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Rethinking Educational Practice Through Reflexive Inquiry pp 139–151Cite as

Connecting Inquiry and Professional Learning: Creating the Conditions for Authentic, Sustained Learning

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Abstract

This chapter will discuss how linking inquiry with teachers’ professional learning can be a powerful motivator for curriculum change and innovation. The voices of teachers in the form of vignettes and stories, gleaned from a variety of recent projects, will illustrate the conditions for successful workplace learning. The starting point will be a return to Judith Warren Little’s 1982 writing on workplace conditions for school success (American Educational Research Journal 19:325–340, 1982). This chapter will draw on several previous publications: Campbell and Kane (School-Based Teacher Education: Telling Tales from a Fictional Primary School. London: David Fulton, 1998), Hustler et al. (Teachers Perceptions of Continuing Professional Development. London: DfES, 2003), Campbell et al. (Practitioner Research and Professional Development in Education. London: Paul Chapman, 2004), Campbell and Groundwater-Smith (An Ethical Approach to Practitioner Research: Dealing with Issues and Dilemmas in Action Research. London: Routledge, 2007. Connecting Inquiry and Professional Learning: International Perspectives and Practical Solutions. London: Routledge, 2009), which span the continuum of initial teacher education and continuing professional learning.

The importance of collaboration, collegiality and critical friendship will be highlighted and the crucial partnership between academic partners and teachers in school in the present government policy frameworks will be illustrated and discussed.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Note: being in ‘special measures’ in England means being a failing school.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Leeds Metropolitan University, Leeds, UK

    Anne Campbell

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  1. Anne Campbell
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Correspondence to Anne Campbell .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Newcastle, Ourimbah, 2258, New South Wales, Australia

    Nicole Mockler

  2. Macquarie University, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

    Judyth Sachs

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Campbell, A. (2011). Connecting Inquiry and Professional Learning: Creating the Conditions for Authentic, Sustained Learning. 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_10

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