The space in between: a book club with inner-city girls and professional teacher learning

Abstract

The effects of teacher learning that transitions into pedagogical knowledge and practice remains an under-investigated area in the literature. This longitudinal study extended one teacher’s professional learning into her inner-city secondary school, where she created a mother–daughter after-school book club that began when 12 Black girls, joined by three mothers, entered Grade Nine. The longitudinal, four-year study group (2006–2010) was maintained over the course of the girls’ secondary schooling. The sustained investigation of the teacher’s professional learning and growth developed through the ongoing reflective interactions and dialog with the girls and their mothers that challenged and shaped the teacher’s changing pedagogical knowledge.

Keywords:

• learning communities
• teacher inquiry
• knowledge of learning
• sustained teacher learning

Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful for the participation of the teachers, mothers and the students (who participated over the course of their high school years).

Notes

This study is funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.