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

this meeting, this school was identified and agreed on as the permanent base for the
project. The following is an extract from my journal notes:
The principal ofEden primary was middle-aged man, who was bustling around trying to
deal with parents who had come in to see him. 1was grateful for the briefmeeting with
him. In the discussion 1learnt that he was in fact a close relative of a former student that 1
had known. This was helpful in that it helped establish rapport with this 'gatekeeper'. 1
was fortunate to be very cordially received by the principal. He indicated his willingness
to help me in any way he could....(1) broached the idea ofbasing all workshops at Eden
Primary for the rest ofthe year. He agreed to this proposal and volunteered the use ofhis
school library for this purpose. 1 spelt out the details ofthe workshops and explained my
professional and research role in the project. He expressed his support for my efforts and
commented that ifthe teachers and pupils were going to benefit from the exposure then
he had no objection to the project.
The principals of all participating schools were keen to be viewed as actively supporting
their teachers' professional development. They mentioned that ifthe research project
were to be ofbenefit to the teachers and the pupils then they would support and allow the
research study to take place at their schools even though I had not acquired official
permission from the Department ofEducation.
Careful thought must be given to how to interest school principals in the research
(Walford 2001). In preparation for the interview with a principal, it is important to work
out what one wants to say and to also anticipate what the school principal might ask or
want to say. Principals definitely like to talk. When an appointment is made by telephone,
they are often careful to explain how busy they are and how little time they have to spare
but, once in the office, they seemed to have far more time than expected. This
phenomenon was certainly the case for all the principals in this research study.
Supposedly 'busy' principals were very keen to engage with me on a range ofissues,
from reminiscing about their early days as teachers, to their own current studies and
community involvement, to detailed episodes ofthe Department ofEducation's
incompetence. It is not inconceivable that researchers could develop a feeling that
schools and teachers should be privileged to take part in the study. Ifthe researcher has
generated a desire to take part in the research, it may be possible to use the'scarcity'
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