Situating Teacher Inquiry: A Micropolitical Perspective

• In Event: Roundtable Session 46
  In Roundtable Session: Qualitative Research and Approaches

Abstract

Although well-implemented professional learning communities (PLCs) have been shown to distribute leadership (Copland, 2003), the tension between democratic inquiry processes and the demands of accountability remain understudied (Servage, 2008). This study asks how teacher epistemologies are situated within conflicting school priorities and the impact of competing power structures on teacher inquiry. We collected data at six urban elementary and middle schools over three years of implementing PLCs, conducting regular site visits, annual teacher surveys, and more than 300 interviews with teachers, principals, district administrators, and reform coaches. The influences of power structures – such as district mandates, accountability pressures, and principal leadership – emerged as strong themes in teacher narratives of what it means to “do” inquiry at their schools.

Authors

• Kimberly LeChasseur, University of Connecticut

• Anysia P. Mayer, University of Connecticut

• Anjale DeVawn Welton, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

• Morgaen L. Donaldson, University of Connecticut

• Casey D. Cobb, University of Connecticut