REFLECTIONS OF THE HEART: AN AUTOETHNOGRAPHY OF A LITERACY LEADER’S ONLINE IDENTITY CONSTRUCTION AND CHANGE A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY IN THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF THE TEXAS WOMAN’S UNIVERSITY DEPARTMENT OF READING COLLEGE OF PROFESSIONAL EDUCATION BY TAMRA R. DOLLAR, B.A., M.ED. DENTON, TEXAS AUGUST 2018 Copyright © 2018 by Tamra R. Dollar DEDICATION To my life partner and best friend, Michael T. Dollar You told me I could, so I did. ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I feel privileged to express my eternal gratitude to the people who were directly involved in my doctoral journey. First of all, I would like to thank my advisor and exemplary Chair, Dr. Patricia (Pat) Watson, for whom I am forever indebted. She walked beside me and would gently nudge me when I would get “stuck in the weeds.” Dr. Watson affirmed my creative ways of thinking while at the same time helped me to stay grounded. I aspire to be the kind of professor and mentor to others just as Dr. Watson has been to me. I am extremely grateful to the members of my Dissertation Committee: to Dr. Amy Burke for her enthusiasm and great advice that helped me to best articulate my methodology and epistemological stance; to Dr. Claudia Haag for her ongoing encouragement, genuine care and unwavering support through all of my trials and triumphs; and to Dr. Teresa Starrett for her benevolence and guidance throughout the process. I want to express my sincere thanks to all of my professors at Texas Woman’s University, who guided and assisted me on my doctoral journey to reach this milestone in my life. Last but not least, I am thankful to my family and close friends whose love sustained me and gave me the courage to tell my story. This dissertation is for you as much as for me. iii ABSTRACT TAMRA DOLLAR REFLECTIONS OF THE HEART: AN AUTOETHNOGRAPHY OF A LITERACY LEADER’S ONLINE IDENTITY CONSTRUCTION AND CHANGE AUGUST 2018 Educational blogs, or edublogs, are ubiquitous in today’s society. National literacy organizations such as International Literacy Association (ILA) and National Council of Teachers of English Language Arts (NCTELA) post literacy resources and teaching tips on a daily basis. In 2013, the researcher became a contributor to this growing body of literacy knowledge with the creation of an edublog, Confessions of a Literacy Coach. In 2018, Google analytics confirmed Confessions of a Literacy Coach was visited by over 100,000 people from every continent, in over seventy-eight countries, and was routinely accessed by teachers, administrators, and other professionals. This qualitative study explored the researcher’s online identity construction and change as reflected in the edublog. Using autoethnography methodology, the researcher gave a highly personalized account to describe the insights gained from this journey. Through systematic analyzing, reflexive journaling, and support by artifacts, the researcher identified ways childhood experiences and beliefs shaped the message and tone of edublog entries, or posts. Furthermore, the researcher unexpectedly discovered how the social media site, Twitter, created a Community of Practice (CoP) among educators, curriculum directors, and district administrators when edublog posts became the topic of iv Twitter chats. Insights gleaned from the autoethnography will contribute to ongoing conversations about identity construction among veteran and novice teacher bloggers. v TABLE OF CONTENTS Page DEDICATION .................................................................................................................... ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................................... iii ABSTRACT ....................................................................................................................... iv LIST OF TABLES ........................................................................................................... .xii LIST OF FIGURES ......................................................................................................... xiii Chapter I. INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................... 1 How I Learned about Edublogs ..................................................................................... 2 How My Edublog Began ............................................................................................... 3 My Edublog Today ........................................................................................................ 5 Purpose of the Study and Research Questions ............................................................... 7 Rationale for the Autoethnography Study ..................................................................... 8 Significance of the Study ............................................................................................. 10 II. THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK AND REVIEW OF LITERATURE ..................... 12 Discourse Identity Theory........................................................................................... 12 Primary Discourse .................................................................................................. 13 Secondary Discourse .............................................................................................. 14 Dominant and Non-Dominant Discourses ............................................................. 15 Secondary Discourse and Affinity Spaces .............................................................. 15 vi Opposition to Discourse Identity Theory ................................................................. 17 Standpoint Theory ........................................................................................................ 18 Review of Literature .................................................................................................... 22 Teacher Identity ...................................................................................................... 23 Stage Theory and Identity ........................................................................................24 Literacy Leadership ................................................................................................ 29 Educational Blogging (Edublogging) ..................................................................... 29 Concluding Thoughts ........................................................................................................ 31 III. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY................................................................................ 33 Background and Social Context................................................................................... 33 Becoming a Teacher ................................................................................................ 35 Learning to Write .................................................................................................... 35 Return to Teaching .................................................................................................. 38 Adapting to an Unfamiliar World ........................................................................... 39 Philosophical Foundations ........................................................................................... 39 Autoethnography.......................................................................................................... 40 Qualitative Research .................................................................................................... 42 Hermeneutics and Phenomenology .............................................................................. 43 Academic Critiques and Pitfalls ................................................................................... 44 Research Design............................................................................................................ 46 Data Interpretation or Data Analysis?..................................................................... 47 Data Collection and Analysis.................................................................................. 47 Prolonged Time in the Field ................................................................................... 62 Trustworthiness ....................................................................................................... 64 Credibility ............................................................................................................... 64 Transferability ......................................................................................................... 67 Dependability .......................................................................................................... 68 vii Confirmability ......................................................................................................... 68 Ethical Obligation ........................................................................................................ 69 IV. REFLECTION ON CHILDHOOD EXPERIENCES AND MEMORY TO CONSTRUCT PRIMARY DISCOURSES ...................................................................... 70 Social and Cultural Influences ..................................................................................... 71 Blondes Have More Fun! ....................................................................................... 72 Angel Unaware .......................................................................................................