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

• While my professional input into the functioning ofthe TEMS community
could be viewed as an 'intervention', my intention in this study was not to
evaluate the effectiveness ofthe intervention but rather to study the process
and nature ofteaching and learning in the TEMS community ofpractice as
well as an examination ofthe contexts in which teachers worked. A
quantitative approach would have failed to capture a full understanding and
appreciation ofthese complex social issues.
• A qualitative, interpretive position refutes the assumption ofan objective,
external reality that exists independent ofthe researcher. The intention in this
study is neither an examination ofsocial phenomena in terms ofquantity,
intensity or frequency nor an analysis ofcausal relationships between
processes.
"The research methods most appropriate for symbolic interactionism fall under the
general term 'ethnography'" (Woods 1996:51). My research study drew on the essential
elements of ethnography. Ethnography includes observational research (Delamont 2002).
It implies that the researcher values the views, perspectives, opinions, prejudices and
beliefs ofthe participants she is studying in an incredulous manner. Ethnographies
involve the presence ofan observer for prolonged periods in a single or a small number
ofsettings. During that time, the researcher observes and talks with participants (ibid.).
Ethnography has the following elements:
• A study ofculture
A culture is made up ofcertain values, practices, relationships and identifications.
The ethnographer tries to make sense ofwhat people are doing by asking: 'What's
going on here? How does this work? How do people do this?' and hopes to be
told by those people the way they do things.
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