Life on the borderlands: action research and clinical teacher education faculty

Abstract

Seeking to soften the gap between clinical and tenure-track teacher education faculty, a year-long action research seminar was conducted. Using data from observation notes, interviews and a taped seminar session, the authors explore the seminar from its very rocky beginning to its conclusion. Drawing on the concept of ‘communities of practice’, the authors explore reasons for the hesitancy of the clinical faculty to share the results of their studies and their struggle to find legitimacy within the university.