Qun Ma: Why Researchers Should Use Realism, not Poststructuralism, to Explore a Complex Phenomenon? Using Early Childhood Teachers’ Professional Identity as an example

<p>This presentation focuses on why research using realism enables us to unpack early childhood teachers' professional identities by exploring experiences, events and conditions beyond discourses often in poststructuralism. I first examine the dominant theoretical framework, poststructuralism, in research on early childhood teachers' professional identities and explain how they interpret and understand reality. Then I compare them to an alternative framework, realism and explain what realism is. Finally, built on that, I summarise the contribution that realism will bring to interpreting early childhood teachers' professional identities. </p> <p>This poster was uploaded for the SGS Research Showcase 2022.  </p> <p>Choose your favourite poster for the <a href="https://auckland.au1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_8613JNN2s8WgO1g" target="_blank">SGS Research Showcase People's Choice Award: Academic Poster category</a>.</p>