Narrative Inquiry About Elementary School Teacher's Work Experience at Relocation Elementary School

Objectives This study was conducted to explore the meaning of the work experience of elementary school teachers who worked at an elementary school in a special situation called a relocated elementary school. Methods The study was conducted by applying an autobiographical narrative inquiry research method with the researcher who worked at the relocated B elementary school in area A. The field texts collected according to the narrative inquiry research method were organized into intermediate texts, and then went through the process of converting them into research texts by linking them with previous research data, pedagogical theories, and educational policies. Results While conducting autobiographical narrative inquiry, The researcher went through a telling process focusing on the three axes of narrative inquiry: temporality, spatiality, and sociality, and then performed a retelling process. It described the content categorized by topic, such as ‘teachers of the relocated school who cannot exist as teachers’, ‘role conflict between faculty and staff caught up in relocation work’, ‘Conflict between students and parents of the existing school and students and parents of the new school after relocation,’ ‘Expectations and demands of higher authorities for the new school,’ and ‘Growth as a new school and teacher.’ Through this, the meaning of the work experience of elementary school teachers who worked in relocated elementary schools was derived. Conclusions This study is significant as it is the first study to address teachers' work experiences in relation to school relocation. Discussions were formed at personal, practical, and social levels related to the work experience of elementary school teachers in school relocation, and three suggestions were presented.