education, was admitted into a teacher preparation program to pursue her lifelong
dream to become a teacher. Throughout the course of her journey to become a teacher, Cathy’s
college instructors and cooperating teachers recognized and acknowledged behaviors that
distinguished her from other classmates. For example, Cathy, as a member of a senior seminar
class, was accompanied by 15 of her classmates, all of whom could be characterized as
traditional students in terms of age, 25 years old or younger. The students in the seminar were
sitting in a roundtable fashion, discussing pedagogical theory and its implications in the
classroom. The mood of the group was serious and exuded professionalism, reflecting the
Behaviors such as these are incongruent with the norms and expectations that are deeply
attached to the culture and profession of teaching. However, it is not uncommon to observe
returning adult students, such as Cathy, engage in these behaviors with their peers. Within the
context of a teacher preparation program, how might we understand and make sense of such
behaviors demonstrated by some returning adult students? What do these behaviors suggest about how these students are negotiating the transition from who they were to who they aretrying to become? The broad purpose of this research is to gain an understanding of howreturning adult learners, like Cathy, who are enrolled in teacher preparation programs,understand and make sense of their experiences.