Encountering New Spaces

This 18-month ethnographic study provides a snapshot of teachers’ use of space and voice as they work in a newly formed Professional Development School (PDS) committed to shared responsibility for teacher education and developing a culture of simultaneous renewal through inquiry. The study identified the tensions produced when a PDS functions within a hierarchically organized district where teachers do not feel empowered to participate in decisions beyond their classroom and where mandates and standardization drive teachers’ work. This work informs those new to PDS work of ways teachers may first occupy the new spaces PDS work creates for teachers to be decision makers and teacher educators. Implications for the future of teachers’ work within partnerships focused on reform are discussed.