Conversations With Self and Settings: A Framework for Thinking About Teacher Empowerment

Abstract

A framework for thinking about teacher empowerment is presented. Two important dimensions are used as a basis for highlighting some important similarities and differences emerging in the literature on empowerment. The first relates to the context in which the process occurs; some educators highlight the importance of the personal context (i.e., conversations with self), while others assume more of an outward perspective in their thinking about empowerment (i.e., conversations with settings). The second important dimension relates to the focus or agenda of the conversations. Here, a distinction is made between agendas that are more epistemological in nature and those that are more political. An illustration is provided of how this framework can be used to better understand the dynamics involved in collaborative work with teachers.