“I am rooted, but I flow”
A photovoice investigation into the (re)construction of professional identity among immigrant early childhood educators in Australia
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 21577546 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Xu Yue (0000-0002-2126-633X, Monash University, corresponding author), Sun Yee Yip (0000-0003-1234-2473, Monash University), Eisuke Saito (0000-0002-1689-1210, Monash University), Megan Adams (0000-0001-8824-6854, Monash University) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Volume | 136 |
| Pages | 102890 |
| Publication date | 2026-01-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | International Journal of Educational Research (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0883-0355 • E-ISSN: 1873-538X |
| Publisher | Elsevier BV (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1016/j.ijer.2025.102890 |
| OpenAlex | W4417134250 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 31 |
Immigrant ECEC educators in Australia navigate unique personal, cultural, and institutional conditions as they (re)construct their professional identities in a new sociocultural context. This study employs Photovoice and two rounds of in-depth interviews with twelve immigrant ECEC educators to explore the factors that facilitate or impede this identity construction process. Using a “garden elements” metaphor developed through constructivist grounded theory analysis, the findings highlight three key facilitators of identity construction, namely reflective practices that anchor growth (“roots”), community and institutional supports that provide emotional and professional nourishment (“soil”), and everyday acts of creative agency that energise practice (“sunlight”). Conversely, three impediments that disrupt continuity and contribute to moments of fragmentation include emotional and resource scarcity (“drought”), tensions arising from negotiating multiple cultural and professional expectations (“weeds”), and periods of reflective immobility (“pests”). Methodologically, this study extends Photovoice by adapting it to individual interviews and by giving equal analytic weight to visual and narrative data. Implications for supporting immigrant ECEC educators include strengthening culturally responsive induction structures, embedding reflective learning opportunities, and recognising theseeducators’ creative and cultural expertise as central to high-quality ECEC practice
Autoethnography · Early childhood · Early childhood education · Identity formation · Immigration · Photovoice · Professional development · Early Childhood Education and Development · Global Education and Multiculturalism · Teacher Education and Leadership Studies
Research and scholarly methods
Positionality and reflexivity
Grounded Theory
Bibliometric Review of Teacher Professional Identity Scholarship Over Two Decades
Australian school practices and the education experiences of students with a refugee background
Teacher professional identity
Member Checking
Toward a More Comprehensive Type of Analysis in Photovoice Research
Using an Arts-Informed Eclectic Approach to Photovoice Data Analysis
I Just Don't Think There's any other Image that Tells the Story like [This] Picture Does
Collage Portraits as a Method of Analysis in Qualitative Research
Now I see it, now I don't
Negotiating the swamp
The Power of Constructivist Grounded Theory for Critical Inquiry
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |