Dissertation
Two social roles, one self: an autoethnographic study of performer-educator identity tension
Doctor of Education (Ed.D.), Drexel University
May 2026
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17918/00011367
Abstract
This autoethnographic study explored my experiences navigating the overlapping identities of educator and performer across educational, creative, and personal spaces. Guided by identity theory, impression management, performativity, and concepts of teaching as performance, the study examined how professional identity is constructed, negotiated, and reshaped through interaction, expectation, and lived experience. Structured through acts, scenes, and intermissions, the study reflected the layered and performative nature of professional identity development. Using journals, reflective writing, creative works, and personal narratives as sources of inquiry, I revisited formative moments across multiple educational and professional contexts. The study explored tensions between authenticity and performance, visibility and concealment, and institutional expectations and personal expression. Particular attention was given to role conflict, self-presentation, and the ongoing negotiation between educator and performer identities. Findings suggested that teaching extends beyond instruction and often requires continual adaptation, presentation management, and identity negotiation. The study also revealed how experiences in performance informed communication, leadership, and presence within educational spaces while institutional environments sometimes constrained fuller expressions of identity. Professional identity emerged as dynamic, relational, and continually shaped by context and interaction, suggesting a need for broader understandings of professionalism that allow educators and other professionals to exist as more creative and multidimensional individuals. Recommendations include creating reflective spaces for identity exploration and recognizing creativity as a meaningful component of professional growth and self-understanding.
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Details
- Title
- Two social roles, one self
- Creators
- Matthew R. Cogswell
- Contributors
- Harriette Rasmussen (Advisor)
- Awarding Institution
- Drexel University
- Degree Awarded
- Doctor of Education (Ed.D.)
- Publisher
- Drexel University
- Number of pages
- vii, 262 pages
- Resource Type
- Dissertation
- Language
- English
- Academic Unit
- School of Education (1997-2026); Drexel University
- Other Identifier
- 991022182175804721