A Collaborative Autoethnography on the Meaning of Major Study Group Experiences of Secondary School Teachers in Graduate School

This study was conducted to deeply understand the meaning of the major study group experiences of secondary school teachers who are studying education in graduate school. To achieve this, a collaborative autoethnography was utilized, collecting and analyzing qualitative data on the ‘major study group’ experiences of researchers who are secondary school teachers majoring in curriculum studies in a graduate program. The findings revealed that through the major study group, the researchers developed a new sensitivity to educational phenomena based on various research and theories and reflected on the meaning of experiences that expanded their personal world by encountering diverse others. Ultimately, these major study group experiences served as a medium for secondary school teachers (researchers) to recognize the multi-layered meanings of studying education, such as making educational practices unfamiliar, prompting questions, considering the relational effects of the networks surrounding them, and reflecting on the self as an indeterminate being. In conclusion, the researchers suggest the need to expand further research on graduate study experiences of teachers, emphasizing the opportunity for serious reflection on ‘education’ by teacher-researchers.