Description:
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.
Brief description: Janet L. Miller is an Associate Professor in the Department of Curriculum and Teaching at Hofstra University.
Review Quotes:
"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