Finding the ‘A-ha’ Moment: an Exploration into HE in FE Teacher Self-Concept

Five teachers of higher education (HE)-level courses working in the further education
(FE) sector recalled critical moments which helped to form their self-concepts.
The researchers used life history method to encourage the teachers to be
open about their lives and how they formed their personal and professional
selves. Three common themes were discovered: a strong work ethic, resilience
and ‘being caring’. The paper describes and examines the critical moments in
the teachers’ lives which helped to form the self-concepts which have seen them
achieve in their professional lives, and examines whether the common themes
might be indicative of the types of characteristics needed to be a teacher of HE
in FE.