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Abstract

This autobiographical and iterative narrative relates the ongoing process of my “becoming” a researcher.
Framed within the context of my life and the dailiness of full-time scholarship study, and set during a
period when existing understandings of what it is to be (considered) a researcher are being challenged, my
narrative introduces the influential characters, human relationships, critical incidents and events essential
to my becoming. Stories of my serendipitous mid-life entry into the world of school education as an aide to
a child with special needs, my subsequent urge to qualify as a teacher, and my decisions to undertake
honours study and commit to a doctorate in an emotionally demanding area of study provide fertile ground
for my contemplations of and reflections on educational research; process and product. In this paper, I out
myself as an academic impostor (Brookfield, 1995) by exposing my feelings of uncertainty and doubt. I
describe those times when I feel most creative, most rewarded and happiest as a researcher; flow
experiences (Csikszentmihalyi, 1993; 1997). I use the notion of generativity scripts (McAdams, 1988)
to position myself within the process of research mentoring and induction currently shaping and influencing
my realisation as a researcher.

Item Type:	Conference or Workshop Item (Paper)
Authors/Creators:	Jones, TA
Additional Information:	© 2007 the Author
Item Statistics:	View statistics for this item

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