‘Who am I really in this field?’ A Generation-Z teacher’s teacher–researcher identity (re)construction through an autobiographical narrative inquiry

Teacher-researcher identity has long been conceptualised as a characteristic of tertiary lecturers. Therefore, first-person accounts providing much-needed insights into how this identity is (re)constructed among young adult learners, particularly Generation-Z Master’s students, remain essential. Situated in adult learning in the Global South, this autobiographical narrative inquiry explores the (re)construction of my (the first author’s) teacher-researcher identity before and during conducting my Master’s thesis. Grounded in Hermans’ Dialogical Self Theory, the study drew on data collected from autobiographical writing and semi-structured interviews with two trusted colleagues. Data were narratively analysed using broadening, burrowing, and (re)storying within Clandinin et al.’s three-dimensional narrative inquiry space, alongside Horton et al.’s turning-point framework. Findings indicated that across pre-thesis and thesis-conducting phases, multiple I-positions emerged and interacted dynamically in my ‘society of mind’. These I-positions emerging in my dialogical self space were temporally oriented towards past, present, and anticipated future selves. The study further illustrated how internal dialogues were continuously (re)shaped by engagement with external voices, including communities of practice and critical events, resulting in a psychologically nuanced trajectory of identity (re)construction related to teacher-researcherhood. These findings offer implications for adult education, empowering young adults navigating identity tensions during professional learning.