Teacher Learning in a Community of Practice: A Case Study of ...

In keeping with ethnographic principles, data were collected in a natural setting. This
entailed a close study ofa culture in context (Walford 2001). Interviews were conducted
on site at schools (see Interview Schedule in Appendix 2). I religiously kept my research
journal (see extract in Appendix 3), which included observations about each research
context (each school and the site for the TEMS workshops). For every interview, I made
a point ofarriving at the school at least forty-five minutes to an hour earlier than the
scheduled interview. I would position myselfin an unobtrusive position, sometimes
simply sitting in my car ifit provided a suitable vantage point. The purpose ofthis
practice was to get a 'feel' of each school context and its operation. The energy and
sounds emanating from different classrooms and playing fields provide a 'lived context'
during the data analysis"...for the researcher to remember and theorise with greater
intuition" (Jessop 1977:52). Geertz (1973) refers to this as the 'scientific imagination'
required for effective theorising.
The observations and fieldnotes in each school context were different. Pecan Primary
School serviced a very poor community. Almost all the pupils came from impoverished
homes. Most families in the area struggled to meet their most basic requirements in terms
offood. For this reason, the school had succeeded in securing sponsorship that enabled it
to provide a daily meal to its pupils. Teachers were elected to a committee that was
responsible for ensuring that the meal for each day was ready on time. Just before the
school interval, class monitors would proceed to the school's kitchen (a classroom with a
stove) to collect buckets ofsoup and loaves ofbread for each class. Each class had its
own bucket and cardboard box for this purpose. The meal was not a sit-down meal.
Pupils were happy to hold their slices ofbread and cups ofsoup in their hands while
playing around in the school. The principal cited the provision ofthis daily meal as the
main reason for excellent attendance by pupils.
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