ABSTRACT
This chapter is based on group and individual interviews and discussions, undertaken by the author, with teachers, HEI tutors and LEA advisors participating in the Manchester and Salford Schools Consortium. The author acted as a ‘critical friend’ and participant observer, collecting and collating the data during the life of the project, attending meetings, residential writing weekends, listening to the teachers’ stories and visiting schools when appropriate. It may be of interest to note that the author, through her previous research and development work in teacher education in the Greater Manchester area, had existing relationships with some of the schools and teachers, which facilitated her role as ‘critical friend’. Informal group and individual interview sessions took place midway through the project and at the final residential session. These interviews were taped, transcribed and then used as the basis for this chapter. Following consultation with the teachers in the project, it was decided not to use either actual or fictional names but to simply report verbatim, through quotes, the teachers’ views of their professional development.
