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

(Hargreaves 1995). Teacher professional development should thus be afforded high
priority ifreform and restructuring initiatives are to be successful. In the South African
context, as outlined in Chapter One, teacher development has been sporadic and poorly
co-ordinated (Taylor and Vinjevold 1999). Once-ofworkshops without follow-up or
support have been the order ofthe day. Such workshops and courses oflimited duration
are ineffective in developing subject matter knowledge or even pedagogical knowledge
(Adler 2002). Sustained programmes over extended periods oftime that utilise all
available resources in creative ways, as envisaged in teacher learning communities, are
much more likely to have a lasting impact on teachers than once-of workshops.
In the South African context, financial constraints mean that teacher education providers
must be able to make a strong case for the continuing professional development of
teachers ifthey wish to secure state funding for such initiatives (Adler 2002). Financial
constraints and underdevelopment force developing countries like South Africa to
prioritise their needs and CPD gets relegated to the background in favour ofbasic
education and initial teacher education (Christie et al 2004). Financial constraints
therefore necessitate a creative approach to continuing professional development, one
that embraces existing financial and human resources in local communities. On-going
research on continuing professional development must be undertaken in order to
determine the kinds ofprogrammes that need to be developed (Adler 2002). The present
study and the Graven study (Graven 2002) suggest that formations such as teacher
learning communities, that have as their basis the principles ofsocial practice theory,
offer much potential for continuing professional development in South Africa.
Adler (2002) draws our attention to the democracy-development tension that exists in the
South African continuing professional development scenario. The problem is one ofhow
to embrace the challenge ofdevelopment and democracy at the same time. Should efforts
be directed at developing a core group ofmaster teachers in the hope that expertise would
filter down to other teachers and schools, or should the focus be on the development of
teachers en masse? Due to resource constraints, the latter would necessarily have to be a
'diluted' programme, the impact ofwhich would leave much to be desired. The question
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