‘Me, in my class’: Teacher candidates (self-)portraits of their presence in the classroom

Drawing on the international research program ‘Teacher presence. A Multicultural Comparison’, this paper tackles the issue of Polish teacher candidates’ representations of teacher presence in the classroom. The basis for the current study consists of drawings made by the participants in response to the task ‘Me, in my class’ and its accompanying question: What does this drawing tell me about you as an early childhood education teacher? Drawings done by the participants show not only the way in which the respondents perceive themselves and their roles as teachers but also the way in which they conceive the relationship with students in the classroom. The analysis of the collected material indicates strong institutional features embedded in the physical space of the school, where both the teacher and the students appear as typical products of the institution and where the relationship of power and subordination is still maintained. The classroom as an organized, didactic space and teacher-students relationships emerge as the two main components defi ning future teachers’ representation of teacher presence in the classroom.