maintaining goals of critical awareness development.
David Gerlach (Mon,) studied this question.