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

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It foregrounds the fact that the contexts <strong>in</strong> which people learn, and <strong>in</strong> which they are<br />

assessed, are <strong>in</strong>extricable parts <strong>of</strong>their knowledge.<br />

The essential tension <strong>of</strong>pr<strong>of</strong>essional development referred to earlier as the key question<br />

<strong>of</strong>pr<strong>of</strong>essional development <strong>in</strong> South Africa, namely that <strong>of</strong> curriculum development and<br />

deepen<strong>in</strong>g subject matter knowledge, played itself out <strong>in</strong> this learn<strong>in</strong>g community. The<br />

study draws attention to the dilemma <strong>of</strong>how much guidance and structure should be<br />

brought <strong>in</strong>to programmes. The importance <strong>of</strong> seek<strong>in</strong>g an appropriate balance between<br />

present<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong>fonnation and facilitat<strong>in</strong>g teachers' construction <strong>of</strong>new practices was an<br />

issue that the TEMS programme had to carefully negotiate.<br />

Methodologically, this research study embraced the complexity and challenge <strong>of</strong>the<br />

researcher adopt<strong>in</strong>g the dual role <strong>of</strong>researcher and participant. It provides <strong>in</strong>sights <strong>in</strong>to<br />

how it might be possible to negotiate the dynamic and shift<strong>in</strong>g roles that I adopted <strong>in</strong> this<br />

study: from an <strong>in</strong>itial role <strong>of</strong> participant as observer', I moved gradually towards the<br />

role <strong>of</strong> 'observer participant', and ultimately attempted to fulfil the role <strong>of</strong> 'complete<br />

observer',<br />

An analysis <strong>of</strong>the methodological challenge <strong>of</strong> ga<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g access and acceptance <strong>in</strong> the field<br />

is presented from a South African education research perspective. The study <strong>of</strong>fers<br />

<strong>in</strong>sights <strong>in</strong>to the concepts <strong>of</strong>'gatekeepers', 'reciprocity' and '<strong>in</strong>fonned consent' as they<br />

may be applied <strong>in</strong> the South African context.<br />

From a theoretical perspective, the work <strong>of</strong>Lave and Wenger (1991), Wenger (1998) and<br />

Wenger, McDennott and Snyder (2002) on learn<strong>in</strong>g communities as vehicles for learn<strong>in</strong>g<br />

is explored. The study also highlights the usefulness <strong>of</strong>this theoretical framework <strong>in</strong> the<br />

reconceptualis<strong>in</strong>g <strong>of</strong>teacher learn<strong>in</strong>g as relations <strong>of</strong>participation <strong>in</strong>stead <strong>of</strong>the<br />

conventional teacherllearner dyad. At the same time, it <strong>of</strong>fers a critique <strong>of</strong>the feasibility<br />

and appropriateness <strong>of</strong> us<strong>in</strong>g Wenger's framework for analys<strong>in</strong>g a teacher learn<strong>in</strong>g<br />

community, and it draws attention to the challenges <strong>of</strong>apply<strong>in</strong>g Wenger's framework.<br />

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