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Unleashing the Best-Loved Self: Autobiographical Narratives of Experience in Higher Education

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Learning, Leading, and the Best-Loved Self in Teaching and Teacher Education

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Abstract

This chapter focuses on how two former Ph.D. candidates unexpectedly—and unavoidably—unleashed their best-loved selves at their doctoral dissertation defenses. Conducted as a collaborative autobiographical narrative inquiry, the work focuses on excerpts not only from their personal narratives, but also passages from the storied account of the students’ doctoral advisor, who reflects backward on her sustained interactions with them and considers her work with other master’s and doctoral students as well. The two featured students’ revealing of their best-loved selves shines the spotlight on their lifelines and career trajectories, weaving in influences affecting their decision making. Taken together, this collaborative autobiographical narrative inquiry illuminates how the best-loved self flourishes when Eros—the energy of wanting—seeks truth.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Houston, Main Campus, Houston, TX, USA

    Miguel Burgess Monroy

  2. Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA

    Michele Norton & Cheryl J. Craig

Authors
  1. Miguel Burgess Monroy
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  2. Michele Norton
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  3. Cheryl J. Craig
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Correspondence to Miguel Burgess Monroy .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Teaching, Learning and Culture, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA

    Cheryl J. Craig

  2. Curriculum and Instruction, University of Houston-Clear Lake, Houston, TX, USA

    Denise M. McDonald

  3. University of Houston, Houston, TX, USA

    Gayle A. Curtis

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Monroy, M.B., Norton, M., Craig, C.J. (2023). Unleashing the Best-Loved Self: Autobiographical Narratives of Experience in Higher Education. In: Craig, C.J., McDonald, D.M., Curtis, G.A. (eds) Learning, Leading, and the Best-Loved Self in Teaching and Teacher Education . Palgrave Studies on Leadership and Learning in Teacher Education. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-11902-6_10

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-11902-6_10

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  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-031-11901-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-031-11902-6

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