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

On arrival at Neon Primary School, one gained the distinct impression that this school
was well managed. During teaching time it was rare to find a teacher in the staffroom or
children out oftheir classrooms. All classes were always manned. As I walked through
the school I could see teachers and pupils busily engaged in their classrooms.
The school buildings, being only eight years old, were in excellent condition. The school
was surrounded by a high fence with razor wire attached to the top ofthe fence.
Electronic gates led into a spacious car park. Gardens were immaculately maintained,
with a just-watered look. Flowerbeds were freshly tilled. The school campus was in
immaculate condition. It had a well-maintained sports field.
On entering the foyer ofthe administration, one was greeted with an appealing display of
well-positioned posters, school achievement boards, and staffphotographs. The foyer
was spotless with shiny floors and a shiny staircase. The school secretary was ideally
positioned with a view ofthe school gate, which she could open electronically from
where she was seated. The sight ofthe principal moving around the school, visiting
teachers in their classrooms, speaking to the gardeners as they tended the flowerbeds and
engaging with parents was not uncommon.
Field notes ofthis type create a fuller picture ofthe research context and afford a more
substantial basis from which to interpret the data. While data collection in a natural
setting alone does not necessarily make the research more rigorous, it does place the
research in context and provides the researcher with a greater opportunity to explore
meanings that are not evident from verbal data. "Interpretation is likely to stand up better
to the critics where time has been spent watching, talking, waiting and observing what
happens in the context and indeed, the culture under study" (JessopI997:53).
4.5 METHODS
In qualitative research that seeks to interpret and make meaning within a particular
research context, the central role played by the researcher implies that the researcher
becomes the primary research instrument (Walford 2001; Wragg 2001;Delamont 2002).
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