‘We were expected to be equal’: teachers and academics sharing professional learning through practitioner inquiry

This paper describes a process in which early childhood professionals, who were novice researchers, engaged in their own research projects in collaboration with academics through a practitioner inquiry group. The aim of the project was to introduce the concepts and practices of practitioner enquiry, and learn about, plan and implement a self-initiated change project in consultation with academics. The paper details how a group of teachers succeeded in sustaining a community of practice that promoted teacher professionalism and change. Research has previously called for a shift in professional habitus and raised concerns about the value of teacher learning groups, the dispositions of teachers to call on academic research, and by implication, the desire to work actively with academics. Here we draw upon empirical data to raise the hope that the enablement and dissemination of collaborative change-focused research projects, while challenging, may provide viable avenues for successful teacher change.