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

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outlines, coursework materials and having a formal assessment strategy. Graven (2002) describes PLESME as a 'classroom-focussed intervention'. The TEMS programme on the other hand was a spontaneous, unprompted, naturally occurring network. It was 'self-initiated', informal and represented a purely voluntary association ofteachers, distinctly similar to Wenger's conceptualisation ofthe formation of communities ofpractice (Wenger 1998). While the TEMS programme did have a structure, the participating teachers largely determined the curriculum and the frequency and nature ofmeetings. The 'aim' of the TEMS programme was to develop very basic competency in the subject matter ofthe new'discipline'. The issue of accreditation and assessment did not apply in the TEMS programme. TEMS relied on the generosity ofthe participating schools and teachers who willingly provided the venue and absorbed some of the operating costs in terms ofstationery, printing telephone and fax expenses. I was fortunate to have been granted research funds that I used to finance some ofthe operating costs ofthe project. The present study theorised the methodological issue of gaining access to teachers' classrooms in a South African context. It drew attention to the fact that while much has been written about gaining access in first world contexts, there is a dearth ofliterature on the challenges ofgaining access in diverse South African school contexts. A further methodological difference was the use ofindependent observers. These independent observers (university academics) were invited to observe TEMS workshop sessions and to compile observation reports on the workings of the TEMS community. This form of triangulating was important as it presented useful data from differing observer perspectives. With regard to the role ofthe researcher, the present study embraced the approach adopted by Graven in the PLESME study where the role ofthe researcher was that of participant observer in the PLESME practice (where participation took the form of coordination of the practice) and observer as participant in teachers' classrooms (observing teachers in classrooms). While a similar approach was used in the TEMS 9
study, the coordination functions were performed entirely by the TEMS coordinator. My role as participant was to make a professional input in the TEMS sessions. As the TEMS community progressed, the TEMS coordinator and core members began to assume greater control ofthe professional development issues, allowing me to play more ofan observer role. While there were several similarities in the findings ofboth studies, the most notable difference was that in the PLESME study the concept of 'confidence' emerged as a significant outcome ofthe programme. This led the researcher to proceed to theorize this notion of 'confidence' as it emerged in PLESME. This 'confidence' was strongly associated with teachers expressing confidence in their subject matter knowledge of Mathematics. In the TEMS programme, as we see later, while some teachers did allude to the notion ofincreased 'general' confidence, confidence in the subject matter knowledge ofEconomic and Management Sciences did not emerge as a significant finding. This was largely attributed to the fact that the TEMS teachers basically started from a 'lay' knowledge base ofthe Economic and Management Sciences learning area, while PLESME teachers were in fact practising Mathematics teachers. 1.2.4 Statement of purpose The thrust ofthis research study was to explore the usefulness ofapplying a social practice theory oflearning to a community ofteacher learners. It also examined the influence ofcontextual constraints on teachers' biographies and professional career trajectories, and on their ability to participate in a learning community. Ofinterest to this study was whether the community (a group ofnon-expert, novice EMS teachers) had the potential to eventually develop content knowledge in the EMS learning area without the conventional 'teaching' input ofan outside 'expert'. Stated succinctly, the purpose ofthis study was to investigate Economic and Management Sciences (EMS) teachers' learning in a community ofpractice, designed in accordance with the principles ofsocial practice theory (as espoused by Lave and Wenger 1991; Wenger 1998 and Wenger, McDermott and Snyder 2002). 10
Page 1 and 2: Teacher Learning in a Community of
Page 3 and 4: ABSTRACT Conceptualising teacher le
Page 5 and 6: DEDICATION This thesis is dedicated
Page 7 and 8: DECLARATION I, Suriamurthee Moonsam
Page 9 and 10: ASSOCIATED CONCEPTS UNDER STUDY WIT
Page 11 and 12: Observation ofJohn's teaching after
Page 13 and 14: A SYNTHESIS OF THE STUDy...........
Page 15 and 16: TEMS RNCS EMS GET DoE INSET ELRC SA
Page 17 and 18: In describing the subject-pedagogy
Page 19 and 20: teachers lacked content knowledge r
Page 21 and 22: acknowledges the importance and pec
Page 23: some formal Mathematics teacher edu
Page 27 and 28: It foregrounds the fact that the co
Page 29 and 30: school. Higher education opportunit
Page 31 and 32: frame models for projecting future
Page 33 and 34: teacher education by the state, (as
Page 35 and 36: schools, classrooms, management and
Page 37 and 38: Although the Teacher Audit indicate
Page 39 and 40: One ofthe first curriculum reform i
Page 41 and 42: entrenched design feature of C2005,
Page 43 and 44: In Chapter Five, I set up a narrati
Page 45 and 46: LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 INTRODUCTION
Page 47 and 48: As indicated in the previous chapte
Page 49 and 50: This view is supported by Putman an
Page 51 and 52: Learning is social in nature (Putma
Page 53 and 54: Constant reflection on and understa
Page 55 and 56: Teachers drew on their membership i
Page 57 and 58: The above arguments about the lack
Page 59 and 60: change. She highlights the importan
Page 61 and 62: Differences in the cultures oflearn
Page 63 and 64: persons and is not considered solel
Page 65 and 66: and offers insights into how learni
Page 67 and 68: America. Goodson (1992) and Calderh
Page 69 and 70: learned meaning and value for them
Page 71 and 72: 'accommodation' and intimates that
Page 73 and 74: staffroom and a 'pragmatic' teacher
Page 75 and 76:
Davisson (1984), Lumsden and Scott
Page 77 and 78:
directive in that it guides choices
Page 79 and 80:
economic discourse, the economics p
Page 81 and 82:
• Understand and promote the impo
Page 83 and 84:
2.7 CONCLUSION This chapter began b
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(Walford 2001; Anderson 1999). With
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• It places value on the research
Page 89 and 90:
The main research question in this
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Lave and Wenger emphasise the centr
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3.3.2 The Work ofWenger (1998): Com
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agree with the way it takes place o
Page 97 and 98:
Figure 3.3: Refined intersection of
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eflecting. The ability of a communi
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object to something that in reality
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practice is not just an aggregate o
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system or institution and the influ
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3.3.2.4 Learning Practice has to be
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new possibilities for meaning. Brok
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These characteristics indicate that
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engage with one another and acknowl
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A structural model ofa community of
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who were regarded as peripheral. A
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Ideally I would have wanted teacher
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they represent key ingredients in s
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that the Wenger framework presents
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more useful and effective than part
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3.6 CONCLUSION This chapter provide
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• While my professional input int
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• Cycle ofhypothesis and theory b
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observer played themselves out. A c
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organised events and linked communi
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In keeping with ethnographic princi
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In this qualitative study, my inter
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collection. He questions whether co
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physical context, the complex body
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completed, final text: rather, they
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the teacher over classroom events (
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'connoisseurship'. I realised that
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In this study, the criteria for the
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In Chapter One I described the sequ
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tactic by indicating to research pa
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On the occasions that I delivered b
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"Confidentiality involves a clear u
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were cordial and professional. The
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CHAPTER FIVE HOW HAD TEACHER LEARNI
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individual participants changed dif
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He received his schooling under the
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school regularly updated the books
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gone on to become really wealthy. I
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John noted that in planning the cur
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Significant changes had thus occurr
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just transfer it. For example, bank
Page 181 and 182:
Extract from the lesson: John: Pupi
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schoolwork as 'economic work'. This
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John: Now we are not looking at thi
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cardboard and drawing or sticking i
Page 189 and 190:
John: Now I want you to remember wh
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John succeeded in drawing on the sp
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at her maths books to which the tea
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issues that his pupils were raising
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5.5 JOHN'S CHANGING PROFESSIONAL ID
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to achieve their joint enterprise o
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5.6 JOHN'S INCREASED PARTICIPATION
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John regarded the close interaction
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As stated earlier, because the 'con
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CHAPTER SIX USING WENGER'S CONSTRUC
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6.2 SECTION ONE AN ANALYSIS OF TEAC
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understanding it at all. I just don
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In the final interview that took pl
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MM: Shirley: learning outcomes and
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the little things like we started i
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understandings and conceptions ofth
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Extract from Mary's final interview
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Teachers were able to describe the
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The essential differences between D
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Debbie's school, Eden Primary was l
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what he's saying. And in that lesso
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they were excellent, really good. I
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Extract from first lesson observati
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out of the material that they had.
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largely recall, repetition or were
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Third extract from Debbie's second
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From the above extracts and discuss
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with a new set ofsubjects. Without
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was three kilometres away from the
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In the next extract, Ben referred t
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for making bread. The difficulty an
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T: P: T: P: T: P: T: Look again. Is
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stemmed from a discussion at the TE
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Key to the table A = Good/substanti
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was doing the budget and where they
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ofher school and the TEMS community
Page 269 and 270:
Extract from Beth's final interview
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fox the invitations and arrange for
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Table 6.6: Teachers' learning in te
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CHAPTER SEVEN AN ANALYSIS OF TEACHE
Page 278 and 279:
As we saw in Chapter Six, the core
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who did or did not want to become f
Page 283 and 284:
The following extract offers a narr
Page 285 and 286:
difficulties (ibid.). In the above
Page 287 and 288:
A community moves from the potentia
Page 289 and 290:
Cindy began the workshop with a tho
Page 291 and 292:
oundaries" (Wenger et al 2002:97).
Page 293 and 294:
7.4 AN ANALYSIS OF THE TEMS GROUP A
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necessary to learn what they needed
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Figure 7.2: Brokering relationships
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the group. Wenger (1998) notes that
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knowledge ofothers. It is therefore
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MM Shirley MM: Mary: MM: Mary Have
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The following extract from a worksh
Page 307 and 308:
MM: Shirley: How many EMS workshops
Page 309 and 310:
Table 7.2: Criteria for the emergen
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Soudien, a leading South African ac
Page 314 and 315:
hand, adopts a 'narrow' perspective
Page 316 and 317:
As mentioned earlier, Wenger's work
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literature review revealed that the
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Another important feature ofWenger'
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'Identity' namely, 'learning as bec
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(Hargreaves 1995). Teacher professi
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for the purposes ofprofessional dev
Page 328 and 329:
teacher growth. CPD in Africa subsc
Page 330 and 331:
knowledge of subject content is ser
Page 332 and 333:
South Africa, due cognisance must b
Page 334 and 335:
8.3.7 An arena for engaging and con
Page 336 and 337:
the provision of appropriate profes
Page 338 and 339:
level conceptual thinking". They wa
Page 340 and 341:
Collaboration within teacher learni
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has for teacher learning in a South
Page 344 and 345:
Bourdieu, P. (1986) The Forms ofCap
Page 346 and 347:
Department ofEducation (2002) Revis
Page 348 and 349:
Homan, R. (2002) The principle of i
Page 350 and 351:
Mattson, L. (2000) Teacher identiti
Page 352 and 353:
Smylie, M.A., Bay, M. & Tozer, S.E.
Page 354 and 355:
Westheimer,1. (1998) Among schoolte
Page 356 and 357:
APPENDIX 2 INTERVIEW SCHEDULES (INI
Page 358 and 359:
2. What information have you been g
Page 360 and 361:
APPENDIX 3 EXAMPLE OF JOURNAL ENTRI
Page 362:
APPENDIX 5 EXAMPLE OF INDEPENDENT O
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