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

fox the invitations and arrange for the refreshments and things. I think you
just got to learn how to plan and organise yourself properly. You know,
nothing misses his eye. He takes note of everything you do.
Debbie's evolving professional identity can be seen in the enhanced status she began to
enjoy at her school as a result ofthe EMS curriculum development activities that she had
begun to assume and her increased involvement in TEMS planning. Debbie had
experienced an 'increasing, notable change' in her professional identity.
Extract from final interview with Ben:
MM:
Ben:
Do you think that attending these workshops have opened up other
opportunities for you in school?
Ja, possible, since you know that I'm not a permanent teacher here, maybe
the principal, and the teachers will say that this man has attended such
workshops and a lot of information is with him, let us just bring him in. It
has strengthened my position at the school. With you coming here to our
school and inviting US to the workshops, the whole school knows that we are
attending and these people are important (smiles), we are taken as that. This
learning area is now something in this school. It has got a status.
Ben had thus grown in stature and was recognised as someone who was knowledgeable
about EMS. He also commented about the increasing 'status' that EMS had begun to
enjoy at his school.
6.4.2 A synopsis of Section Three
From the above discussion, we see that teachers had begun to identify themselves as EMS
teachers and had begun to envisage a future for themselves at their respective schools as
EMS teachers. They had begun to think about future plans for EMS teaching at their
schools and spoke with increasing self-belief about their ability to make them happen.
Their increased involvement in EMS activities had strengthened their positions at their
schools. They were beginning to be perceived as becoming increasingly valuable to their
schools. In the previous chapter, we saw how John had begun to receive recognition for
his role in the TEMS project. He was viewed as a leader in EMS development in his
district to the extent that he was invited to present workshops to teachers outside his
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