Inquiry project or inquiry stance? A continuum of teacher candidate perceptions of knowledge construction during practitioner inquiry-based clinical practice

ABSTRACT

Previous scholarship has signaled the potential of practitioner inquiry for fostering an inquiry stance among teacher candidates during preservice teacher education. Little is known, however, about the relationships teacher candidates assume vis-à-vis knowledge construction – a core dimension of inquiry stance – as they inquire. The study reported in this article investigated the perceptions of the relationship between inquiry and knowledge construction exhibited by teacher candidates engaged in practitioner inquiry during yearlong internships in a clinically based teacher education program. Semi-structured interviews served as the study’s primary data source and were analyzed through theory-led thematic analysis. The analysis yielded a six-point continuum of perceptions ranging from viewing inquiry as a required project to viewing inquiry as a way to assert ownership over generating worthwhile knowledge of teaching. The findings suggest that having a deeper understanding of how teacher candidates experience their own knowledge generation as they inquire could assist teacher educators in cultivating their inquiry stances.

KEYWORDS:

• action research
• inquiry stance
• practitioner inquiry
• preservice teachers
• teacher education

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Logan Rutten

Logan Rutten is Assistant Professor in the Department of Teaching, Leadership, and Professional Practice at the University of North Dakota (Grand Forks, North Dakota, USA). His research interests include practitioner inquiry, teacher leadership, instructional supervision, and professional learning within the context of school–university partnerships such as Professional Development Schools. The findings reported in this article were generated as part of a larger study conducted while Rutten was a student at The Pennsylvania State University (University Park, Pennsylvania, USA).

Rachel Wolkenhauer

Rachel Wolkenhauer, Associate Professor in the Department of Curriculum & Instruction at The Pennsylvania State University (University Park, Pennsylvania, USA), is a community-engaged scholar who studies and teaches practitioner research as a form of professional learning for preservice teachers, inservice teachers, and teacher educators in school–university partnerships.