Dear Potential Teacher Participants,
I am Chau Nguyen, currently a doctoral candidate in Curriculum Studies and Teacher Education in the College of Education at Texas Tech University. I am currently working on my dissertation research entitled: Lived Experiences of Professional Identity Tensions of Experienced Teachers: An Existential-Hermeneutic Phenomenological Inquiry. This dissertation research project is conducted under the supervision of Dr. Aaron Zimmerman from the Curriculum and Instruction Department and Dr. Howard Curzer from the Philosophy Department, Texas Tech University. This study has approved by the Texas Tech University Human Research Protection Program (IRB2022-683). The IRB approval date was March 3, 2023.
We are seeking teachers who have MORE THAN FIVE years of teaching experience in the U.S.A. schools and EXPERIENCED TEACHER PROFESSIONAL IDENTITY TENSIONS to participate in this research on teacher professional identity tensions. Teacher professional identity tensions in this study are understood as the internal struggles or conflicts between the teacher as a person and the teacher as a professional.
By participating in this research, you will receive a $50 Amazon eGift Card as a small token of our appreciation and gratitude for your time and sharing your experiences with us. The eGift Card will be sent to you via email right after the interview finishes. There are no anticipated risks to your participation in this research.
We will ask you to have one individual unstructured interview with us via Zoom in March or April 2023. The date and time will be selected according to your preference. The interview will last around two hours. The interview includes (1) questions about your background characteristics (e.g., your teaching experiences, your reasons for becoming a teacher, your views on the teaching profession, whether there are differences between the teacher you are required to be and the teacher you desire to be, etc.) and (2) questions about your experiences of professional identity tensions, and your experiences of resolving (or coping with) those tensions. The interviews will be audio and video recorded with your permission. All information related to you and those involved in your accounts will be kept confidential with the use of pseudonyms.
Should you have any question or comment, you can email me at chau.nguyen@ttu.edu, or Dr. Aaron Zimmerman at aaron.zimmerman@ttu.edu, or Dr. Howard Curzer at howard.curzer@ttu.edu.
If you feel that you could participate in this study, please feel free to contact me at chau.nguyen@ttu.edu. We are truly grateful for your time and consideration! We thank you and look forward to your participation!
The recruitment letter with more detailed information is attached:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1M1mmUAgVXZAsJPOgFoWwUQVkDbenmnwL/edit?usp=share_link&ouid=102072721652136494697&rtpof=true&sd=true
