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This book follows the shared journey of five classroom teachers and a university professor as they together examine the possibilities and dilemmas of collaborative inquiry and teacher empowerment. Teachers' voices, in spite of their similarities and differences, still are not heard in the clamor for educational reform, nor are they recognized on the national agendas for research on teacher education. Miller and her colleagues articulate and question the contexts and assumptions that influence and frame teaching practice as they explore the contraints and the possibilities of defining and thus empowering teachers as teacher-researchers.
Here the multiple and changing voices of teachers are clearly heard, and Miller shares their experiences, their frustrations, their hopes, and their issues. By grounding these concerns within the particularities of their teaching, Miller and her colleagues explore concrete situations in which they challenge and support one another. Through these stories of collaborative efforts, others are invited to join together in the continuous process of creating those spaces in which all teachers' voices may be acknowledged and valued.
"This is an engaging, compelling, account of something that is much discussed though rarely tried, namely, teachers as researchers and teachers collaborating on a project of empowerment. Beautifully written and fully documented." — William Ayers, University of Illinois at Chicago
Introduction
Acknowledgments
Chapter One: The Invitation
Beginnings
The Nature of Our Narratives
The Background of the Invitation
Forming the Questions
Chapter Two: Creating Spaces
Approaches to Our Studies
Separate Spaces: Individual Assumptions and Expectations
The School Psychologist
The First-Grade Teacher
The Department Chairperson
The Special Educator
The Science Teacher and Mentor
The Professor
Chapter Three: Emerging Constraints and Possibilities
Themes and Variations
Time
Multiple Layers
Uncertainties
Chapter Four: Points of Dissonance
The Carton of Knowledge
Stored Files
Setting Aside the Carton
Balancing Points
Chapter Five: Becoming Challengers
Persistent Interruptions
Becoming Vocal
Extended Spaces and Voices
Two Steps Forward, One Step Back
Epilogue: "We're Not Done Yet": Problems and Possibilities in Creating Spaces and Finding Voices
Multiple Collaborations
Multiple Researchers
Multiple Voices
Notes
Bibliography
Index