| In this paper format dissertation I argue for recognition of the authority of teachers' personal practical knowledge. Five papers from my three year collaborative study with a junior high school teacher are presented. This research follows a line of research on teacher knowledge (Elbaz, 1983; Clandinin, 1986; Connelly & Clandinin, 1988; Clandinin & Connelly, 1995) informed by Dewey's (1938) philosophy of education based on experience. Narrative inquiry (Connelly & Clandinin, 1990) is the methodology guiding the study. We, the researcher and collaborating teacher, examine our narratives of experience as a means to articulating our understandings of curriculum and teacher knowledge. Our research describes teachers authoring development.;The first paper argues that teacher evaluation by an outside expert is embedded in an objective view of knowledge and notions of efficiency originating in scientific management. The authority of teacher evaluation ignores teachers' meanings of their work. It denies teachers' personal practical knowledge.;The second paper describes the negotiation of, and challenges to, collaboration in this study. Shared responsibility and relationship are central to the collaborative research design and "findings." How teachers are positioned by research is questioned: possibilities for teacher development are limited if teachers are not positioned as authors in research about practice.;The third paper argues for teacher knowledge from being in-relationship with students: relational knowing. Narratives describe the interaction of the teacher's caring and knowing with students' knowing in teaching situations.;The fourth paper discusses the importance of "having choices" in authoring a life and in curriculum making. Curriculum as "authored for" students and teachers and the consequences of loss of authorship for teachers and students are the paper's focus.;The fifth paper argues that a teacher's practices in teaching and assessing writing are expressions of her teacher knowledge. While the teacher clearly articulates her knowledge and view of curriculum as an active process with students, the authority of systemic assessment denies her meanings and evidence of students' learning.;I conclude the dissertation by examining issues relevant to teachers engaging in collaborative inquiry about practice and advocate the need for a supportive environment where such work counts as teacher development. |
