Perfect Strangers to Critical Friends: Negotiating the Process of Collaborative Self-Study of Teacher Education Practices (S-STEP)

• In Event: Marriott Roundtable Session 3
  In Roundtable Session: Critical Friendships in Self-Study

Abstract

In this research, we use S-STEP (self-study of teacher educator practice) to examine the experiences of three teacher educators which can be understood as a community of practice (CoP) across three continents. The CoP was initiated to understand and improve our practice as teacher educators moving towards or in leadership roles, however this paper focuses on the initial negotiation and navigation through the process of a collaborative S-STEP. Collaborative S-STEP provided us with a shared knowledge of the S-STEP process from: becoming familiar, realising a common interest, and learning to be a critical friend. This shared knowledge allowed us to maintain rigour in our research design while allowing for flexibility as our CoP developed.

Authors

• Maura Coulter, Dublin City University

• Kevin Patton, California State University - Chico

• Chris North, University of Canterbury