ABSTRACT
Tony and a colleague recently submitted a self-study manuscript (an analysis of two faculty members inquiring into their use of technology) to a journal that was recommended as a viable outlet for their research. After almost a year, the manuscript was returned with an invitation to resubmit with revisions. Although the editor did not indicate any difficulty he had with self-study manuscripts, the reviewers certainly did; for example, one wrote:
These experiences are very individualistic and may or may not be generalizable to broader populations of teacher educators. (Manuscript review, personal communication, April 15, 2002)
This refrain, familiar perhaps to others who inquire into their own practice and seek to share those inquiries with a wider audience, represents a range of issues that confront those who engage in teacher inquiry. While some of our colleagues find it difficult to appreciate teacher inquiry as a legitimate form of research, this form of inquiry is increasingly being recognized by a broad spectrum of educators who constitute our professional communities (Clarke 2001). Teacher inquiry – or teacher research as it is sometimes known – has made significant inroads at local, national, and international levels. Indeed, one such forum, the International Conference on Teacher Research, now in its tenth year, was the impetus for the collection of papers that appear in this text. The emergence of a vibrant and extensive teacher inquiry literature not only attests to its importance for understanding the complex world of schooling but supports our contention that it is one of the defining features that distinguishes teaching as a form of professional practice and not as labour or technical work.
