Author ORCID Identifier
https://orcid.org/0009-0008-9767-8884
Defense Date
2026
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy
Department
Education
First Advisor
Dr. Andrene Castro
Second Advisor
Dr. Genevieve Siegel-Hawley
Third Advisor
Dr. Kimberly Bridges
Fourth Advisor
Dr. Diana D'Amico Pawlewicz
Abstract
This study examined how education crisis narratives shaped Virginia teachers’ professional identities, workplace experiences, and career decisions. Virginia was purposefully selected due to intensified media attention between 2020 and 2024, a period marked by heightened socio-political conflict and sustained national debates about public. Situating suburban teacher experience within this highly visible policy and media context provides insight into how narratives typically associated with instability operate within a state not traditionally characterized as high-attrition or high-need.
Using a qualitative design, this study combined news media analysis with semi-structured interviews with current and former teachers, two approaches often used separately in education research, to compare media-constructed narratives of teachers with teachers’ own perceptions and interpretations of those narratives. This dual-method approach allowed for an examination of both the production of teacher-related media discourse and the ways in which such discourse is taken up, resisted, or negotiated within teachers’ lived professional contexts. Data analysis was guided by narrative policy framework and theories of professional identity and demoralization.
Findings indicate that participants largely rejected media-constructed portrayals of the teaching profession, describing them as predominantly negative, reductive, and misaligned with their lived experiences. Participants characterized these narratives as oversimplified and politically motivated, leading to public misunderstandings about the complexity of their work. At the same time, participants reported persistent exposure to these narratives contributed to forms of identity strain, prompting them to reconcile external representations with their internal sense of professional purpose. For some, this tension contributed to feelings of demoralization and disillusionment, helping to shape how they understood their roles, and in some cases, their decisions to remain in or consider leaving the profession.
Overall, the findings underscore media discourse as a meaningful and often overlooked component of teachers’ working conditions. By demonstrating how crisis narratives function not only as political rhetoric but also as lived professional context, this study contributes to a growing body of research on teacher identity, retention, demoralization, and the broader socio-political forces that shape the teaching profession.
Rights
© The Author
Is Part Of
VCU University Archives
Is Part Of
VCU Theses and Dissertations
Date of Submission
5-5-2026