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

On the occasions that I delivered books to each school, I would wear myoid jeans and T­
shirt as it involved lugging crates ofdusty books that had been stored in the basement of
the college library. Principals and teachers were 'impressed' to see a 'university lecturer
getting his hands dirty' as one principal described it. This allowed the participants to see
that there was another side to this 'stiffand starchy' university lecturer. It further
facilitated rapport and access.
This study hinged on developing strong reciprocal relationships with the research
participants (teachers). Ifresearchers cannot find convincing benefits ofthe research
study, then the study ought not to be conducted (Walford 2001). The direct benefit of
this study to teachers was my role as co-ordinator ofthe TEMS project that enabled me to
make a professional contribution to the facilitation ofteachers' learning. My professional
input took the form ofworkshop presentations on a range ofsubject content topics, and
making available resource material for collection and dissemination ofmaterial
developed at workshops. Research participants regularly requested individual assistance
at their school sites and often sought telephonic clarity on EMS issues they were unclear
about.
4.6.4 About Informed consent, confidentiality, blockages and break-thronghs
All ofthe participating teachers had been teaching for more than five years with the two
most senior teachers having taught for twenty-two and twenty six years. These teachers
had not had anyone observe them teach in more than two decades. At least two teachers
expressed reluctance to have their lessons observed. Mary, one ofthe more senior
participants, frequently stated that she was very nervous about a 'university lecturer'
coming into her class to observe her. She said that it had been more than twenty years
since anyone had visited her class or observed her lessons and she recalled the anxiety
she felt during her teaching practice sessions as a student teacher and her initial years as a
teacher. Memories ofthe tyranny ofthe former apartheid school inspectors during visits
to schools in the 1970s and 1980s appeared to be traumatic events that some teachers had
still not worked through. Delamont (2002: 141) argues that, " ... it is hard to recognise that
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