Empowered to push those questions: Troubling power dynamics through reflective research

How do pre-service educators navigate shifting identities as they transition from students to teachers? This article outlines the findings of a study using a culturally responsive framework in the south conducted alongside two pre-service art teachers. This study involved reflective practitioner research where the participants were also co-researchers questioning their journey from students to teachers across three stages, including descriptive, comparative reflection and critical reflection. Together, we found five themes including identity crisis, community and vulnerability, teaching and power, theory meets reality, and research as grounding. These themes suggest important changes as programmes prepare critical teachers to navigate the habitus of art education and school culture as teacher-researchers.