Background: School, university, and practicum experiences shape preservice teachers’ understanding of teaching. Narrative self-study and critical reflection on personal history offer opportunities to reconsider these experiences and develop a professional perspective.



Aim:This study examined the researcher’s meaningful experiences as a pupil and preservice teacher to explore how reflection raised questions about educational practice and the researcher’s future role.



Method: This qualitative, personal-history-based narrative self-study used a reflective portfolio containing 11 self-written narratives: seven from school and four from university and the practicum, alongside reflective notes. Experiences were purposively selected for remembered detail and their potential to raise educational questions. Each narrative was examined as a whole using Riessman’s content, structural, and dialogic-performative perspectives, then compared across narratives. Interpretations were checked against the narratives and notes, reviewed by supervisors, and discussed with a critical friend.



Findings:Cross-narrative analysis identified three interconnected dimensions: a gap between theory and practice in situations involving public judgment or responses to objections; experienced alignment between theory and practice in accounts of encouragement, support, and being understood; and developing professional perspective and responsibility as the researcher’s attention shifted from others’ actions toward the consequences of their own future actions as a teacher. Educational justice emerged gradually through the analysis. It was more explicit in narratives about judgment, assessment, and opportunities to object; elsewhere, it gained meaning through reflection on attention, support, and responses to pupils. Neither justice nor the theory-practice relationship was a predetermined criterion for selecting narratives. Reflection led the researcher to articulate commitments to protecting pupils’ privacy, hearing their explanations before judging, responding to requests for help, and explaining assessment criteria when challenged.



Conclusion:Narrative self-study helped the researcher connect experiences across different stages and clarify professional questions and commitments. Consistent with prior research, critical reflection may help bridge theoretical learning and educational practice and make educational justice meaningful within a preservice teacher’s developing professional perspective.