Autobiographical Writing and Silent Reading (of Oneself): Critical Reflections and Personal Growth in Teacher-Training Courses at University

Writing and Silent Reading (of Oneself): Critical Reflections and Personal Growth in Teacher-Training Courses at University

Critical Autoethnography With Multiple Large Language Models: AI ‐Stimulated Reflexive Practice on Language Teacher Educator Identity

This study proposes a methodological approach in which large language models (LLMs) serve as reflective and dialogical partners rather than analysts in critical autoethnographic narrative (CAN) research on language teacher educator identity. During an ongoing debate about the use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) in reflexive qualitative research, this approach occupies a narrow methodological space. LLM outputs serve as stimuli for the researcher's reflexive interpretation of CAN texts, while meaning‐making, salience judgment, and theoretical synthesis remain human practices. In a two‐phase design, three LLMs (ChatGPT 5.2 Thinking, Claude 4.5 Sonnet, and Gemini 3 Thinking) first generated reflective stimuli in the form of probing questions and then produced parallel thematic outputs that served only as material for the researcher's reflexive synthesis, not as completed analyses. Four patterns emerged: consciousness‐raising through dialogical awakening, institutional precarity and resistance, pedagogical transformation, and the relational construction of critical identity. The LLMs differed in orientation in ways consistent with poststructuralist epistemology. The contribution is primarily methodological: a procedure for AI‐stimulated reflexive practice in language teacher education research, alongside a critical engagement with the ethical, environmental, and epistemic costs such practice entails.

Learning Values Through Stories: The Impact of Narrative-Based Activities on Social and Civic Development in Early Childhood Education

The pedagogical efficacy of children’s stories within the classroom is fundamentally contingent upon critical teacher mediation, thereby transcending the traditional perspective that may regard them merely as a source of entertainment. The primary objective of this research is to analyse the impact of stories focused on social and civic values on a group of four- to five-year-old children. To achieve this, we employed a qualitative methodology and data collection techniques, such as the teacher’s reflective diary (documenting each session), semi-structured interviews with two participating teachers, unfinished stories created by the lead teacher to encourage co-construction, transcripts of children’s responses to ethical dilemmas during assemblies, and creative productions such as drawings and collaboratively composed story endings. The findings revealed that even an unhappy story can provoke meaningful reflection, encourage the proposal of alternatives, and foster prosocial attitudes and emotional well-being in children. Additionally, our study observed that situations involving conflict, play, and experimentation became powerful opportunities to promote learning in cooperation, environmental awareness, equality, diversity, and the exercise of rights and responsibilities.

Bridging Imagination and Reality in the Classroom: A Collaborative Autoethnographic Study of ‘Fiction to Fact’ Pedagogy

Educators in Nepalese higher education employ diverse pedagogical approaches to facilitate learning but often struggle to articulate their own signature pedagogy the distinctive teaching style they have developed through years of practice. This study explores the concept of 'fiction to fact' as a signature pedagogy and examines its alignment with Jerome Bruner's narrative constructivism and the sociocultural theories of Piaget and Vygotsky within Nepal's evolving higher education context. Here, fiction refers to imagination and mental planning, whereas fact denotes the realization of those plans in practice. The study demonstrates how this pedagogy transforms students' emotional and cognitive learning experiences by stimulating curiosity, encouraging active participation, and connecting imagination with real-world application. A collaborative autoethnographic reflection method was employed, integrating the researcher's classroom experiences with the practices of three community school teachers who implemented the 'fiction to fact' approach. Data were generated through classroom observation notes and critical self-reflections and analyzed thematically. The findings reveal that this signature pedagogy significantly enhanced students' engagement, understanding, and transformative learning. It effectively supported students in designing project plans, developing worksheets, visualizing prototypes, and refining their work until successful completion, thereby bridging imagination and reality. The study concludes that the 'fiction to fact' approach represents an innovative and effective signature pedagogy that can help educators identify, strengthen, and articulate their own pedagogical identity while improving classroom practice. It recommends integrating this approach into Nepal's teacher licensing curriculum and teacher education programs to equip teachers with innovative pedagogies required for 21st-century education.

The Role of Learning Motivation in Early Literacy Development: A Phenomenological Study of Elementary Students' Reading and Writing Experiences

This phenomenological study aimed to describe the essential structures of learning motivation as experienced by elementary students during reading and writing activities. Employing Moustakas’s transcendental phenomenological approach, the study involved 18 first- through third-grade students from three public elementary schools. Data were collected through semi-structured phenomenological interviews, participant observations, stimulated recall using video recordings, and document collection including reading logs and writing journals. Analysis followed the modified Stevick-Colizzi-Keen method, yielding four invariant themes that constitute the essential structure of motivated literacy experience: the felt sense of competence as embodied satisfaction, the social visibility of literacy achievement, the perceived meaningfulness of the literacy task itself, and the temporal flow of engaged versus disengaged states. The findings reveal that learning motivation in early literacy is not a stable internal trait but a dynamic, context-sensitive intentional relationship between the child and the act of reading or writing. Motivation emerges from a self-reinforcing cycle in which successful performance produces embodied competence, competence becomes socially visible, the task is perceived as meaningful, and temporal awareness recedes, allowing absorption in the activity. The absence of any component disrupts the cycle, producing disengagement. The study contributes a phenomenological grounding to self-determination theory and offers practical implications for literacy instruction that supports children’s embodied, social, and temporal experiences of motivation.

Transforming Creative Writing Instruction through Dialogic Pedagogy among Senior High School Learners

Traditional creative writing instruction in secondary education is often characterized by a product-oriented, teacher-centered approach in which assessment emphasizes conformity to instructor-defined standards. Such practices may limit students’ opportunities for meaningful engagement, peer interaction, and the development of an independent authorial voice. This study examined the effects of dialogic pedagogy on the creative writing performance and writing self-efficacy of Senior High School learners, with additional focus on narrative agency and writing experiences. A mixed-methods explanatory sequential design was employed. A 12-week instructional intervention was conducted with 120 Grade 12 Humanities and Social Sciences (HUMSS) students across two intact classroom sections assigned to experimental and control groups. Quantitative data were collected through pre-test and post-test assessments using an analytical creative writing rubric and the Creative Writing Self-Efficacy Scale (CWSES), while qualitative data were obtained from focus group discussions and reflective journals. Results revealed that students in the experimental group significantly outperformed those in the control group in both creative writing performance and self-efficacy (p < .001), with notable gains in narrative voice, structural risk-taking, and metacognitive task monitoring. Qualitative findings indicated that dialogic pedagogy fostered a more interactive and supportive learning environment, reduced writing anxiety, enhanced narrative agency, and promoted active engagement in peer feedback and collaborative meaning-making. Overall, the findings suggest that dialogic pedagogy can transform creative writing instruction into a more participatory and process-oriented learning environment that supports student agency, confidence, and expressive development.