Culture of Inquiry in Professional Development

Abstract

Research on teacher collaboration and student achievement, along with culture of inquiry theory, was reviewed in an attempt to propose a theory of culture of inquiry for teacher professional development. Three empirical studies on teacher collaboration revealed positive correlations between teacher collaboration and student achievement. The literature on culture of inquiry and relevant theory from organizational management yielded five characteristics essential to a culture in which teachers plan and carry out professional development to evaluate and experiment with new teaching methods: transformational leadership, inquiry and healthy debate, license to experiment, collegiality and sharing, and an ongoing cycle of reflection.

Keywords

collaboration collegiality culture professional development reflective practice

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