Abstract
The Coalition of Knowledge Building Schools is a loose alliance of schools and a museum, committed to teacher inquiry and school-based research. Member schools engage in a range of projects using methodologies appropriate to practitioner research and meet four times a year to share their findings and actions. The Coalition aims to develop and enhance the notion of evidence-based practice, build research capability within and between schools and make a contribution to the broader professional knowledge base with respect to educational practice. Particular emphasis is placed on involving not only teachers but students themselves as researchers within a supportive and ethical framework.
This case study seeks to understand the ways in which participation in the Coalition has provided a context for professional learning, the nature of that learning and any impact on professional practice. Opportunities for and challenges to that learning are identified. A question of interest is: How is learning through membership of the Coalition different from other contexts for learning?
More broadly, the case study seeks to inform existing models of teacher learning through networks and through collaborative action research.
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Needham, K. (2011). Professional Learning in an Across School Network: An Epidemic of Passion?. In: Mockler, N., Sachs, J. (eds) Rethinking Educational Practice Through Reflexive Inquiry. Professional Learning and Development in Schools and Higher Education, vol 7. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-0805-1_14
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