An autoethnographic inquiry into a teacher educator’s transnational identity formation: a transnational ecological perspective

The present study aims to explore the author’s identity formation as an Iranian transnational teacher educator (TE) over two years of residence in Istanbul, Türkiye. Data were collected from 12 critical autoethnographic narratives (CANs) written by the author in the given period. The data analysis was conducted using the transnational ecological framework in which three layers emerged: microtransnational, meso-transnational, and macro-transnational. The results revealed that his identity construction was influenced by different factors in three levels of the transnational ecological framework. The results of this study can motivate transnational TEs to identify commonalities with the concepts explored in this study and record their lived experiences as a tool for reflection. There are also implications for transnational TEs’ professional development, encouraging reflection on their identity formation, and providing a model for the creation and collection of their own CANs to enhance their understanding of diverse cultural and educational contexts.