Unfolding the Unexpectedness of Uncertainty

Unfolding the Unexpectedness of Uncertainty invites readers to share in the stories of Ruth, Ann and Nathalie as they transition from students to teachers. Rendering their experiences as short stories from the field of teacher education brings a dimension of social biography to scholarship. As creative nonfiction, these stories act as catalysts to understand teacher culture from first-person accounts. Their stories may be described as openings: Ruth's unfolding; Ann's unexpectedness; and Nathalie's uncertainty. Such narratives are exemplars of arts research, extending the purpose, intent, outcomes and dissemination of research by making scholarly study a more intimate and personal experience through the lives of student-teachers. Entering research practices with a perspective that stories are effective teaching tools that represent cultural artefacts, these stories help make sense of practices in public schools and in postsecondary teacher training, and help students, teachers and teacher educators to better understand the operations of the educational system. Unfolding the Unexpectedness of Uncertainty can be used as case studies for undergraduate and graduate students and academic researchers in fields of study involving creative nonfiction and life writing, such as Education, Creative Writing, English, Women's Studies, Social and Cultural Geography, Sociology and Integrated Studies.
Social Fictions Series Editorial Advisory Board

Carl Bagley, University of Durham, UK
Anna Banks, University of Idaho, USA
Carolyn Ellis, University of South Florida, USA
Rita Irwin, University of British Columbia, Canada
J. Gary Knowles, University of Toronto, Canada
Laurel Richardson, The Ohio State University (Emeritus), USA

Anita Sinner, PhD, is an assistant professor in the Department of Art Education, Faculty of Fine Arts at Concordia University in Montreal, Canada, where she teaches on topics of arts research, curriculum studies, life writing, social and cultural issues in education and interdisciplinary qualitative approaches.

Cover art by Ruth, Ann and Nathalie.

Acknowledgements; Foreword, Carl Leggo; Introduction: Creative Nonfiction as a Method of Inquiry; Creative nonfiction as arts research; Chapter 1: Unfolding - Ruth's Story; I'm going to build a bridge; If you fail to plan, you plan to fail; Walking over the bridge; I am the paintbrush; The long practicum went really well; There's a new bridge to cross; Chapter 2: Unexpectedness - Ann's Story; It runs in my blood; I just felt like I was going to a residential school or something; I've always been an activist-type person; I found myself in a place I visited often; I just swallow hard; I want to try new things and experiment; I had to be a root of care to the tree of unhappiness that lived in the classroom; I hope to open their eyes; Chapter 3: Uncertainty - Nathalie's Story; I have no real expectations of this program; She wants to be the 'cool teacher'; I was so invisible; I felt like I was overreacting a little bit; I have to be a good role model; It feels good so far; A game of dramatic hats; My challenge was to focus on the positive; Becoming a good teacher; Afterword, Erika Hasebe-Ludt; Biography.