3: Revisiting the Past to Reimagine the Future: Memory Drawing as Self-Reflexive Professional Learning in Academia

This chapter explores memory drawing as a self-reflexive and dialogic professional learning approach, emphasising its potential value in academic identity formation and professional growth. Grounded in sociocultural theory, memory drawing enables individuals to critically engage with past educational experiences, reinterpreting them to inform their academic values and practices. The chapter examines how two early-career South African teacher educators, Ntokozo Mkhize-Mthembu and Makie Kortjass, used memory drawings to reflect on their schooling experiences across different historical periods – Ntokozo in the post-apartheid era (2000s) and Makie in the apartheid era (1970s–1980s). Through dialogic engagement with their former doctoral supervisor, Kathleen Pithouse-Morgan, they explored the emotional, pedagogical and sociocultural influences shaping their teaching philosophies and academic identities. Memory drawing served as a powerful tool for professional learning, revealing the complex relationship between personal experience and professional identity. The chapter highlights how negative and positive schooling memories influenced Ntokozo and Makie’s approaches to teaching and student engagement. Through collaborative reflection, they identified core educational values such as empathy, support and inclusive pedagogy, demonstrating how past experiences can shape the way academics foster learning environments. The chapter also underscores the potential of memory drawing for mentorship and professional development for early-career and established academics. By illustrating how arts-based, self-reflexive methods can contribute to academic growth, this chapter positions memory drawing as a creative approach to fostering future-oriented professional learning in higher education.