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

5.5 JOHN'S CHANGING PROFESSIONAL IDENTITY
John's involvement in TEMS project had enhanced his status and image in his school. He
noted that the principal and staffheld him in high esteem and relied on him to provide
feedback to the school. He had begun to play a bigger role in his school's staff
development initiatives and was looked to for leadership, especially in EMS
development. He felt that the leading role that he had played in the TEMS project had
earned him the respect ofhis colleagues at school. He said that running a workshop or
making a presentation at a regional forum like the TEMS project was a step up from
running a workshop at school level. This was evidenced in the following extract from
John's final interview.
MM: Do you find that your participation in the workshops and the leadership role
that you played has influenced your relationship with other staff members
and the principal?
John: Yes, I think so. They look upon me differently; they know that I'm bringing a
lot of information and relevant information to school. They expect me to
conduct workshops, to pass information on to others. When teachers and
principals and heads of departments know that teachers are presenting
workshops outside the school, they respect you more. In school, it's one of
those things, that everybody can do it in school, but if it needs to be done
outside school, then many teachers are reluctant to do it. So the fact that
you have done it, I think they show you more respect.
In the following extract from the initial interview, John explained that he was a new EMS
teacher and that other teachers in his school were more experienced at teaching EMS as
they had taught the learning area previously.
John: In school we've got a, what you call a Learning Area Committee. It is actually
a support group. If I have an idea, I will share it. The other teachers
obviously got more experience than me. They've been carrying their classes
now for grade 4,5,6,7. Now they're going back to 4. You see, this is my ,
we were the first lot, last lot actually that went through the old system and
starting OBE. We started OBE this year.
MM: And what grade are you teaching?
John: Grade 7. So last year they were just the ordinary subject teaching, 6
SUbjects.
MM: So are you a first time EMS teacher at your school?
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