RR 92-5 Will teachers say what we want to hear? Dilemmas of teacher voice.
Abstract
At the core of the professional development school movement is the assumption that teachers' voices must be welcomed in the wider educational community through participating in mutual collaborative inquiry with university faculty. However, little thought has been given to the nature of teachers' voices, the dilemmas that arise when those voices are heard in the context of educational reform, and whether if by bringing teachers' voices into the educational hierarchyþthe education of children will improve. This paper argues that the welcoming of teachers' voices is more complex than simply providing occasions for teachers to speak and that, without thoughtful consideration of this issue, efforts aimed at advancing the rights of teachers to a voice in reform proceedings may be undermined. The concept of voice is expanded using three perspectives: voice as personal/private development, representative action, and collectively critical. These metaphors are used to analyze the realities and dilemmas of voice in the professional development school context. It is concluded that active participation in collaborative work in professional development schools requires balanced use of voice from all three perspectives. Care must be taken so that all are fostered. Minimizing one to maximize another may jeopardize teacher participation and without it enduring change in education will not occur.