THE FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF EDUCATION

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND POSTSTRUCTURAL ANALYSIS: STORIES OF AFRICAN AMERICAN SCIENCE TEACHERS

By FELICIA MICHELLE MOORE

A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Middle and Secondary Education In partial fulfillment of the Requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Degree Awarded: Spring Semester, 2003 Copyright 2003 Felicia M Moore All Rights Reserved

The members of the Committee approve the dissertation of Felicia Michelle Moore defended on 18 March 2003.

Nancy T. Davis Professor Directing Prospectus Karen Monkman Outside Committee Member Alejandro Gallard Committee Member John Sample Committee Member

Approved: David Foulk Chairperson, Middle & Secondary Education Richard C. Kunkel Dean, College of Education The Office of Graduate Studies has verified and approved the abovenamed committee members

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Dedicated to:
My Mother, Lillian and my Aunt Delia Faith, belief, and dreams

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I am so thankful for the gifts and talents that I have been blessed with. I would like to pause and take a moment to thank my committee membersNancy Davis, Karen Monkman, Alejandro Gallard, and John Samplefor their support throughout my professional development as an aspiring scholar and educator. This research was not just about the teachers that I interviewed but was also about affording me an opportunity to look back over my experiences and to make some sense out of them alongside the teachers of this study. My committee members were supportive in allowing me the freedom to express myself and to embark upon a field of research that was necessary for me to do. They guided and questioned me very well. I am especially thankful to the teachers Mrs. Martin, Mrs. Nelson, and Mr. ONeal for their time, for participating in this research project, and for encouraging me along the way. Thank you to the community of learners in the science education department, my professors who taught me and wished me well during my tenure at FSU; to my friends/colleagues, Scott Sowell and Kimberly Lanier for their insights and camaraderie; Ann Biske for being a support in so many ways; and to all the other friends, peers, colleagues from classes and organizations I made along the way. And to my family, and my extended church family, who have always been an inspiration for me to excel beyond what I could think or imagine, I am forever thankful for your love, faith, and hope in me. Thank you so very much!

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TABLE OF CONTENTS List of Tables .........................................................................................................................ix List of Figures ........................................................................................................................x Abstract ..................................................................................................................................xi INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................................1 1. FINDING PATTERNS AND MAKING IT FIT .......................................................2 Introduction....................................................................................................2 Patterns of My Thinking ................................................................................2 Reflections and Patterns.................................................................................3 Critical and Feminist Poststructuralism As Guiding Frameworks ................4 2. PATTERNS AND CONNECTIONS EMPHASIZED ..............................................7 Introduction....................................................................................................7 Rationale of Study..........................................................................................7 Research Questions........................................................................................11 Significance of the Study ...............................................................................12 Why the Focus on African American Teachers? ...............................13 My Positionality in the Study ............................................................16 A Postmodernism Perspective .......................................................................17 Adult Learning Theory ..................................................................................20 Critical Theory ...............................................................................................21 Poststructuralism............................................................................................23 Power .................................................................................................27 Knowledge and Meaning ...................................................................28 Language............................................................................................30 Difference ..........................................................................................33 Postmodern and Poststructural Critiques .......................................................35 Feminism Plus Poststructuralism Equal Feminist Poststructuralism.............38

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PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND CHANGE ............................................41 Introduction....................................................................................................41 Thinking About My Development.................................................................41 Professional Development .............................................................................41 Adult Education, Change, and Professional Development............................46 Teacher Change and Reflective Practice .......................................................48

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STUDENTS & LEARNING, TEACHERS & TEACHING, AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT........................................................................52 Whose Fault Is It? ..........................................................................................52 It Takes a Village ...........................................................................................53 Students and Learning: African American Students......................................53 Teachers & Teaching: African American Teachers.......................................56 Providing Opportunities for Teachers as Adult Learners ..............................59

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RESEARCH DESIGN: METHODOLOGY AND METHODS................................61 Introduction....................................................................................................61 The Inner Man................................................................................................61 Interpretive Research .....................................................................................61 Narrative Research.........................................................................................63 The Hermeneutic Dialectic Circle .................................................................65 Data Methods .................................................................................................67 Interviews as Conversations and Stories............................................67 Observations and Reflective Journals................................................69 Communities of Learners...................................................................70 Data Analysis Procedures ..............................................................................70 Coding Chunks of Text......................................................................70 Discourse Analysis.............................................................................72 Ensuring Quality in Research ........................................................................73 Trustworthiness as Methodological Criteria......................................73 Authenticity as Negotiation Criteria ..................................................76 Ethics ..................................................................................................79 Limitations .........................................................................................79

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RESEARCH FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION: CONTEXT ....................................81 Introduction....................................................................................................81 Carver County & Carver County School District ..........................................81 The Teachers..................................................................................................83 Teachers Knowledge of the District and Their Students..............................85 Historical Perspective ........................................................................85 Teachers Perceptions of Students .....................................................89 Administrative Change ......................................................................90 Accountability....................................................................................91 Context Discussion ........................................................................................94

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RESEARCH FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION: POWER.........................................97 Introduction....................................................................................................97 Power Relations in Schooling and in Work...................................................98 Power Relations in Teaching .........................................................................100 Power As Ownership and Possession ............................................................106 Power Relations: Administration, Teachers, and the District........................110 Power Discussion...........................................................................................119

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RESEARCH FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION: KNOWLEDGE/MEANING .........124 Introduction....................................................................................................124 Mrs. Martin ....................................................................................................124 Mr. ONeal.....................................................................................................140 Mrs. Nelson....................................................................................................150 Knowledge/Meaning Discussion ...................................................................156

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RESEARCH FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION: LANGUAGE ................................161 Introduction....................................................................................................161 Deconstructing Language: Prejudice and Not Passing ..................................161 Language Discussion .....................................................................................174

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RESEARCH FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION: DIFFERENCE AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT........................................................................176 Introduction....................................................................................................176 Mrs. Martin ....................................................................................................176 Mrs. Nelson....................................................................................................180 Mr. ONeal.....................................................................................................186 Educational Obituary .....................................................................................188 Difference Discussion....................................................................................189 Teachers as Adult Learners in Professional Development ............................194 Poststructuralism in Teacher Education and Teacher Professional Development ..................................................................................................199 Multiculturalism in Professional Development and Teaching.......................201 Feminist Pedagogy.........................................................................................202 Culturally Relevant Pedagogy .......................................................................205

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FINAL THOUGHTS AND CONCLUSIONS...........................................................209 Introduction....................................................................................................209 Conclusion .....................................................................................................212

NOTES...................................................................................................................................215 APPENDIX............................................................................................................................218 REFERENCES ......................................................................................................................219 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH .................................................................................................236

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LIST OF TABLES 1. 2. 3. Table 5.2 Quality Criteria and Strategies 78 Table 6.1 Carver County School District Statistics 82 Table 10.1 Summary Teachers Professional Development Plans 193

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LIST OF FIGURES 1. 2. Figure 2.1 Postmodernism and Poststructuralism 23 Figure 5.1 Life Stories 64

ABSTRACT This dissertation is an interpretivist study that focused on the professional development of three African American science teachers from a small rural school district, Carver School District (a pseudonym), in the southeastern United States. Stories teachers shared of their experiences in teaching and learning science and in their professional development were analyzed using a feminist poststructural analysis of power, knowledge/meaning, language, and difference. For science teaching, power was viewed as a form of ownership or possession and also as effect and processes that impact teaching, learning, and professional development. Teachers through instructional practices exerted a certain amount of power in their classrooms. Teaching practices heavily influenced student learning in science classrooms. For teacher professional development, power was viewed as effecting relationships between administration, peers, and students as a shifting force within different social contexts. Science teachers were perceived as objects of the system and as active social agents who in particular relations of power acted in their best interests as they developed as science teachers. Teachers negotiated for themselves certain power relations to do as they wished for teaching science and for participating in professional development activities. Power was an inherent and critically important aspect in understanding what science teachers do in their classrooms, in teaching and learning science, and in developing as science teachers. Knowledge was closely tied to relations of power in that teachers acquired knowledge about themselves, their teaching of science, and their students from their past

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experiences and professional development activities. Through language, interactions between teachers and students enabled or disabled access to the culture of power via instructional practices. Language was implicated in teacher professional development as a powerful force for advancing or hindering teachers professionally. The three teachers had different and similar experiences based upon race, gender, class, and age. Taking differences and similarities into consideration, recommendations were offered to balance relations of power in science teaching, learning, and teacher professional development through multicultural education, culturally relevant pedagogy, and feminist pedagogy. Feminist poststructuralism offers an alternative and critical perspective for science education research.

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INTRODUCTION Going through the process of figuring out what I wanted to do for my dissertation, I looked back and forward, and I saw patterns. I wanted to do a study that was essentially mea study that was inclusive of my experiences as a former high school science teacher, a study that fit my thinking, a study that would be passionate and exciting for me. Therefore, my research is a coming together, though not yet sealed, of ideas, perspectives, and theories that I have been introduced to during my science education program. The dissertation represents a coming together of patterns and experiences. The dissertation has three main sections. First, there is an extended literature review that provides a context for understanding feminist poststructuralism primarily, postmodernism, critical theory, and adult learning theory. I constructed my research with three African American science teachers (2 females, 1 male) around four poststructural themes: power, knowledge/meaning, language, and difference. Essential in understanding feminist poststructural analysis, context and power are discussed throughout the study as it connects the themes and experiences of teachers in the study. Second, I present research findings and a discussion of each theme, including the context of the study Carver County School District (pseudonym). Finally, I situate the study with a discussion of professional development and difference. I provide recommendations and final thoughts in the conclusion.

CHAPTER 1 FINDING PATTERNS AND MAKING IT FIT Introduction You look at where youre going and where you are and it never makes sense, but then you look back at where youve been and a pattern seems to emerge. And if you project forward from that pattern, then sometimes you can come up with something. (Pirsing, 1974, p. 168) Patterns of My Thinking After passing my preliminary examination August 2002 I decided to do some research and obtain background information on feminist poststructuralism as a theoretical frame for future learning after completion of my dissertation. I had a direction of research already conceived in my mind that stemmed from my preliminary examination. I came across a text, Feminist Teaching in Theory & Practice: Situating Power & Knowledge in Poststructural Classrooms, by Becky Ropers-Huilman (1998). I read the introduction and the preface and became immediately drawn to the opening pages. Then the quote above, on page one, inspired me to think about my experiences in preparation for my dissertation. I thought about what I learned over the past couple of years, what made me most excited when I thought about it, the courses that were most interesting to me, and the notes I kept in a small journal. I started to see a pattern. I found what I had been looking for in terms of interests and the way I see the world. I found a theoretical perspective that would support my thinking. In the following section, I document my thinking by providing excerpts from past assignments and journal reflections that helped me to connect the pieces that made the pattern obvious for me. They reveal some of my thinking about postmodernism, adult learning, and sociocultural factors that influence research. These reflections were the start of my building a theoretical foundation for preparation of my prospectus leading to the dissertation.

Reflections and Patterns I appreciated the authors structure in presenting the five major views (Structural/Functionalist Perspective, Conflict Theories, The Interpretivist Perspective, Critical Theory, Postmodern Perspectives) on the role of schooling, the cultural influences on schooling, and providing critiques at the end of each one. Also, I was appreciative of the ease of understanding the views. I had heard of them but I was not familiar with their underlining assumptions. The reading provided a major source and foundation to build my initial understanding of the different perspectives. When I completed the chapter, I thought about the points of consensus and points of disagreement with my own thoughts and beliefs. As my weekly reflection and response assignment, I decided to be creative and to formulate my own perspective called the, Neo-Critical Functioning, Interpreting Conflict View of a Postmodern Perspective. This is an ideal perspective of a novice graduate students initial understanding of the role of schooling. (Education and Culture Class, Reflections, February 6, 2001; Pai & Adler, 2001, pp. 127-159). I am aware that the way I interact with people in administration is different from the way I interact with professors and studentswith very different thoughts and actions. I have recently developed a friendly and joking relationship with one of the principals of the high schools I visit in [Carver County School District]. He has also given me a nickname, much like an uncle would do. My background is full of these kinds of interactions with male figures as uncles. My professors, I have not felt this comfortable to joke with them on this level. There is a difference in terms of race and relationships, so I know these differences, some subtle and some not, so that I can interact in these settings in differing degrees of interaction, language (form and style), and topics of conversation. (Teaching and Learning Science-Integral Psychology Class, Reflections March 28, 2002) Every individual in society is influenced by social structures, whether they are conscious of them or not. (Adult Learning Class, Reflections, July 2, 2002) Though not surprised, it leaves me wondering how much is lost in learning about adult development when researchers have limited their methods, methodology, and participants. Sociocultural factors and other issues would make

studying people from diverse backgrounds only that more enriching for understanding how different groups learn and develop. (Adult Learning Class, Reflections, July 12, 2002) Hi, Dr. Monkman! I talked with Nancy yesterday about using feminist poststructuralism as my theoretical frame for analysis of the teachers professional development. I have been going on roller coasters of up and down bursts of thinking and inspiration about what it is that I really want to do and trying to find something that really fits my thinking (worldview to some extent). I would love to come by and chat with you. You are always so helpful! I will see you Wednesday. Thanks, Felicia. (E-mail message, October 12, 2002) Again, the above reflections were a starting point or context for thinking about feminist poststructuralism. I feel feminist poststructuralism as a theoretical framework fits well with my thinking, which connects, intersects, and expands my view of how I believe the world operates. I see patternsnot only mine but also in othersand I wanted to see how much I could learn from the teachers of my study. As I continued to think about the process that I was engaging in by choosing to take this line of research, and as I continued to reflect in solitary moments and in community with others, I was confident that this was where the pattern has directed meat least for now. Critical and Feminist Poststructuralism As Guiding Frameworks The foundation for critical theorists is a duality: social critique tied in turn to raised consciousness of the possibility of positive and liberating social change. Social critique may exist apart from social change, but both are necessary for criticalist perspectives (Lincoln & Guba, 2000, p. 177). Elizabeth J. Tisdell (1995) emphasizes the important role that power plays when discussing socially constructed notions of race, ethnicity, gender, and sexual orientation for adult learning. What is viewed as real knowledge is based upon how decisions are made with attention to politics in particular educational settings. For Tisdell (1995), a poststructural pedagogy includes issues of power within the context of postmodernist thinking. Tisdell took liberatory and gender models to synthesize a model that promotes both personal emancipation and public action. The liberatory component emphasizes differences based on race, class, and gender, and the gender or psychological component

emphasizes similarities among women. The poststructural model emphasizes intellectual and emotional components of teaching and learning, agency, and the psychological, social, and political factors that affect teaching and learning. It accounts for differences among teachers, differences in power relations based on race, class, sexual orientations, and other social categories. Therefore, the poststructural model accounts for what liberatory and gender do not do individually but integrates them into a model that accounts for how knowledge is constructed individually and how it is affected socially and politically. It looks at the individual and the intersecting structural systems of privilege and oppression and ones individual identity and social structure (Merriam & Caffarella, 1999, p. 361). Looking at professional development from a feminist poststructural view offers a means for teachers to begin to look at themselves and structures in society that either hinder or assist them in teaching and learning science. It also provides a conceptual framework for me to investigate the teachers own personal experiences and practical knowledge they have acquired from personal experience. Therefore, professional development has emphasized developing teachers practical knowledge, yet reform efforts have often been unsuccessful because they have failed to take teachers existing knowledge, beliefs, and attitudes into consideration (van Driel, Beijaard, & Verloop, 2001). I would go a step further and contend that professional development has failed to study the interior meanings of teachers and their lives, or the multiple ways that teachers are impacted by their positionality. Taking into consideration teachers past experiences, or life histories will warrant an understanding of classroom practices, centered around race, class, and gender, which also influence classroom teaching and learning and teacher professional development. Ada Hurtado (1996) in her study of epistemology argued that group memberships, like class, race, and ethnicity are important in how being poor, of Color, and also a woman results in daily experiences that create a systematically different relationship to knowledge (including its production, comprehension, and integration) (p. 372). A closer look at factors such as gender, race, class, will add to the understanding of how science teachers make meaning out of their lived experiences, and how men and

women work from a particular orientation in their construction of knowledge, power, language, and difference. In the next chapter I introduce more connections between my thinking and this study as I developed a rationale and purpose for the study. I reflected and read a great deal on poststructuralism to educate myself and to reassure that what I envisioned to do for my study was a worthwhile endeavor to attempt. In reflecting, I realized that I had already thought about race, class, gender, and teacher professional development and learned that this approach to studying science teachers would be fascinating to consider. Prior to reading about feminist poststructuralism, I did not have a framework to express my ideas as fully as I imagined them.

CHAPTER 2 PATTERNS AND CONNECTIONS EMPHASIZED Introduction When we teach across the boundaries of race, class, or genderindeed when we teach at allwe must recognize and overcome the power differential, the stereotypes, and the other barriers which prevent us from seeing each other. Those efforts must drive our teacher education, our curriculum development, our instructional strategies, and every aspect of the educational enterprise. Until we can see the world as others see it, all the educational reforms in the world will come to naught. (Delpit, 1995, p. 134) Rationale of Study I spent more than sixteen months (August 2001-March 2003) in a predominantly African American school districtCarver County School District (pseudonym). Carver County School District is a small rural school district in the southeastern United States. Initially I was assigned to work with middle school and high school science departments, teachers, and students in the school district as a graduate assistant/science consultant for the academic school year 2001-2002. My time was divided between one high school, Parks High School, and one middle school, Johnson School, for the first six months (August 2001-February 2002) and then a second high school in a separate town in Carver County, Carver High School (February 2002- June, August 2002-January 2003). My primary focus in Carver School District was on professional development of science teachers through encouraging them to teach science as inquiry or to develop activities that would be more student-centered and less teacher-centered (Moore, 2002). Parker Palmer (1998) explained the teacher-centered approach in a disconnected way: We separate teaching from learning: Result: teachers who talk but do not listen and students who listen but do not talk (p. 66). In a teacher-centered classroom the teacher is in charge, in control, and is responsible for the teaching and learning process. On the

other hand, Conti (1990) explained that in a student-centered approach to teaching the teacher trusts students to take responsibility for their own learning (p. 82). Students would be encouraged to do group presentations and the classroom would be interactive. Inquiry would go more towards a finding out rather than a reaffirming of already validated truths. In essence my emphasis was on increasing student participation and decreasing teacher control, where the teacher is totally in charge and responsible for the teaching and learning process. I worked individually with teachers in their classrooms and in small groups with students. My presence in the classroomsdiscussing with teachers their teaching, providing suggestions for improvement, helping to design inquiry-based lessons, modeling teaching methods, and conducting workshopshave been worthwhile endeavors for the teachers and myself (Moore, 2002). However, the time spent with the teachers did not materialize in teachers consistently transforming their science teaching, changing their roles as science teachers, and their students roles as learners. I realized that I could not change every teacher to develop to a level where I thought they should be in providing more opportunities for student-centered learning. I believe that the science teachers I worked with were reflecting on their practice and making small, or minor changes to their teaching and their beliefs about teaching and learning science. They were at least being receptive of alternative pedagogical methods and focusing more on the students learning and less on authoritarian methods of teaching. However, I did not see changes that involved the kinds of changes that reform advocates (King, Shumow, & Lietz, 2001; Loucks-Horsley, & Matsumoto, 1999; Sheerer, 2000; Supovitz & Turner, 2000). I started thinking that to provoke change involved much more than getting the science teachers to change from a teacher-centered approach to student-centered approaches, or getting them to try this technique, or to do this activity. The change process was more than helping teachers to engage students in more inquiry focused activities rather than seatwork. I was not sure how I could help them change, or what the factors were hindering change, but I was sure that I wanted to know more about them as teachers before I could truly begin to understand the change process.

With more reflection along the lines of critical thinking, I became more and more interested in who this person was that was teaching and how this person came to be the type of science teacher she or he was. I formulated ideas about practice being tied to past experiences and how personal and professional lives impact teaching practices. I wondered if science teachers, given the opportunity to critically reflect on their past experiences, would be able to understand better who they were as teachers and their role as science teachers. Would a better understanding of the self, the teacher, lead to a better understanding of science teaching? Osborne (1998) stated that in general, both personal and professional values and beliefs are derived from many sources. It is the lived experiences and the multiple group memberships that are especially important in shaping individual identities (i.e. African American, female, and single, to name a few of my own). At this point, I had only my own life history to inform me. I thought about my early years of learning, my experiences in high school, college, and post-graduate science classes, and my teaching of undergraduate methods students. I thought about the changes and experiences I had at Florida State. In my mind, feminist poststructuralism was making a great deal of sense. Would it make sense as a study of the science teachers I worked with from Carver County School District? It seemed relevant for me to think about science teacher development as being influenced by race, class, and genderissues that that have been highly influential in my development as an educator. Therefore, I was much more interested in the private lives, or specifically life history as an approach to access what science teachers have experienced that may influence what they are doing in their classrooms. In talking with teachers and gathering past stories from their lives, I hoped to understand them as science teachers and the meanings that make up their daily practices. I believed this information would provide valuable insights into the professional development of science teachers and their classroom practices. I selected a feminist poststructuralist perspective alongside a Foucauldian discourse analysis of power to study teachers stories and teacher professional development. I chose this framework for a number of reasons. First, poststructuralism focuses heavily on power, and the interconnections between science teaching and power

are central to my analysis. Second, poststructuralism challenges the taken-forgrantedness of structures of intelligibility (Lather, 1996, p. 540), or the taken-forgrantedness of discourse associated with education (Gubrium & Holstein, 2000). Poststructuralism allowed me to look at the educational process, such as teaching and learning science, which are often taken-for-granted, to begin to understand more deeply teachers as social actors in the educational process and as participants in their professional development. Third, poststructuralism in its rejection of absolute truths and acceptance of multiple, historical, contextual, contingent, political, and bounded (St. Pierre, 2000, p. 25) constructs makes looking at the contextual and historical factors relevant in life history accounts of the teachers of study. Thus I became interested in the social and political factors that influence teaching and teachers professional development. Fourth, and connected to the previous reason, in using a poststructural feminist frame, it challenges the metanarratives of dominant discourse and includes the perspectives of marginalized groups. Specific to my case is the reporting of African American experience and foregrounding their experiences as important and relevant to the understanding of science teacher development, teaching and learning. The use of personal narrative invited and challenged dominant discourse for understanding individual and collective knowledge. Tisdell (1998) summarized my views succinctly: From an educational perspective, [feminist poststructuralism] is partially accomplished by including the work of women and people of color in the curriculum, and creating space in the learning environment so that the voices of women and those marginalized by race, class, sexual orientation, and age are foregrounded. These ways of providing space for voice have an impact on how participants construct knowledge on an individual level, as well as make apparent some of the politics of the knowledge production process that have marginalized or left out the voices of marginalized people. (pp. 150-51) Therefore the use of poststructuralisma critical and feminist poststructural frame imagines human beings to live in a specific cultural-historical contextenmeshed in relations of power (Soltis, 1988, p. viii). Power is understood to be contextual and

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shifting, as it varies from one situation to the next. The specific contexts from where life stories originate provided additional insights about power and knowledge construction. Further, a feminist frame was used as it complemented poststructuralism in a couple of ways, or it helped to create a different way of looking at research for this study. First, a feminist perspective included looking at ways to change power/knowledge relations in a patriarchal society with knowledge and power that works systematically to marginalize women (Weedon, 1997) and people of color (Hill-Collins, 2000). The feminist perspective for this involved concentrating on the lived experiences of African American science teachers and focusing on power relations within their lives and teaching practices. Second, as qualitative research, a feminist perspective changes the dynamic of the researcher and researched in more collaborative and associative relationships by allowing marginalized groups, who are the three African American science teachers in this study, to have a voice in the research project. Angela Calabrese-Barton (1998) wrote of her interactions with students and in her science teaching that are can be applied to my research in that, making both oppression and power conscious in the discourse of the classroom, and for me, in conducting research, we legitimized a polyphony of voices by valuing lived experience (p. 35). Denzin and Lincoln (2000) noted, the real world makes a material difference in terms of race, class, and gender (p. 21). Additionally, concerns about the researchers own characteristics or positionality and awareness are evident in the reporting when feminist research is conducted (Olesen, 2000). Research Questions The lived experiences of the three African American teachers in this study were highlighted using a feminist poststructural frame of analysis. The research methods were inclusive of marginalized voices and aimed to highlight power/knowledge relations in conversations and practices of the science teachers. The research questions for this interpretive study were: 1. What knowledge and meanings have three African American science teachers gained from their professional development activities while working in a small rural school district? How do these three science teachers define professional development?

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What do their professional development plans reveal about their own perceived needs as science teachers? 2. 3. How are issues of power, knowledge, language, and difference expressed and analyzed in the stories that the three science teachers tell of their lives? For implications of practice, how do teachers describe their science classroom practices? Do teachers maintain the status quo or teach for empowerment as stories are analyzed and considered in the context of power, knowledge, language, and difference? Significance of the Study There is research in support of how life experiences influence teaching practices, or how is it that science teachers have come to understand what it is that they are doing in the classroom based upon past experiences and beliefs (Locks-Horsley & Matsumoto, 1999; Nee-Benham, 1997; Rust, 1999; Schwarz, 2001; Wood, 2000). However, there is limited research regarding people of color and teaching practices in terms of life experiences and science teaching and learning. For example, Delpit (1995) submitted the following statement: People of color are, in general, skeptical of research as a determiner of our fates. However, academic research has, after all, found us genetically inferior, culturally deprived, and verbally deficient (p. 31). By including the experiences of the three African American teachers in my research, I created a space in the learning environment, as Tisdell said, for their voices to be heard. I brought their experiences to the forefront and allowed an opportunity to challenge dominant discourses that have found marginalized groups lacking according to dominant standards. Additionally, Scant attention has been given to the impact of economic, political, and social injustices that permeate the day-to-day existence of African Americans (Bing & Reid, 1996). The issue of instructor positionality (race, class, gender, ethnicity, sexuality, etc.) has not been dealt with in the adult education literature (Tisdell, 1998) or in the science education literature (Atwater, 2000b; McGinnis, 2000; Norman, 1998). Yet the race, gender, class, or sexual orientation of instructors certainly has an influence on teaching and learning, on instructors construction of knowledge, and on classroom

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dynamics (Tisdell, 1998, p. 147). The research field for studying multiple social markers is needed for understanding teachers and their work. By looking at the personal lives of science teachers through life history and inquiring about teaching practices, I attempted to separate and unite the personal and professional lives and noted how they influence each other. Often times, the two go unarticulated as important aspects of teacher professional development (Connelly & Clandinin, 1990, 2000; Osborne, 1998; Palmer, 1998). Finally, by having a limited number of African American teachers considered as participants in research, it left a gap in understanding their lives and perhaps enforced/reenforced misunderstandings of people of color in general. Having African American knowledge and discussing issues centered on race, class, and gender, I opened communication toward understanding and not misunderstanding. Why the Focus on African American Science Teachers? Let there be everywhere our voices, our eyes, our thoughts, our love, our actions, breathing hope and victory. (Sonia Sanchez) While reading an article on feminist poststructuralism from an adult education course I took the Summer 2002, a passage from the article resonated with me so much that it convinced me that the study of African American teachers was necessary. The author wrote: Midway through the course, when students were discussing topics for the final paper, an African-American woman announced that she wanted to do hers on African-American womens hair in relationship to adult development. As the instructor (and a white woman), I didnt see what hair had to do with adult development. I questioned itI didnt understand and wondered, What could hair possibly have to do with adult development? (Tisdell, 1998, p. 148) The honesty of the author in sharing her reservations about what she believed constituted an appropriate topic of research revealed a misunderstanding of African American culture that she felt was not worthy to study. Tisdell (1998) remarked, Had I been an African-American woman, I probably would have understood the relevance of the topic to Black womens development (p. 148). In disclosing her bias and misunderstanding, she persuaded me that studying African American teachers was

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necessary for placing their and my experiences as valid knowledge along most published authors [who] are white, [whom] have determined in part what is considered relevant by the social construction of their whiteness (p. 149). This being the case, and having stated already my rationale for this study, I am committed to contribute my knowledge and understandings as an African American woman. It seems that some researchers are calling for more scholarship in the areas that touch upon race, gender, class, sexual orientation, and ableness (Tisdell, 1998; Atwater, 2000b; Brookfield, 1995). Merriam and Caffarella (1999) contend that race, class, gender, and ethnicity need to be taken into consideration in the learning process as well. While it is evident that race, gender, class, and sexuality have been overlooked in some science education research, the emphasis recently in science education and adult education is for more inclusive research in studying marginalized groups and social variables (Atwater, 2000b; Howes, 2000; McGinnis, 2000; Merriam & Caffarella, 1999; Rennie, 2000). For some, race, class, gender, sexuality, and religion are not salient; however, I know from personal experience that they are essential in understanding teachers, their classroom practices, and their professional development. In fact, they are essential in understanding me. For example, in a recent article in the Journal of Research in Science Education, Females in science education: White is the norm and class, language, lifestyle, and religion are nonissues, Mary M. Atwater (2000b) affirmed that there is a diversity found among females based upon class, ethnicity, language, lifestyle, region of abode, and religion. [The concept of ethnicity refers to the social grouping(s) of people, which includes language, religion, dietary and marital customs and other factors. Ethnicity is fluid and changeable, and often is used synonymously with race (Bhopal & Rankin, 1999.] In conducting research, these markers are overlooked or not emphasized. Participants are grouped together so that diversity and difference are covered up, making light of the multiplicities of interaction among social variables (Rennie, 2000, p. 392). In the context of gender and science education, gender intersects in significant ways with other social variables and these should not be ignored in science education research or in communicating results (Rennie, 2000, p. 392), nor should context be overlooked for understanding individuals in society (Howes, 2000).

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Every unique individual, each unique experience, and each unique context and situation is worthy of consideration in research. When there is a focus on the intersection of gender with ethnicity, class, language, and religion, I do not privilege one group over another, and I do not exclude the experiences of participants who are traditionally marginalized in educational research. As a result, no single perspective or person is emphasized at the expense of others nor do I fail to attend to the richness of what can be learned from the infusion and intersection of diverse perspectives, participants, and insights. Atwater concluded her comments with a proclamation by Sojourner Truth, Aint I a woman, too? For me, this means that as an African American woman, I can be included in research that identifies me. I can choose participants who look like me, and I can embrace differences and similarities. From a feminist poststructural perspective, exactly what I choose to do is embraced as an alternative and acceptable course of research. In wanting to highlight the experiences of African American teachers I inevitably represent myself. Lemke (2001) acknowledged that science education research as an institution is gradually widening its range of contributing perspectives toward a more truly global reach that is also inclusive of the viewpoints of many national minorities (p. 302). Though researchers are considering the limitations of knowledge gained from excluding people of color, there are still areas such as gender, class, ethnicity, and disability, that should be considered more in research (Amstutz, 1999; Flannery, 1994; Imel, 1998; Rennie, 2000; Ross-Gordon, 1991). Using a term mentioned by Tidsell (1998), we are not "generic" researchers and those we study are not "generic" subjects (p. 140). There is "little consideration of race, class, or sexual orientation differences among women, and virtually no consideration of positionality factors of the instructor" (p. 140). As research in science education strives to be more inclusive of these concerns, considerable care has to be taken not to dismiss or over-generalize diversity of experiences that come from the multiple categories in which participants are located. Care is also needed as I acknowledge my own multiple positions in the study that I undertake.

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My Positionality in the Study As an African American woman it is becoming clear that as I learn more about my experiences and myself, I learn more about others, which inherently informs the research that I conduct. With class and religion as additional markers that assist me in constructing knowledge, I am aware of the ways that these constructions interact in how I view science, look at professional development, and conduct research. Thus, I teach and do research not only as a female but also as an African American woman with many layers of understanding, or from multiple positions. Additionally, "What does my [blackness], or my femaleness, or my class background, as well as the positionalities of my [participants], have to do with [my research], teaching and learning together?" (Tisdell, 1998, p. 139). Because I am aware and becoming more aware of the many positions that shape my understandings, I bring these into my teaching, learning, and research. When research is considered in this manner, with my being aware of my biases and at the same time introducing my subjectivities into the research, I bring an extended understanding into the phenomenon that I study and into the analysis that I make. Likewise, these multiple group memberships have much to offer in terms of providing not a new direction in science education research per se, but a necessary introduction of those who have been traditionally marginalized from science education research and from diversity in science education research (McGinnis, 2000). Their voices, along with mine, provide knowledge and new insights into understanding the nature of research in general and teacher development specifically from the perspective of race, class, and gender. Jack Mezirow (1996) stated, "The agent brings her own frame of reference which is an integral element constituting the experience. [However] to understand others, one must gain access to their lived experience so as to clarify and elucidate the way they interpret it" (p. 160). Angela Calabrese-Barton (1998) stated that, any teaching that seeks to actively involve the learner and her or his experiences in the mediated construction of knowledge in meaningful, relevant, inclusive, and nurturing ways is good teaching (p. vii). Likewise, the same argument can be made for research. Any research that seeks to actively involve participants and their experiences in the mediated construction of knowledge in meaningful, relevant, inclusive, and nurturing ways is good

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research. As a result we understand more of who we are as researchers and persons alongside those we study. Because I know my participants and have developed a friendly relationship with them inside and outside the classroom, I have achieved a certain level of access and privilege for understanding them as science teachers, participants, and persons. I am also able to actively involve them in the research because of this relationship. Research that takes the complicated road that leads to a deeper understanding of self and the participants and that involves topics of interest that expand our existing knowledge of the world is desired. Research that does not emphasize one way to think, one model of interpretation, one particular kind of person to study, or does not communicate a generic representation of diversity is necessary for understanding the influence of power, knowledge/meaning, language, and difference as feminist poststructural categories. The contextual understanding as well as individual and collective understandings that come from including difference in research is ideal in a feminist poststructural view of the world. In the following sections of this chapter I introduce the major theories that support my overall theoretical framework, feminist poststructuralism. The major theories are Postmodernism, Adult Learning Theory, Critical Theory, and Poststructuralism. Each of them is discussed in the next section. A Postmodernism Perspective Deborah W. Kilgore (2001) made a point that has been consistent throughout my learning in the science education program: It has become clear that there is no such thing as one kind of learner, one learning goal, one way to learn, nor one setting in which learning takes place (p. 53). Theorists of postmodernism, adult learning, critical theory, poststructuralism, and feminist perspectives have articulated this point as well. They all espouse an orientation toward alternative ways of viewing the worldnot just one. A learner brings with her an array of experiences that make her unique. These experiences influence learningwhat and how we learn from various experiences, in multiple contexts, and in various ways. Postmodernism is a term that is used, and defined, in a multitude of ways (Crotty, 1998, p. 183). It is a contemporary sensibility, developing since World War II,

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that privileges no single authority, method, or paradigm (Denzin & Lincoln, 2000, p. 24, endnote #4). It views that there is no single truth or reality independent of the knower, and criticizes the underlying principles that explain behavior or phenomena across individuals or settings (Merriam & Caffarella, 1999). Postmodernism had its early roots in literature and the arts. Crotty (1998) explained postmodernism as a broad category that is still developing. Postmodernism is the most slippery of terms. It encompasses a broad variety of developments, not only (and certainly not first) in philosophy and social science, but also in architecture, the arts, literature, fashion, and many other spheres of human endeavour. (p. 183) Postmodern perspectives emphasize the need for multiple narratives. Pai and Adler (2001) described the postmodern world as producing knowledge that arose from power relationships that have excluded certain groups: From the postmodern perspective, what has passed for reason and objective knowledge has in fact been the knowledge, norms, and expectations of those in power. What has been seen as objective truth is defined by postmodernists as a master narrative in which those who hold power determine what passes for knowledge Postmodernists argue for the need for multiple narratives. Rather than one way of knowing and understanding, there are many. Subordinated and excluded groups are given voice and opportunity to discover their worlds and histories. (p. 148) Because of the uniqueness of individual experience as well as similarities and differences, it is not expected in a postmodern world that there is one way of knowing, one kind of learner, or one real place to learn. The richness of individual and collective experience is the subject or object to begin looking at the diversity of individuals and how knowledge is constructed and valued. Diversity of knowing is celebrated in a postmodern world. Thus being inclusive of other ways of thinking beyond traditional modes of inquiry to more contemporary perspectives (Merriam & Caffarella, 1999, p. 341), such as those in postmodern perspectives, opens multiple avenues for understanding, seeking, claiming, and explaining the world in which we live. Nevertheless, postmodernism is not to be considered a single, unified theory but rather a

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mood or frame of mind (Noddings, 1995, p. 72; Ozmon & Craver, 1999, p. 361). It is not a theory or set of ideas but a form of questioning, an attitude, or perspective (Kerka, 1997). Postmodernism is best understood as a way of knowing and explaining the world. Merriam and Caffarella (1999) described the postmodern perspective as open to many perspectives. Their view considered contextual factors in a postmodern world. In a postmodern world, everything is contested, up for grabs. What has been or is considered true, real, or right can be questioned; there are multiple interpretations depending on where one is standing and what factors are in juxtaposition with one another. There are no absolutes, no single theoretical framework for examining social and political issues. (p. 356) Likewise, Crotty (1998) explained the emergent nature of postmodern views. Postmodernism is described as producing a less than cohesive, coherent orientation that modernism embraced. This leaves postmodernism subject to openness and a blurring of boundaries. What postmodernist spirit has brought into play is primarily an overpowering loss of totalizing distinctions and a consequent sense of fragmentation. The boundary between elite and popular culture, between art and life, is no more. Along with that boundary has gone the messianic sense of mission that modernists have allowed themselves. (pp. 212-13) Though postmodernism is criticized for appearing to have no boundaries in that all is up for grabs, postmodern perspectives are ideal for constructing contextual boundaries as they apply to a particular interests. The push of postmodernism is aimed at deconstructing Western metanarratives of truth and the ethnocentrism implicit in the European view of history as the unilinear progress of universal reason a strange convergence between critical theorists and political conservatives... (Kincheloe & McLaren, 2000, p. 294). Deconstructive methodologies refute not just the context of scientific knowledge but also the very rules used to justify knowledge (Collins, 2000, p. 54). Therefore, postmodernism is concerned with how knowledge is constructed. There is emphasis on the social construction of knowledge, and this too is context-dependent. Thus, objects and events have equivocal or indeterminate meanings without a discernible context. It is through

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contextualization that practical meaning is derived (Gubrium & Holstein, 2000, p. 491). Postmodernism offers a foundation for knowledge that invites multiple ideas and practices. Postmodernism as a way of knowing and inclusive of various perspectives commits itself to ambiguity, relativity, fragmentation, particularity, and discontinuity (Crotty, 1998, p. 185). Postmodernism opens doors for expanding and broadening the way we look at the world. It invites multiple views and situates them in social contexts. Additionally those who challenge the theoretical perspective of exclusionary models often fall within broad categories of postmodernism and critical theory (Kilgore, 2001). For example, postmodernist and critical thinking in adult education or adult theory looks toward recognition and theoretical inclusion of the diversity of learners (p. 61). Experience as a foundation for adult education is accepted as individuals develop and change. Adult Learning Theory Adult learning seeks to theorize adult education as a vehicle for self-development and change and to explore how such theorizing meets consequences for practice (Tennant, 2000). Looking at teachers as adult learners, Gary J. Conti (1990) suggested teachers who are unable to clearly state their beliefs are likely to not understand their role, the purpose of curriculum, or articulate their positions concerning education. If this is true, then teachers are less likely to understand how changes in practice, their role as teachers, or how underlying beliefs and assumptions about themselves as learners and teachers influence their self and professional development. The adult learner may not be able to articulate their beliefs for making change. The conventional view of adult education assumes that adult learners have a greater awareness of self through cultivating a self that is independent, rational, autonomous, coherent, and that has a sense of social responsibility (Tennant, 2000, p. 99). The adult learner learns from past experiences toward becoming an independent self toward lifelong learning. Critical moments in the life of a person direct their course of life in a particular direction, and learning may or may not take place as a result of those moments. Jack Mezirow (1997) called an event in a persons life that promotes transformative learning a disorienting dilemma. The disorienting dilemma is a particular life event or life experience such as a death of a loved one, a job change, or an illness that a person

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experiences as a crisis. This crisis cannot be resolved through the application of previous problem-solving strategies (Merriam and Caffarella, 1999, p. 321). Furthermore, Mezirow (1997) believed that it is through critical reflection and discourse that a person makes meaning of their experiences, and this process of critical reflection and discourse promotes learning. Stephen D. Brookfield (2000) proposed that there are two purposes of critical reflection for adult learners. First critical reflection uncovers submerged power dynamics that are realized in classrooms (p. 39). It is important for educators and those who work with adult learners to acknowledge and then critically analyze ones own power toward working more democratically and cooperatively with learners and colleagues (p. 40). The second purpose of critical reflection is to uncover hegemonic assumptions. These assumptions are about practices which represent common sense wisdom that we accept as being in our own best interests, without realizing that these same assumptions actually work against us in the long term by serving the interests of those opposed to us (p. 40-41). Gramsci (1978) described hegemony as the process whereby ideas, structures, and actions come to be seen by the majority of people as wholly natural, preordained, and working for their own good, when in fact they are constructed and transmitted by powerful minority interests to protect the status quo that serves these interests so well. (As cited by Brookfield, 2000, p. 41) For adult learners, critical reflection is a process of uncovering those taken-forgranted ideas of practice and exposing power relationships in the process. It involves learners looking at assumptions that they hold that may actually hinder them from being more effective learners and teachers. The critical nature of reflective practice requires one to look at how power operates in classrooms. The uncovering reveals systems of power and oppression. Critical Theory The identification of systems of power and oppression as a lens through which to analyze society is a key component of critical theory (Merriam & Caffarella, 1999, p. 347). The major advocates for critical theory were philosophers such as Max Horkheimer, Theodor Adorno, Herbert Marcuse, and Jurgen Habermas from the

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Frankfurt school. The Frankfurt School represented an attempt to reevaluate capitalism and the Marxist explanation of class domination and to reformulate the meaning of human emancipation (Pai & Adler, 2001, p. 141). These philosophers wanted to conceptualize a society where individuals could think more critically about their status in society. If humans were to free themselves from domination and authoritarianism, the need for self-reflection, critical inquiry, and self-understanding was needed (Pai & Adler, 2001, p. 142). Kushamira (2001) advocated for a posts perspectives in educational research. This view advances critical and inclusive perspectives in teacher education, research, and theory. Critical theory looks at the role of social systems and their influence on individuals. It broadens the context for understanding how issues of power work in the social world. Critical inquiry keeps in the spotlight power relationships within society (Crotty, 1998). Kincheloe and McLaren (2000) described critical theory as being concerned with power and how various social dynamics interact in the world. A critical social theory is concerned in particular with issues of power and justice and ways that the economy, matters of race, class, and gender, ideologies, discourses, education, religion and other social institutions, and cultural dynamics interact to construct a social system. (p. 281) In a critical theory analysis, the system is understood to represent an institution (such as government or education) that functions to reproduce the status quo, in particular the existing social class structure (Merriam & Caffarella, 2001, p. 351). Education as a system involves the power relations of all invested in the process of education. This would include administration, teachers, students, parents, and the community at large. Additionally, critical theory and its theorists aim for emancipatory goals. They search for knowledge in the context of action and the search for freedom (Crotty, 1998, p. 159). This knowledge allows individuals to act in their own best interests. It may involve resistance to dominant ideologies while at the same time reclaiming for the self certain freedoms not previously realized. Lincoln and Denzin (2000) stated, The critique and concern of the critical theorists has been an effort to design a pedagogy of resistance within communities of difference. The pedagogy of

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resistance, of taking back voice of reclaiming narrative for ones own rather than adapting to the narratives of a dominant majority. (p. 1056) Critical theory aims to affect change through reflection and action. To create new frameworks and to provide alternative voices for understanding the professional development of teachers, research has to look for ways to help science teachers reflect on how the current system of race, class, and gender, in the form of beliefs and ideologies, prevent them from reflecting critically and making changes to current practice. Thus critical research calls current ideology into question, and initiate action, in the cause of social justice (Crotty, 1998, p. 157). As science teachers begin to view themselves in light of social structure, the critical perspective provides an avenue to examine, understand, and critique deeply held beliefs about their students, their teaching, and the process of schooling. Critical thinking encourages teachers to think about themselves as actors for social change and to be active in their personal and professional development. Poststructuralism Poststructuralism has been described and used interchangeably with postmodernism. However I see postmodernism as an umbrella termmore general in its conceptualizations, and with poststructuralism a more specific term underneath it (See Figure 2.1).

PostmodernismOpen and broadly conceptualized. Poststructuralism-Specific and inclusive. Context and sociohistorical dimensions. Feminist PoststructuralismConcerned with nature of power.

POSTMODERNISM

Poststructuralism

Feminist

Figure 2.1 Postmodernism and Poststructuralism

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Crotty (1998) explained that a number of authors consider poststructuralism as being an extension of postmodernism. Postmodernism provided orientations and ideas, yet poststructuralism made its own ideas, enlarged, and applied them to an extended range of subject areas. Kincheloe and McLaren (2000) noted that the two have certain similarities, still they are not considered to be discrete homologies (p. 293). Postmodernism and poststructuralism may address similar issues, however poststructuralism tends to be more specific, inclusive, and contextual in its application and theorizing. Poststructuralism as a contemporary form of discourse is rooted in the writings of Michel Foucault (1972) and Jacques Derrida (1976). Foucault was concerned with the historical and cultural nature of systems of power/knowledge and how these construct subjects and their worlds (Gubrium & Holstein, 2000). Foucault conceptualized poststructuralism as an approach to knowing (Ropers-Huilman, 1998). Though Derrida does not identify himself as a poststructuralist (Agger, 1991), Derrida was interested in the written language rather than the spoken word of how subjects interact in the world. His discussions of poststructuralism were described as a theory of knowledge and language (Agger, 1991). Madan Sarup (1993) argued that structuralism and poststructuralism are very different. Poststructuralism in its early conceptualizations was in response to structuralism with an emphasis on the stable sign (Saussurian view) and a critique of the unified consciousness that was created by language (p. 3). Sarup continued to explain that poststructuralism involve[d] a critique of metaphysics, of the concepts of causality, of identity, of the subject, and of truth (p. 3). Poststructuralism was a critique of structuralisms insistence on stability and the unitary subject. There are some key characteristics of similarity and difference between structuralism and poststructuralism. Below I have offered similarities in italics, and then followed it them with key feature of poststructuralism. 1. There is critique of the human subject. Poststructuralism wants to dissolve the subject. The human subject does not have a unified consciousness but is structured by language.

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2.

There is critique of historicism. History has meaning and reveals the multiplicity of factors that create difference. Poststructuralism undermines conventional notions of history as a grand narrative for explaining the present and future.

3.

There is critique of meaning. The signified (concept and meaning) is demoted and the signifier (word) is made dominant, which allows meaning to be dependent upon culture, or context. This view challenges the meaning of words and language.

4.

There is critique of philosophy. Poststructuralism questions the status of science, reason, rationality, and ideology. Also within this, binary oppositions, hierarchical and philosophical oppositions are reversed and displaced, or deferred (St. Pierre, 2000). (pp. 2-3) Tisdell (1998) described some basic assumptions or themes in understanding

poststructural theory. First, poststructuralism builds on and critiques structural feminist theories, such as liberal feminism, which aims to reform within the system and not the system itself (Acker, 1987). In this view the significance of gender with other structural theories are entertained. It intersects with gender and other systems of privilege and oppression, such as race and class orientations. Second poststructuralism problemetizes the notion of Truth. Postmodernists, poststructuralists, and some feminists proclaim that there is no one Truth. There are a multiplicity of truths and not one Truth. While interacting in the world, individuals develop knowledge of the world and become conscious of not one way to understand it but several ways to explain and to know. These truths become part of a developing and changing construct of reality. For agreement with Tisdells notions of truth, Cunningham and Fitzgerald (1996) also described knowledge and truth in terms of big T and small t truth. They explained the relative nature of truth in the following manner: When it comes to truth, there is either no truth, many truths, or truth for a particular culture. In other words, if truth is possible, it is relative. Many poststructuralists/postmodernists deny what they call truth with a capitol T, but allow what they refer to as many truths with a small t. All claims to Truth are seen as arbitrary acts of power that include and exclude individuals in groups. (p. 49)

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Since there is no one Truth, the aim of postmodernism and poststructuralism regarding knowledge and meaning is to consider the multiple meanings individuals use to explain reality. With the diversity/pluralism and its ethic of tolerance, knowledge is either nonexistent or relative, and contradictory notions can all be considered equally true if locally held (Cunningham & Fitzgerald, 1996, p. 49). The relativity of truth and the concern for non-representation of a universal truth allow for the multiplicity of views to be expressed in poststructural thought. Third, there is constantly shifting identity associated with a persons social position. With consideration of this shifting nature, there is an increased capacity for agency and an illumination of different truths. An individual being a member of different social structures will see how her identity has been shaped and impacted by social systems of privilege and oppression. The shifting of identity is in response to multiple social group memberships. Fourth, poststructuralism deconstructs categories of binary opposites, such as male/female, black/white, rational/emotional (Tisdell, 1998; Collins, 2000), and Eurocentric/Afrocentric, self/other (Collins, 2000). Poststructural thought would rather look at rational and affective connections and how they together inform what we can rationally know about the world (Tisdell, 1998). Poststructuralism emphasizes possibilities of inclusive ways of thinking about gender, race, and identity, and deconstructs polarizing categories that divide rather than unite. Sue Middleton (1993) offered a definition of poststructuralism that places meaning and knowledge construction in a more contextualized frame with power playing a key role. Poststructuralism is often seen as a subset of postmodernism.[It is] a disbelief, a skepticism, or suspension of belief in universal truth or in the possibility of a totalizing master narrative and, instead a focus on the various master narratives, disciplines, or theories as regimes of truthas historical and socially constructed knowledge with varying and unequal relations to various apparatuses of power. (Endnote #7, p. 58) Becky Ropers-Huilman (1998) described poststructuralism as comprising four major tenets of thought. They are power, knowledge and meaning, language, and difference. These categories are described below and served as the initial categories for

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analyzing science teachers stories in light of poststructural understandings for teacher professional development. Power In the traditional sense, power was viewed as residing inward and within the person. Foucault (1980) understood power to reside in the court and the king (p. 39). He explained power to be an individual embodiment shown through practices, or operating in the lives of individuals on a daily basis. In thinking about the mechanisms of power, I am thinking rather of its capillary form of existence, the point where power reaches into the very grain of individuals, touches their bodies and inserts itself into their actions and attitudes, their discourses, learning processes and everyday lives. The eighteenth century invented, so to speak, a synaptic regime of power, a regime of its exercise within the social body rather than from above it. (p. 39) In contemporary understanding, poststructuralists (and postmodernists) take issue with structuralisms overemphasis on locating power outside the individual. Then reality would be a result of structures out there, exterior to me (Pinar, Reynolds, Slattery, & Taubman, 2000, p. 456), suggesting that relations exist in institutions and social practices in our society that cannot be explained or changed by individual or group intervention (Weedon, 1997, p. 3). Poststructuralism frames power not simply as one aspect of a society, but as the basis of society (Kincheloe & McLaren, 2000, p. 296). Still, In a postmodern [and poststructural] perspective, individuals have some power alsopower to affect or resist the status quo (Merriam & Caffarella, 1999, pp. 346-47). Likewise poststructural feminist theories tend to account for multiple systems of privilege and oppression and their intersections, along with peoples capacity for agency or resistance (Tisdell, 1995, p. 61). In this way the individual can act on her own behalf. Thus power is understood to be shifting, changing, and contextually based because of multiple group membership, such as race, class, and gender. One of the major tasks of a critical analysis regarding power is to uncover and expose power relationships wherein the domination of one groups interest results in the oppression of other groups (Merriam & Caffarella, 1999, p. 347). In school interactions,

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power relations occur between administration, teachers, and parents. In classroom interactions, power relations occur between teacher and student(s). A critical analysis of how power is perceived by teachers and students in the classroom is essential to understanding the teaching and learning process that occurs in science classrooms. Associated with power is empowerment. Empowerment involves people developing capacities to act successfully within the existing system and structures of power, while emancipation concerns critically analyzing, resisting and challenging structures of power (Merriam & Caffarella, 1999, p. 348). Young (1997) stated that empowerment includes both individual change and collective action. In the classroom, empowerment strategies cannot be taken out of the historical context that created lack of power in the first place, nor can they be viewed in isolation from present processes (p. 372). The issue of power in the science classroom for students, and for teachers as a means of exercising pedagogical freedom, cannot impinge upon student learning. Truly for empowerment to be achieved as Young proposed, both individual and collective power has to work for and not against the teaching and learning process. Once power relationships are exposed in classrooms and schools, then an understanding of this dynamic toward empowerment and emancipatory teaching and learning for both students and teachers can be realized. As learning occurs in classrooms, students and teachers are acquiring knowledge and making meaning from their experiences. Knowledge and Meaning From a postmodern perspective, knowledge is socially constructed and takes form in the eyes of the knower. The contextual basis of knowledge construction is not without the influence of social structures that create and mediate how knowledge is constructed and how power is distributed. Hurtado (1996) acknowledged that poststructural feminists are: correct in proclaiming that all identities are socially constructed and therefore the outcome of context-specific relationships. And yet, these social contexts are not independent of a ruthless, relentless, and pervasive social structure that still uses gender, race/ethnicity, class, and sexual orientation (as crude as these categories are) to enforce privilege and subordination, privilege and subordination

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that are largely mediated through production and distribution of knowledge. (p. 376) Knowledge and meaning making are socially constructive processes that we engage in for understanding the world around us. How knowledge and meaning are made is a result of the social contexts in which we live. For example, the meaning I make from being an African American woman who grew up in a predominantly rural setting would be different from the meaning made had I lived in a large metropolitan area as an Anglo-American male. The privilege afforded me from a rural background has also caused a certain amount of subordination in the things I have been exposed to and the knowledge I gained from this position. The same is true as race and gender have been categories of privilege and subordination. The knowledge and meaning that one makes is dependent upon context. If we accept the idea that the way a woman knows or experiences her world changes as her position changes in an ever-shifting cultural context, we are forced to explore the meaning of context and examine its full implications (Bing & Reid, 1996, p. 193). The context becomes primary in understanding what and how knowledge is acquired and used. Knowledge, then, is something that is part of the social and cultural context in which it occurs; how an individual or a community constructs knowledge and the type of knowledge constructed are socioculturally dependent (Merriam & Caffarella, 1999, p. 349). The context is important for understanding feminist poststructural thought in the development of science teachers and the knowledge they have generated from their lives. Specific to feminist views of knowledge construction, Belenky, Clinchy, Goldberger, and Tarules Womens Ways of Knowing (WWK) (1986) suggested that knowledge was something that each individual constructed. From interviews of 135 women they found five different ways that women constructed knowledge, ranging from silence to constructed knowing. Their psychological model of women development however looks differently from a feminist poststructural lens, which introduces the importance of contextual knowledge and meaning. For the ten year anniversary of WWK, Knowledge, Difference, and Power (KDP) (1996), edited by Goldberger, Tarule, Clinchy, and Belenky, was published in response to years of deliberation and research after WWK. The editors admitted that in WWK they

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stopped short of analyzing data to highlight the role of social positionality [i.e. race, class, gender, ethnicity, sexuality, etc.] and oppression in the construction of knowledge (Goldberger, 1996, p. 8). In the ten years after WWK, Goldberger and her colleagues realized that social context and culture shape knowing (p. 16). The fourteen chapters contained in KDP touch on issues of power differentials in the construction and evaluation of knowledge, discussion of silence and power, cultural diversity and local knowledge, and other related topics that contribute to the critical and contextual nature of knowledge and meaning. Ada Hurtado (1996), a woman of color and a contributor to KDP, understood the contextual basis of knowledge construction. Because feminists of Color write from a position of negotiation because of their multiple group memberships, they have particular importance in documenting the maneuvers necessary to obtain and generate knowledge (p. 375). She also discussed that women of color are made accountable to different expectations and behaviors because they belong to certain significant social groups that have been socially categorized in our society into a specific, well-defined set of expectations (p. 374). This means that women of color and their learning are affected by context. Because of the shifting nature or multiple memberships that women hold in society (i.e. race, class, gender, sexuality, age, etc.), the way that they obtain knowledge and use it is often a result of and in response to what society expects of them. Again, power plays a significant role in how women of color, as well as men of color, negotiate the boundaries society has set up and the knowledge and meaning they all acquire. The acquisition of this power is often manifested in language. Language Critical theorists or critical researchers realize the importance of language in society. According to poststructuralism, language is an unstable system of referents (Denzin & Lincoln, 2000, p. 24, endnote #4). Similarly, It is an unstable social practice whose meaning shifts, depending upon the context in which it is used (Kincheloe & McLaren, 2000, p. 284). Further language is associated with power and is enacted in particular contexts for control. Language having a regulation and domination control is perceived much the same way as privilege and oppression are viewed in power.

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Criticalists underscore regulation and domination and poststructuralists in understanding how language is used to maintain, monitor, manipulate, and manage knowledge. Rather, from a critical perspective, linguistic descriptions are not simply about the world but serve to construct it. With these linguistic notions in mind, criticalists begin to study the way language in the form of discourses serves as a form of regulation and domination. Discursive practices are defined as a set of tacit rules that regulate what can and cannot be said, who can speak with the blessings of authority and who must listen, whose social constructions are valid and whose are erroneous and unimportant. (p. 284) Language thus signifies access to or exclusion from communities of power (Collins, 2000, p. 57). Language acts as a gate to keep out or a bridge that one crosses for access to powerful positions encouraged by language. Not possessing the language, whether written or oral, remains a major device to maintain boundaries between insiders and outsiders (p. 57). Thus when one does not know the language, it becomes difficult and almost impossible to communicate in discourses of power. When one knows the language of discourse, she can interact and negotiate within the arena of play to her advantage. To define discourse in the context of language, I am referring to it as a way of speaking or talking related to the content of a subject or discipline such as science scientific language, scientific discourse, and even the technical language of a science. Miller (2000) defined discourse as speaking or writing in a specialist area of technical knowledge with its own vocabulary and is seen as an important element in the way that power-knowledge relations are exercised (p. 73). Furthermore, James Paul Gee (1999) defined and made a distinction between small d discourse and Big D Discourse. When little d discourse (language-in-use) is melded integrally with nonlanguage stuff to enact specific identities and activities, then I say that big D Discourses are involved ways of acting, interacting, feeling, believing, valuing, together with other people and with various sorts of characteristic objects, symbols, tools, and technologies... In turn, you produce, reproduce, sustain, and transform a given form of life or Discourse. (p. 7)

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Thus Big D Discourses are always language plus other stuff (p. 17), being the ways of acting, interacting, feeling, believing, valuing, together with other people and with various sorts of characteristic objects, symbols, tools, and technologies (p. 7). For example, science as a discipline or subject area has its own discourse and culture of power. The culture of power of school science is taught through understanding the language, rules, and discourses of that content. For instance Bernstein (1983) explained that science has its own vocabulary yet it is one of many and should be recognized as having limitations. Science is nothing more nor less than a very effective vocabulary for coping, or following relatively clear patterns of argumentation. The point is not to get trapped into thinking that science is the only vocabulary available to us or that it limits the possibility of inventing new vocabularies, or that philosophy or any other cultural discipline ought to be able to beat science at its own game. (p. 203) Moreover Southerland (2000) stated that, To use scientific criteria as the only measure of knowledge, to see science as the only legitimate form of knowledge, is to view science as the sole legitimate component of our world view is clearly in error (p. 296). The scientific Discourse, including talk and conversation, writing and acting, is manifested in language. Having the language is having the culture of power of science. For many students of color it is difficult to cross cultural and language boundaries to obtain the language and culture of power exercised through language (Ogbu, 2000; Meyer, 1998). Lisa Delpit (1995) argued that teachers should teach explicitly the language, rules, and culture of power in order for students to succeed in schools and be able to interact with those holding the power. In other words, teaching explicitly the language or discourse of science is required for student success. At the same time educators and researchers must create curriculum designed to meet the particular needs of children of color based upon their particular language or culture, as in Delpits Native American and Black American students who understood the process and product of writing, or in Seilers study of urban male youth learning physics (Seiler, 2000). Teachers taught the culture of power while allowing students opportunity to use their form of cultural capitol for success in writing and in learning science. Seiler (2000) revealed how science created a context of domination and oppression (p. 1011)

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whereby language became a form of regulation and domination in the science classrooms. In teaching school science, Karen Meyers (1998) described scientific discourse as a transparent obstacle where it becomes science as a second language (p. 467) for scientific literacy. She developed a strategy for teaching science as a process of creative expression. Students engaged in science in a participatory fashion where language became a contagious agenta virus where female students explained science in their own voice (p. 468). Students engaged in scientific discourse by creating a new vocabulary while at the same time gaining the culture of power to understand, explain, and participate in learning science. Meyers explained that her role as midwife allowed her to slip from Physics 101 jargon to her mother tongue in order to nurture, encourage, and transgress boundaries so that her students could learn science. Multiple roles, such as teacher, researcher, and nurturer in Meyers case, often mean serving the interests of those who do not possess the language or the culture of power of science discourse. The taken-for-granted roles of teaching and learning are deconstructed and recreated for student access and success. Teacher and students are both teachers and learners in these situations, breaking the usual dichotomy of teacher/student. The teacher takes on multiple roles, differing roles. In a poststructural perspective breaking the dual categories that prohibit more expanded notions are encouraged. Difference A poststructural perspective of difference addresses the relations between a variety of differences and power, and the dualisms that are found within Western rationalist thinking (Ropers-Huilman, 1998, p. 8). The dualisms exist due to an acceptance of them and not problematizing the power relations that they establish (p. 8). Poststructural writers attempt to expose and deconstruct the underlying assumptions found in dualistic thinking. Also associated with difference is the primary and secondary positions occupied by dualistic thinking. In most cases, the category of Other or marginal has occupied a secondary position of being on the outside. The marginal status that people of color have been assigned is a reflection of the way mainstream society sees them, but for them it

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may not be seen this way. Freire (1970) suggested that the outside position is no more outside than those occupying this status. For example, he points out that those who are alienated are considered to be marginal or oppressed as a result of societys own pathology: marginal, a pathology of the healthy society. The truth is, however, the oppressed are not marginals, are not men [sic] living outside society. They have always been insideinside the structure, which made them beings for others. The solution is not to integrate them into the structure of oppression, but to transform that structure so that they can become beings for themselves. (p. 61) Frieres aim was to transform society through transforming the self. In order to transform society and to change the oppressive structures that existed in society, critical reflection and action were key elements toward this process. Patricia Hill Collins (2000) explained binary thinking as producing oppositional categories of differences. These categories were created from the authority of scientific thought that compartmentalized and divided our thinking. Binary thinking legitimated by scientific authority proved central in generating this version of difference. Grounded in binaries such as White/Black, man/woman, reason/emotion, heterosexual/homosexual, Eurocentric/Afrocentric, and self/other, science manufactured views of a world compartmentalized into either/or oppositional categories. (p. 60) Collins went on to explain that binary thinking defined one side of the dualism by the absence of characteristics or qualities of the other side. By doing this, it afforded one side normality and relegated the other to a deviant, oppositional Other (p. 61). Dualistic and oppositional categories then produce two groups, one often against the other, one more inferior than the other, and one greater than the other. Understanding difference can be explained in terms of background cultural context and social environments. Background cultural contexts influence how meaning is constructed for individuals in one or the Other category, thus deconstructing oppositional thinking. As a result, vast networks of background contexts create different meanings (Wilber, 2000, p. 166). Jenny Wade (1996) also made this point in relationship

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to the different social environments that people are in that help to create meaning or consciousness for them; a person may operate at one stage in one social milieu and at a higher or lower one in another setting without being aware of making a consciousness shift, and also without the ability to transfer one level of awareness to a different situation (Wade, 1996). Therefore background cultural contexts allow a person to interact and behave in multiple contexts, either knowing or not knowing the subtle changes that occur in these settings. Difference then may not be as definitive as either/or in this sense. However, it is the context that gives the meaning, otherwise a meaningless element becomes meaningful only by virtue of the total structure (Wilber, 2000, p. 165), or within the particular context where meaning is made. The context is critical to understanding what knowledge is generated and how differences are understood within these contexts. In summary, poststructuralism denies all appeals to foundational, transcendental, or universal truths or metanarratives and places attention to language, power, desire, and representation as discursive categories (Pinar, Reynolds, Slattery, & Taubman, 2000, p. 452). Power, knowledge, language, and difference in a poststructural perspective all extend an explanation of reality for marginalized groups within a particular context. There is an emphasis on the relationship between individual and social influences in understanding the social world, whereby poststructuralism has sought to repudiate, dismantle, and reveal the variance and contingency of the system (p. 453). Thus Doll (1993) described postmodernism as a different social, personal, and intellectual vision predicated not on positivistic certainty but on pragmatic doubt, that comes from any decision based not on metanarrative themas but on human experience and local history (p. 61). Both postmodernism and poststructuralism seek to challenge final meaning or truth (Pinar, et al., 2000, p. 467). Postmodern and Poststructural Critiques In this section I provide critiques of both postmodernism and poststructuralism, leading to a discussion of feminist poststructuralism. Feminist poststructuralism is the predominant theoretical framework for this study. While postmodernists emphasize the importance of allowing cultural diversity, transforming society to establish pluralistic democracy, and helping the oppressed to

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form their own identity, postmodernism has been critiqued for its difficult and esoteric nature of language that makes it tough to understand (Pai & Adler, 2001, p. 149; Tong, 1989). The difficulty in grasping concepts or understanding what postmodernism has to offer gets lost in the language. Additionally, Collins (2000) in her article, Whats going on? Black feminist thought and the politics of postmodernism, presented a critique of postmodernism that negates a consideration of difference and structural power. In actuality, the loose principles of postmodernism have been expressed along a continuum from extreme postmodern theories to reconstructive postmodern theories (Best & Keller, 1991). One end engages in endless deconstructive activities, whereas the other tries to use postmodern ideas to reconstruct (but not construct) society. On this [extreme] end, everything is constructed, all is in constant play, nothing is certain, and all social life consists of representations. all experience is seen as being historically constructed. Doing so allows socially constructed differences emerging from historical patterns of oppression to be submerged within a host of more trivial differences [that] can then be discussed as a question of individual identity, leaving behind the troublesome politics associated with racism, sexism, and other oppressions. (pp. 62-63) I understand Collins critique to be against postmodernisms neglect to consider difference that arises from socially constructed structures, leaving the individual to construct for herself an identity separate from systems of power. Though postmodernism invites multiplicity of ideas, thinking, and perspectives, it at the same time disregards other categories that are necessary for understanding the complexity of human and social life. Likewise there are others who critique poststructuralism as a field of knowledge and research. Patti Lather (1991) shared three. First, she believed that due to the specific and unique contexts of poststructural analyses, there is concern for a neglect of the largescale trends that differentially affect its members. Second, she warns poststructuralist thought not to create a generalized otherness that negates the diversity and difference that exists within or between groups. Third, poststructural discourse is not readily

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accessible to marginalized groups, whom are precisely what poststructuralism is intended to include. Jennifer Gores (1993) concern is that poststructuralism may have limited theoretical use for those who try to generalize its meanings to their particular situations. However, Because poststructuralism itself claims that meaning is a continually shifting construct, it holds itself available for redefinition and, subsequently, for alternative purposes (Ropers-Huilman, 1998, p. 11). In this, poststructuralism as a theoretical approach does not proclaim to have all the answers but is a useful reference for framing questions that have been untouched by postmodern and structural analysis. Elizabeth J. Tisdell (1998) also cited a criticism of the structural modes toward an overemphasis on structures, the individuals capacity for agencythe capacity to have some control of ones life beyond or outside of these social structuresis underplayed or ignored (p. 144). Thus, poststructural feminist theories tend to account for multiple systems of privilege and oppression and their intersections, along with peoples capacity for agency or resistance (Tisdell, 1995, p. 61). It is best said that power/knowledge is the center of the discourse rather than the individual. Agency is not lost but rather reconfigured (Butler, 1992; Popkewitz & Brennan, 1998). Feminist poststructuralist theories argue that by assuming people to be effects of language, knowledge, power, and history, rather than their essential authors, a more provisional, historical, and ethical understanding of agency is possible (Britzman, 2000, p. 36; Butler, 1990). Poststructuralism provides the context to begin thinking more deeply about issues that postmodernism does not address. Although postmodernism provides a plausible response to dominant discourses and the politics they promote, it fails to provide directions for constructing alternatives (Hill, 2000, p. 42). As a result, the study of poststructuralism is generally described as one constituted, not in advance of, but within discourse and cultural practice (St. Pierre & Pillow, 2000, p. 6). The poststructural frame allows me to look specifically at context and multiple structures that have played a significant role in the lives of science teachers. The concern for agency is dealt with by including a gender or feminist perspective that sees individuals as active agents, struggling to control and change their lives (Acker,

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1987, p. 14). This perspective emphasizes individual and collective action toward change. It appears that what postmodernism neglects in considering context, poststructuralism critiques; in the same manner, what poststructuralism neglects in considering individual agency, postmodernists critique. To address postmodernisms concern for being not specific enough and poststructuralists concerns for being too specific, I looked at both individual stories and experiences that teachers shared in a sociocultural context around four poststructural categories of power, knowledge/meaning, language, and difference, alongside feminist theory. The feminist lens informed me of the individual construction of knowledge and teacher practices. By studying two female and one male science teachers, and noting similarities and differences they shared as science teachers and as members of the same racial and class groups, an emphasis on individual life histories, agency, and gender accounted for difference and diversity of experiences. Finally, by informing my participants of this research project, codes of analysis, categories, interpretations, and findings, I made poststructural discourse accessible to them. They had an opportunity to understand their stories and experiences in terms of power, knowledge/meaning, language, and difference. Feminism Plus Poststructuralism Equals Feminist Poststructuralism Postmodernisms lack of specificity and disregard of structure, and poststructualisms constant awareness of the specificity of contextualized meaning (Ropers-Huilman, 1998, p. 10) created tensions and possibilities for creating new approaches for analysis and theory. Being aware of the criticisms of both postmodernism and poststructuralism, I choose feminist poststructuralism as my predominant theoretical frame. It allowed me to focus on both the individual and the social by situating teachers lived experiences and their professional development within a sociocultural context. In making the connection between feminism and poststructuralism, a definition of feminism is presented. Ropers-Huilman (1998) defined feminism in terms of equality for many marginalized persons and not necessarily just for females. Feminist thinkers and actors believe in equality. They recognize that women and men in a wide variety of situations have not experienced equality in either public or personal relationships. More recently, feminists have also recognized that

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many other groups of individuals share marginalized status, one that relegates them to positions outside the norm. As a result feminism today is a philosophy that seeks equality for women as well as other oppressed persons. (p. 11) Ropers-Huilman continued by saying that, Feminist researchers are constantly open to the possibility (and the probability) that gender is playing a significant role in the relations that exist at any particular moment. They do not end their analyses by looking solely at gender (p. 16). This view of feminism opened the door for me to include other socially constructed categories for understanding personal experience and society, such as race and class. For example, feminist scholar Ada Hurtado (1994) explained that value is not determined only by gender but also by other important categorical group memberships, like class, race, and ethnicity. These socially constructed markers determine placement and relative power for individuals in society, and even in classrooms. And these markers influence how people interact in the world. Feminist ideas are based primarily on theories that hold that women suffer discrimination as a result of social inequality and imbalance of power (Bing & Reid, 1996). St. Pierre and Pillow (2000) asserted that feminists and poststructuralists have worked together and separately for the last half of this century to expose the heinous formationsracism, patriarchy, homophobia, ageism, and so forth (p. 3). The two worked together however similarly and differently to trouble foundational ontologies, methodologies, and epistemologies, in general, and education, in particular (p. 3). Feminist poststructuralism may be seen as a tool for analysis, rather than an allencompassing theoretical truth (Ropers-Huilman, 1998, p. 11). Thus feminist poststructuralism looks at imbalances of power not only for women but also for other oppressed groups of people that suffer in society. As a tool for analyzing just how power is situated and how people are affected, feminist poststructuralism provided a necessary context, frame of analysis, and alternative views of science teaching and learning. Lincoln and Guba (2000) offer a hope in the postmodern world for my understanding, using, and applying a feminist poststructural analysis in this research. The realization of the richness of the mental, social, psychological, and linguistic worlds that individuals and social groups create and constantly re-create and

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cocreate gives rise, in the minds of new-paradigm postmodern and poststructural inquirers. Inquirers are now free to resituate themselves within texts, to reconstruct their relationships with research participants in less constricted fashions(p. 177) The feminist poststructural perspective granted me the opportunity to study the historical and contextual nature of knowledge. I moved freely within the social sphere of those I studied, and at the same afforded me the freedom to create, recreate, and cocreate meanings along with the science teachers in my study. At the same time I acknowledge my power relationship as a participant in the study. The feminist poststructural perspective gestures toward fluid and multiple dislocations and alliances (St. Pierre & Pillow, 2000, p. 3) as I seek to understand the interplay of power, knowledge and meaning, language, and difference, as well as teachers professional development within unique contexts. Power is inherently and critically important in understanding what science teachers do in their classrooms, in their teaching and learning of science, and in developing as science teachers. I believe the categories of power, knowledge, language, and difference are worthwhile aspects to study also alongside professional development of science teachers. In the next chapter, I look specifically at teacher professional development and teachers as adult learners. Once more, I present notions of science teachers as adult learners and ideas concerning teacher change. These areas provide a context and goal for looking at both personal and situational factors in science teachers professional development.

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CHAPTER 3 PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND CHANGE Introduction We are all subjects in history. (bell hooks, 1994, p. 139) Thinking About My Development Everything that happened to me in my past has shaped me into the person I am today. I believe it is how I look at those past events of my life and the meanings that I apply to them that give me great insight into what I think, what I do, and how I view the world around me. In the context of teaching, the same holds true. What kinds of experiences have I had and how do they play out in the context of my teaching and my research? Additionally, what meanings do I attach to my past experiences and activities that have been beneficial in my professional growth and development as an educator and a future researcher? Then, as I look at these same experiences through a critical, feminist poststructural lens, do these experiences look the same; do they change? How do I see my professional growth and development? What do I need to help me in changing and developing as an adult? (Journal Reflections, October 2002) Professional Development Professional development or in-service programs are considered to be the primary way teachers receive continuing support in teaching. Therefore, there is an extensive collection of professional development literature ranging from effects on student achievement to impact on teacher knowledge to developing teaching communities and emphasizing reflective practice. Inservice programs look at professional development as: a means to raise student scores (Loucks-Horsley & Matsumoto, 1999), a means to focus on teacher leadership and mentorship using technology (Haas, 2000),

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a way to promote inquiry-oriented approaches through summer institutes (Lord & Peard, 1995), a way to encourage collaborative partnerships with scientists for increasing student interests in science (Ohme & Rayford, 2001), a process of self-study and action research approaches (Elliott, 1990; Loucks-Horsley, Hewson, Love, & Stiles, 1998), a way to do practical inquiry and study group methods (Jenlink & Kinnucan-Welsch, 2001; Olsen & Craig, 2001; Shimahara, 1998), a method of action research (Goodnough, 2001), and a way to acquire practical knowledge from work at professional development schools (Sheerer, 2000). From the list above, professional development comes in many forms with varying

purposes and aims. However, over the past three decades, workshops and courses have been the most frequently used type of professional development (Weimer & Lenze, 1994). Some researchers suggest that professional development of teachers focus attention on creating local communities for shared inquiry into teachers work (Crockett, in press). All of these opportunities for professional development programs cover a range of topics, target various faculty populations, and use a collection of delivery methods. Typically, long-term effectiveness has not been found to be very valuable for workshops of short duration, less than one day with little or no follow-up (Sunal, Hodges, & Sunal, 2001). However, multiple day workshops have been reported to be a little more effective (Herr, 1988; Sunal, Hodges, & Sunal, 2001). Long-term professional development programs that use strategies such as learning in networks, peer coaching, collaborative action research, and cases, as well as collaboration between school systems and universities (Sheerer, 2000), are potentially powerful for increasing teachers practical knowledge as an area of professional development (van Driel, Beijaard, & Verloop, 2001). Additionally Vaidya (1994) found that long-term impact of inservice instruction with successful follow-up activities in the form of biweekly seminars and site visits impacted the classroom instruction of teachers. The follow-up activities were held after

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school on site. Follow-up and monitoring have been reported to result in significant changes in faculty attitude, knowledge, observed classroom instructional behavior, and interaction with students (Sunal, Hodges, & Sunal, 2001). Sheerer (2000) suggested that a collaborative model for researchers and inservice teachers rather than the traditional model that supports theory over practice, decontextualized research over contextualized action research (p. 30). She also proposed a model of professional development for inservice teachers that support five guiding principles. These theoretical positions were: 1. 2. 3. Professional development models need to designed by and impact both teacher educators and teachers to insure needed changes in educational practice. Teachers should be viewed not only as implementers of reform initiatives but also as investigators and problem generators. A re-examination of the traditionally privileged positions of the university in relation to schools, and of the asymmetries in the relations between professors and schoolteachers, is needed. 4. 5. Models of professional development are needed that go beyond training to allow teachers to act as well-informed critics of reforms. Professional development must be designed in ways that deepen the discussion, that promote discourse communities, and that support innovations. The particular models that Sheerer emphasized are collaborative action research projects in partnership with universities and schools, and professional development programs for both higher education and public school faculties. Supovitz and Turner (2000) described six elements of science teacher professional development, termed high quality professional development for teacher learning experiences. High quality professional development declares that professional development must model inquiry forms of teaching, be intensive and sustained, engage teachers in concrete teaching tasks and be based on teachers experiences with students, focus on subject-matter knowledge and deepen teachers content skills,

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be grounded in a common set of professional development standards and show teachers how to connect their work to specific standards for student performance, and be connected to other aspects of school change.

They found that teaching practices and classroom cultures were affected most deeply after intense and sustained staff development activities for teachers with more than two weeks of professional development. Their recommendations are consistent with longterm and participatory models of professional development (Sheerer, 2000; Sunal, Hodges, & Sunal, 2001; Stein, 1999; Vaidya, 1994). Sanchez and Valcarcel (1999) recommended that reform in science teaching requires a fundamental change in the teachers role, conceptions, and practices concerning teaching. Furthermore, Hewson and Hewson (1987) stated that teachers needed to change their conceptions and practices of teaching. They added that constructivist teaching should be the means that teachers experience professional development. Changing conceptions and practices of teaching may come from teachers gaining additional knowledge about themselves and their teaching within their particular context or environment. Pedagogical context knowledge suggests that exemplary teachers employ four kinds of knowledge: academic and research knowledge, pedagogical content knowledge, professional knowledge, and classroom knowledge (Barnett & Hodson, 2001). Pedagogical context knowledge introduces context as influencing teaching and learning. For instance, what one teacher does may not work with another teacher, or even the same teacher, in a different class or grade. Practical knowledge is person- and contextbound (van Driel, Beijaard, & Verloop, 2001, p. 142,). Thus it includes the experiences of the individual teacher and the particular context in which the teacher teaches. Teachers classroom decisions are located in, and are contingent upon, a specific social, cultural, and educational context. What counts as good teaching cannot be specified in the absence of knowledge about the elements that comprise the context? (Barnett & Hodson, 2000, p. 433). Again, context being a fundamental aspect in teacher development cannot be overlooked. Professional development in science education has issues to address concerning sociocultural and worldview orientations of how one learns and teaches science, as well

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as making science accessible, with issues of equity and equality in teaching and learning science (Atwater, 2000). Gender as well as class and racial perspectives in teaching and learning science are issues that need more attention in science education research (Atwater, 2000b). For reform efforts to be successful, they have to consider the varied contexts that teachers experience on a daily basis and then make accommodations for providing opportunities that will meet the needs of the teachers and their students. OLoughlin (1992) described a sociocultural view of school science: A sociocultural approach to teaching and learning takes seriously the notion that learning is situated in contexts, that students bring their own subjectivities and cultural perspectives to bear in constructing understanding, that issues of power exist in a classroom that need to be addressed, and that education into scientific ways of knowing requires understanding modes of classroom discourse and enabling students to negotiate these modes effectively. (p. 791) The sociocultural worldview of science is important as science teachers begin to understand the factors that influence how and what they teach. The emphasis is on helping students to understand that science is negotiable within classroom settings. However, the way that students interact in classrooms is highly dependent upon the teacher. Olson and Craig (2001) contend that not enough attention has been focused on the agency of teachers or to the nature of how their knowledge is shaped by personal, interpersonal, contextual, and situational factors that shift over time (p. 667). Further, not only has little attention been given to agency, rights, justice, and autonomy (Wilber, 1998) but also communion, responsibility, relationship, care, and connection (Wilber, 1998). The notions of agency and communion both receive little consideration when looking at teacher development in reform, which centers primarily on structural or organizational arrangements toward school-wide rather than individual teachers (Baker, 1999; and Stein, 1999). The main conclusion from the literature on reform in science education and professional development is a trend toward more personal professional development activities that consider personal knowledge and the role of the teacher in making changes

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in practice through inquiry (King, Shumow, & Lietz, 2001; Supovitz, & Turner, 2000). Also there is a trend toward professional development efforts that allow teachers opportunities to build stronger professional relationships between groups or teams of teachers and with universities as collaborative and group partnerships (Sheerer, 2000; Goodnough, 2001; Haas, 2000). As teachers work together on improving self, they have the support from other colleagues and educators. Within these groups, teachers build on their knowledge base of teaching, share ideas, and contribute to one anothers professional growth. It is suggested that these relationships be sustained and reflective in order to help in the changing of teachers beliefs about their practice. In adult education as well as in science education, the contextual nature of school teaching and learning is recommended as viable areas to address in educational research as one understands the impact of context on change (Brookfield, 2000). This will involve looking at the daily practices of science teachers and considering personal and situational factors in their professional development leading toward changes in teaching practices. Looking more specifically at teachers as adult learners, the literature on adult education and adult learning may provide further connections and insight into looking at the professional development of science teachers. Adult education introduces the contextual basis of learning and notions of individual growth and development. Adult Education, Change, and Professional Development Stephen D. Brookfield (1995) presented ten areas for research in adult education. For example, adult learning needs to be understood much more as a socially embedded and socially constructed phenomenon; many cross-cultural perspectives are needed to break the Eurocentric and North American dominance in adult education research and to understand inter-cultural differences; and more research is needed in order to understand other ways of knowing, developmental stages, and culturally constructed ways of knowing as a function of gender. Adult learning is profoundly affected by the larger socio-cultural-economic-political conditions in which they take place (Wilson & Hayes, 2000, p. 17). Donna Amstutz (1999) described theories of adult learning that are evolving and emphasizing the construction of meaning in social and cultural context. She listed that the four dominant paradigms of adult learning are:

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behaviorist, competency-based curricula and programs, training programs, instructional design; humanist, potential for self-actualization, self-directed, internally motivated, toward changes in values, attitudes, and beliefs about the self; cognitivist, mental and psychological processes of the mind, perception, insight, and meaning making; and liberatory, critically examining the values, beliefs, and assumptions of adult learners.

Also, the liberatory learning theories take into account the history and context of adult learners (p. 19). Knowing the contextual basis of adult learning leads to understanding the process of change. Scholarship in Adult Education discusses ideas of change and development. Particularly models for change discussed by Marsick and Watkins (2000) and by Jack Mezirow (1997) are very interesting to think about in the context of science teachers as adult learners and their professional development as science teachers. Working with organizations, Marsick and Watkins noted that a short-term, profit-oriented stance does not work in their model for change. The same argument is presented against teacher professional development programs that offer short-term workshops that are not as beneficial as sustained, personal forms of professional development opportunities (Sheerer, 2000; Shimahara, 1998; Stein & Mundry, 1999). Jack Mezirow (1997) focused on individual adult development as transformative change. His transformation theory is about how adults interpret their life experiences and how they make meaning from these experiences for learning. In his model of change adults develop through various stages. These stages are set in motion by a disorienting dilemma, a particular life event or life experience that a person experiences a crisis. The crisis cannot be resolved so the learner engages in self-examination, then critical assessment of assumptions. She then recognizes that others have suffered a similar process, and then explores options for a plan of action. The plan of action has four steps: acquiring knowledge and skills, trying out new roles, renegotiating relationships, and building competence and self-confidence. The final stage is reintegration back into ones life based on the new, transformed perspective. The process of perspective

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transformation appears to follow a process, yet not necessarily in this exact sequence (Mezirow, 1995). It may take a disorienting dilemma, dissatisfaction with current conditions, a desire to want to change, and/or critical reflection of a persons situation in order for a person to make critical and necessary changes in their teaching practices. Teacher Change and Reflective Practice Teacher change deals with ways to assist teachers in making personal and professional changes through education. Zinn (1990) stated that, Education has as a central focus an intent to effect changewhether that change be an increase in knowledge, the acquisition or improvement of a skill, or a change in attitude or behavior. The direction of change is based to a great extent on what individuals and the larger society believe should happen through education. (p. 41) Even with a goal of change or improvement, not all teachers change, either in practice or in cognitive development. There are various reasons why teachers cognitions are usually stable and why innovative ideas are not easily applied in their teaching practice. Van Driel, Beijaard, and Verloop (2001) suggested two reasons why change is difficult. They stated that teachers do not change because their own practice is rooted in practical knowledge that has been built up over the course of their careers that has served them well. Thus there is no need to change. Secondly, though teachers practical knowledge is being built up over the years as experience, the variety within this knowledge decreases (p. 141), and teachers are less likely to incorporate new techniques, which will give them the variety and new methods of instruction. Teachers will have to see that changes they make in their practice are useful and beneficial (Sanchez & Valcarcel, 1999; Moore, 2002). Cognitive apprenticeship that focuses on intervention and interactions has shown to be effective for creating change (Sunal, Hodges, & Sunal, 2001). In a study of higher education faculty members participation in a professional development program, Sunal, et al. (2001) explained that the change process is a systemic, long-term professional development and mentoring support system that aids faculty members in making change. They cited nine specific conditions that were necessary for successful innovative course implementation and institutionalized change for teachers. They were:

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encouraging collaboration and interaction of faculty members between colleges; having collegial and administrative support; having administrator presence in some part of the change process; beginning with the goal to be accomplished, not with personal or contextual barriers to overcome; connecting with a core of active faculty and administration; building effective interpersonal skills in collaborative work; planning for incremental change; questioning of everyday practices and common sense as action research; and meeting weekly with faculty outside or inside an institution for collaboration and dissemination of results of change.

Sunal, et al. concluded that change occurs when faculty members experience dissatisfaction with their existing conceptions of science teaching. Creating cognitive conflict with faculty members conceptions of teaching is an important goal for successful professional development. The nine conditions for changes in higher education are useful for looking at elements that would promote change in teaching practices and teacher beliefs in middle and secondary education as well. The process of change involves collaboration and reflection. Therefore, activities that are inclusive of teachers views that stress lifelong learning and reflection are better for teacher professional development (Olson & Craig, 2001; Sheerer, 2000; Shimahara, 1998). In professional development as reflective practice, teachers may speak of their practice in one way, yet their actual classroom teaching is quite the opposite, especially for inquiry teaching (King, Shumow, & Lietz, 2001). Hence as science teachers become more reflective about their practice, they will have to become more critical. Making the necessary changes or accommodations is a result of reflection, understood to be a personal process that considers context. Canning (1990) described reflection as an intrapersonal process of change (as cited by Knowles, Cole, & Presswood, 1994, p. 11). Furthermore, reflection is broader than simply an examination of personal considerations, [it] encompasses a consideration of ideological positions as well as contemporary contexts encompassing socio-political factors (Knowles, Cole, & Presswood, 1994). Knowles et al. (1994) defined reflection 49

in teaching as the ongoing process of critically examining and refining practice, taking into careful consideration the personal, pedagogical, curricular, intellectual, societal (including social, political, historical, and economic), and ethical contexts (p. 11). It is the critical aspect of the reflective practice that is key. Once a problem is identified, then reflection becomes more critical and purposeful. Reflective teaching has drawn upon the theory of critical pedagogy. The advocates of this view think of teaching as a process of constructive self-criticism (Pinar, Reynolds, Slattery, & Taubman, 1995). In this analysis, teachers examine and reflect upon underlying assumptions, norms, and rules that constrain and shape their practices. The critical self-evaluation ideally is a way to initiate and engage science teachers in the change process that leads from oppression to liberation. Paulo Freire (2000) in Pedagogy of the Oppressed discussed quite fervently the type of relationship that you must have in order to change from an oppressive state to one of liberation and action. A pedagogy must be forged with, not for, the oppressed (whether individuals or peoples) in the incessant struggle to regain their humanity. This pedagogy makes oppression and its causes objects of reflection by the oppressed, and from that reflection will come their necessary engagement in the struggle for their liberation. (p. 48) In Frieres view, power becomes important in understanding how one can change from an oppressive to a liberatory state. Furthermore, Freire (2000) stated that through common reflection and action, teachers and students can discover themselves as permanent re-creators of knowledge of reality (p. 69). From Pinar, Reynolds, Slattery, & Taubman (2000) and Freire, the transformation begins with people actively thinking, participating, contributing, and acting for change. Though resistance helps change happen (Palmer, 1998, p. 165), dialogue is a key element in the processcritical and liberating dialogue (Freire, 2000, p. 65). Resisting oppressive circumstances for change has to be one in which the individual comes to an awareness of his or her situation. Freire (2000) stated, It is not our role to speak to the people about our own view of the world, nor to attempt to impose that view on them, but rather to dialogue with the people about

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their view and ours. We must realize that their view of the world, manifested variously in their action, reflects their situation in the world. (p. 96) In the process of reflection, it is not my view of the world that is emphasized. My view does not cause change in another person but may be influential for initiating change. Ultimately, I have to realize that I cannot impose my views on another nor expect someone else to accept my views. Rather through dialogue we may consider meanings and views for ourselves. Through reflective practice, teachers decide to change and to act. Freire (2000) continued to explain the role of reflection as a necessary process for action. People, as beings in a situation, find themselves rooted in temporal-spatial conditions which mark them and which they also mark. They will tend to reflect on their own situationality to the extent that they are challenged by it to act upon itthey not only critically reflect upon their existence but critically act upon it. (p. 109) Freires ideas of reflection put to mind that temporal-spatial conditions can be captured, discussed, and evaluated. In essence meaning can be extracted from them. Therefore using the notions of reflection explains how an examination of science teachers life stories can be understood in terms of power, knowledge and meaning, language, and difference. Reflection and challenging assumptions, those taken-forgranted notions and meanings of experience, were critical in understanding life stories of science teachers in the contexts of teacher professional teacher and science teaching practices. The next chapter explains further contextclassrooms, and those involved in them on a daily basisstudents and teachers. The emphasis was interactions in the classroom and the important personal, interpersonal, and situational factors, as well as economic and political factors that impacted classroom teaching and learning in science. I also bring to the forefront the issues of race, class, and gender, as the three science teachers in my study are African American and have taught in predominantly African American schools. Therefore, the next chapter provides history and context that should be considered when looking at the professional development of teachers in general and African American teachers specifically.

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CHAPTER 4 STUDENTS & LEARNING, TEACHERS & TEACHING, AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT Introduction: Whose Fault Is It? Whose fault is it? Certainly not mine. The college professor said, Such wrong in the student is a shame, Lack of preparation in high school is to blame. Said the high school teacher, Good heavens, that boy is a fool. The fault, of course, is with the middle school. The middle school teacher said, From such stupidity may I be spared; They send him to me so unprepared. The elementary school teacher said, The kindergarteners are block-heads all. They call it preparation, why its worse than none at all. The kindergarten teacher said, Such lack of training never did I see; What kind of mother must that woman be! The mother said, Poor helpless child, hes not to blame; For you see, his fathers folks are all the same. Said the father, at the end of the line, I doubt the rascals even mine! Anonymous

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It Takes a Village Though the poem may be taken in humor, I found it to be deeply serious and meaningful. It encouraged me think about the child who gets caught in the system of schooling and what her fate is without the assistance of a good teacher who could possibly stop the spiraling of a bad education. I am familiar with an African proverb that Hilary Clinton borrowed in the writing of her book, It takes a village to raise a child. The proverb is meaningful too as it reminds me of the collective efforts needed to raise and teach a child. As I talked with the teachers of this study, I thought about the poem and their constructions of who is to blame or what has impacted their personal history of education. I thought about them as past students, them as current teachers, and I thought about the students that they currently teach. Students and Learning: African American Students According to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES, 2002) (http://nces.gov/programs/coe/2002/section1/indicator03.asp), Blacks were 17 percent of the public school enrollment in 2000, up by 2 percentage points from 1972. Schools are becoming more and more culturally and ethnically diverse. The NCES also reported that the percentage of students from other racial/ethnic minority groups increased, from 1 percent in 1972 to 5 percent in 2000. Schools are also becoming more resegregated (Kahlenberg, 2001; Orfield, 2001; Texeira & Christian, 2002). Orfield (2001) reported that more than 70 percent of African American students attend schools that are predominantly non-White. In 2000, 39 percent of public school students were considered to be part of a minority group, an increase of 17 percentage points from 1972. This increase was largely due to a growth in the number of Hispanic students, which accounted for 17 percent of the public school enrollment, up by 11 percentage points from 1972 (NCES, 2000). Challenged with rapidly changing demographics, many educational critics concede that schools are unable to meet the needs of this growing number of their students (Warren, 2002, p. 109). In 2001, 15 percent of all children 5 to 17 years old lived in households where the annual income in the previous year was below the poverty level (NCES, 2002), and Black students are more likely than Whites to live in economically deprived neighborhoods and

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to attend schools that have limited economical and educational resources (Texeira & Christian, 2002). In 1999, a higher percentage of white children than Black and Hispanic children ages 618 had parents who attained at least a high school education. The same is true for the percentage of white children whose parents attained at least a bachelor's degree (NCES, 2002). According to the NCES (2002), among all public school students in 2000, the South enrolled a higher proportion of Black students (26 percent) than other regions (6 to 16 percent). In this same year, there were large concentrations of minority students in the West and South. There were 49 percent of students in public elementary schools and 45 percent in secondary schools who were minority. There are many factors that influence the success of African American students in school and in science. Some of these factors are attitudes and achievement among adolescents, parental and family influences, and individual characteristics, such as selfconcept, locus of control, achievement motivation, and attitudes toward subject matter (Atwater, Wiggins, & Gardner, 1995). Even when students have high motivations, strong or positive attitudes toward their families, and high self-concepts, students still may not be successful in science. Atwater, et al. (1995) suggested that more research is needed to link areas such as student attitude toward science, their science education and science career plans, achievement motivation, attitude toward their science teacher, science curriculum, and science classroom climate (p. 676). Susan Warren (2002) wrote that, low achievement, disproportionate assignments to low academic tracks and special education classes, high dropout rates, and academic disengagement and alienation of students of color and lower SES continue to be problems for schools (p. 109). Under these conditions, it is challenging for students of color to learn and access the culture of power in science. Female students, students of color, students with disabilities, and English speakers of other languages (ESOL) are many times considered intellectually inferior when it comes to scientific reasoning (Atwater, 1996, p. 823). These students then have to combat negative images that are projected on them from schooling, teachers, administration, and peers as well as negative feelings of not being smart that they internalize.

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Similarly, John Ogbu (1992) stated that the learning and performance of minority children are influenced by complex social, economic, historical, and cultural factors. He charged the American society at large, the local communities, and the schools as contributing to minority students problems in school learning and performance. The schools contribute to the educational problems of minority students by policies and practices, such as tracking, biased testing and curriculum, and misclassification of students in inappropriate groupings. The social organization of schools influences the kinds of interactions that go on within the school. For example, researchers have shown that different teacher behaviors occur in classrooms toward boys and girls (Sadker, Sadker, & Klein, 1991), students of different racial and ethnic groups (Ogbu, 2000), and children of different socioeconomic groups (Heath, 1993). The differential treatment of students most often is negatively cast on students of color and students of economically poor backgrounds. To increase achievement and effectiveness in teaching and learning science for African American and other students of color, Cummins (1986) proposed four areas for science teachers to consider in empowering interactions in the classroom: (a) incorporation of students culture and language in teaching science, (b) collaborative participation of the community in school and in science classrooms, (c) orientation of science pedagogy toward reciprocal interaction, and (d) advocacy rather than legitimacy of failure as a goal for science assessment. Atwater (1996) conveyed, teachers are not to empower students, but should create situations whereby students can empower themselves and know when to use science knowledge skills. African American students, other students of color, and students from low-income families are successful in school when they have high-quality teachers who are knowledgeable in their content areas, pedagogy, and child development (Texeira & Christian, 2002). Gloria Ladson-Billings (1994) for culturally relevant teaching and Geneva Gay (2000) for culturally responsive teaching methods for younger students in classrooms have recommended similar practices to promote the success of children of color in schools. Whether in the classroom or in professional development opportunities, all of these approaches have a primary focus to design activities and learning situations that are dependent upon the cultural strengths, contributions, and preferences for learning of

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students of color. These aspects highlight some fundamental approaches to teaching science to diverse groups. These methods however are tasks that teachers adopt, and their ability to do so must be understood in light of sociocultural contexts. Teachers & Teaching: African American Teachers According to statistics from the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) 2001 report, the national average for certified teachers in biology was 88 percent, which is a slight decline of 4 percentage points over a ten year span of 1990 to 2000; the chemistry rate also showed a decrease of 4 percentage points to 88 percent, and physics dropped 3 percentage points to 58 percent over this same time (CCSSO, 2002). The report also showed that there was a decline in the number of certified teachers in science in schools across the nation. Traditionally, teaching was a male dominated profession, but since the late 1800s the teaching profession has been predominantly a womans profession (Foster, 1997). In the United States, forty-nine percent of all high school science teachers are female (Monhardt, 2000). Also teaching had been one of the primary occupations for Blacks; however, the number of Black teachers has been steadily declining since the 1970s, and the number of ethnic minority teachers overall does not represent the number of minority students in schools. Minority cultures are underrepresented in the teaching profession in general, representing only 14 percent of the total teacher work force (Foster, 1997b). In most states, the percentage of minority teachers is one-third of the percentage of minority students (CCSSO, 2002). Michelle Foster (1997) noted several reasons for the decline of African Americans in teacher education. They were alienation caused by desegregation, greater career opportunities in other professions, and increase in testing/scoring requirements. Additional reasons related to testing requirements were: testing does not predict future competency or skills; testing bias related to time constraints; and testing bias toward white middle-class experiences. With an emphasis on testing and passing of tests, these requirements do not capture indispensable teacher qualities, such as sense of humor, adaptability, which unfairly dismisses many potentially good teachers from entering teaching as a profession (Foster, 1997).

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African-American science teachers face a series of challenges in teaching. These challenges center on the historic and continued under-representation of African Americans and other people of color in the science and technology workforce (Webb, 1993). Thus, High levels of poverty in communities, school violence, high dropout and turnover rates, language challenges, and diminishing funding lead to the observation that teaching is one of the most difficult and least-recognized professions in the United States (Texeira & Christian, 2002, p. 117). Under these conditions, African Americans and other people of color are choosing not to enter science or education, thus limiting the potential number of science teachers for schools. Further, Texeira and Christian (2002) contend that teachers face racist institutional practices in schools, underfunding of urban schools, crowded classrooms, grave poverty, crumbling neighborhoods, parental apathy and substance abuse, oneparent families, and a number of other plights. All of these factors meet teachers in the context of real classrooms. The weight of these factors may influence teacher development in that rather than addressing teaching of content, teachers receive instruction in dealing with the magnitude of problems that some students live with on a daily basis (Thompson, 2002). Selecting and retaining quality teachers who are asked to teach under adverse conditions are problems related to teacher quality, which affect school reform efforts (Warren, 2002). For example, in science, the CCSSO (2002) reported that in high poverty schools, 28 percent of science teachers were poorly prepared in that they did not have a minor or major in science. Nationally, students in classrooms with high-minority and high-poverty enrollments have less chance of being taught by a teacher who is well prepared in science or mathematics. The sociocultural influences of science teaching also impact instruction and reform efforts. The instruction in many impoverished rural and urban Black American schools is very inadequate because of low teacher expectation and inadequate science knowledge and skills of teachers. Teachers poorly clarified professional and cultural beliefs and values, and science curricula that do not focus on the knowledge and skills outlined in many of the reform initiatives also contribute to poor instructional practices (Atwater, 2000).

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Reform efforts in education are neglecting criteria for teacher quality that focuses on the assumptions and beliefs that teachers hold about their students (Warren, 2002). When efforts are focused on teachers understandings of how or why they have come to believe a certain way about themselves and the students they teach, and even the communities that they serve, gains will be made for increasing teacher quality and instruction. African-American teachers are not only important to African-American students but White students profit from the experience of seeing African Americans in positions of authority and influence. The same is true for females. Students need to see females empowered and in leadership roles in classrooms. This will help them to change perceptions of women and their role of women in education. In addition to serving as role models, African American teachers and teachers of color bring teaching styles and interpersonal techniques that are often based on cultural influences that are more readily related to by students of color. The mere presence of culturally sensitive teachers of color reduces the hostility and anger generated by feelings of alienation that are experienced by many African-American students and students of color (Foster, 1994). Martin Haberman (1995) noted particular characteristics of star teachers who were successful with poor urban students. Some of these characteristics were: persistence, protection of learners and learning, ability to generalize principals from practice, personal orientation towards students, development of mechanisms for stress control, capacity to admit mistakes, and a belief that teachers can make a difference and should be held accountable. Likewise, Foster (1997) presented five factors of effective Black teachers. They were expressing cultural solidarity with students, linking classroom content to students experiences, incorporating culturally compatible communication patterns, using familiar cultural patterns, and focusing on the whole child. This method of teaching aligns consistently with the expressed philosophy of education that emphasizes acquiring knowledge not only of the world, but also specifically about African American history and culture in order to empower students to succeed in an antagonistic world and society (Lee & Slaughter-Defoe, 2001, p. 360). Effective Black teachers if looked at from a feminist poststructural perspective would consider how power is used in the classroom,

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how knowledge and meaning are made, how cultural language becomes a positive factor in teaching and learning, and note difference as celebration of students experiences, which are highlighted in the classroom for learning. These points discussed above seem very appropriate for professional development programs for teachers of color. The learning environments for teachers consist of preserving their cultural identity and suggesting strategies where they can interact and share their life experiences. As adult learners, issues of power, knowledge, language, and difference are factors to consider in the professional development of teachers. Providing Opportunities for Teachers as Adult Learners There are many influences from society that impact the learning and development adults. The three main influences are demographics, the global economy, and technology (Merriam & Caffarella, 1999). In an adult learning context, the three then influence the nature and location of educational activities. Ross-Gordon, Martin, and Briscoe (1990) suggested some general characteristics that learning programs for adults from diverse backgrounds should provide. They noted that preserving cultural distinctness, accommodating preferred learning strategies and environments, and reaching out to minority groups are beneficial in increasing enrollment in adult learning programs for diverse groups. Additionally, increasing intercultural sensitivity, improving their own knowledge, understanding other groups different from themselves, and making programs more accessible, which may include changing practices were recommended for teaching diverse members of society. These practices are suggested for making adult learning environments for adults more inclusive to combat the complex social, economic, historical, and cultural factors that teachers of color face. Educators bring to their classrooms their social identities, complex ideologies, and ways of viewing students who are often very different from themselves (Warren, 2002, p. 113). Susan Warren (2002) in her study of teachers beliefs about children of color found that teachers with a low efficacy were not as successful in teaching. It is time that educational reform prompt educators to transform beliefs, practices, and policies in ways that nurture, challenge intellectually, and promote the interests of all students, especially those whom schooling has most failed (p. 114).

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In order for teachers to make changes in their assumptions about the students they teach, they must learn to appreciate the assets and cultural capital that students bring with them in the classroom (Warren, 2002). These changes also must involve personal redefinitions of the way teachers interact with students and the communities they serve (Warren, 2002). Atwater (1995) stated, Students diversities will not changebut teachers can change how they view their students (p. 42). Transformation is tied to individual and structural components that hinder or assist in the transformation of teaching science for marginalized groups. The transformation from practices that hinder student learning and thinking and that stifle teacher development has to be reconsidered. Actions and ideas that transform, motivate, and increase personal development are highly desired. With more scholarship in the areas of feminist poststructuralism, the way that we view knowledge and power especially from oppressed or marginalized groups will become important in understanding the personal and professional development of science teachers and in the teaching and learning of science for African American children and other children of color. The approaches are to find more effective and more appropriate means of instructing, including, and inviting students and teachers into a science community that values what they have to offer. It also involves looking more specifically at teachers, their instruction and their lives. The success of African American students and students of color is understood to be a complex dynamic of sociocultural factors and teacher interactions. Teachers, playing a pivotal role not only in student learning but also in their own development as adult learners, are tied to demographics, the global economy, and technology. As professional development opportunities are created to incorporate these areas, teachers receive knowledge and insight that is specific to their individual situations. In the next chapter I describe the methodologies and methods I used in researching and making connections between power, knowledge, language, and difference for the three science teachers in this study. An interpretivist research design was used as a means of studying science teachers life stories, their teaching and learning of science, and their professional development as science teachers.

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CHAPTER 5 RESEARCH DESIGN: METHODOLOGY AND METHODS Introduction For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the mans spirit within him? (1 Corinthians 2:11, New International Version) The Inner Man No one can know the inner thoughts, feelings, or emotions of a person unless you talk with her or him, or if you are in true dialogue with that person. In the context of good teaching, Parker Palmer (1998) discussed this notion of dialogue when he introduces the absence of ground rules so that in dialogue the inner person can be seen and heard. He said, If we want to support each others inner lives, we must remember a simple truth: the human soul does not want to be fixed, it wants simply to be seen and heard. Quick fixes make the person who shared the problem feel unheard and dismissed. (p. 150) Therefore, to get at meaning, I have to get inside and listen. The motives of a person are inside. The subjective and intersubjective are inside, and empirical methods cannot get to them (Wilber, 2000, p. 161; Lieblich, Tuval-Mashiach, & Zilber, 1998). The interior depths must be interpreted in order to understand meaning, intent, beliefs, and practices. Thus a methodology that emphasized interpretative meaning and interior understanding was adopted. Interpretive Research Interpretation is central to both epistemology and ontology, to both knowing and being (Wilber, 2000, p. 160). Interpretive researchers are interested in understanding the meaning people have constructed, that is how they make sense of the world and the experiences they have in the world (Merriam & Caffarella, 1999, p. 6). Therefore, it is

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assumed that meaning is embedded in peoples experiences and that this meaning is mediated through the investigators own perceptions (p. 6). Interpretivist methods are suitable for collecting and analyzing data from a feminist poststructuralist perspective for a number of reasons. First, different ways of viewing the world shape different ways of researching the world (Crotty, 2000, p. 66). The line of research I undertook necessitated that I use a method of research that aimed to understand the personal and the social. An interpretative approach addressed my research questions, which focused on power and knowledge construction and on understanding science teachers as individuals and products of society. Second, interpretive research has as a goal to understand experience, which is both personal and social. Clandinin and Connelly (2000) elaborated on ideas of experience and made connections between the personal and social. They stated, Both the personal and the social are always present. People are individuals and need to be understood as such, but they cannot be understood only as individuals. They are always in relation, always in a social context (p. 2). The experiences the science teachers in my study shared with me introduced both personal and social interactions for my understanding of feminist poststructural categories and their personal lives. A deeper understanding of the teachers came from interpreting personal and professional stories using a feminist poststructural analysis. Third, and related to the previous reason, interpretivist perspectives insist that education is a process and school is a lived experience, and understanding the meaning of the process or experience constitutes knowledge (Merriam, 1998). Fourth, because adults and their experiences are so complexanalysis and interpretation of these experiences are also complex. As a result, interpretive research methods were used to obtain intricate details about phenomena such as feelings, thought processes, and emotions that are difficult to extract or learn about through conventional research methods (Strauss & Corbin, 1998, p. 11). There are a variety of interpretive methodologies. Patton (2002) lists sixteen types in his typology. In this study, I used a narrative methodology, which like other interpretive methodologies look[s] for culturally derived and historically situated interpretations of the social life-world (Crotty, 1998, p. 67).

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Narrative Research Narrative research method is one approach that aims to reach both personal and social dimensions of a persons life. Elements of narrative inquiry were also used. It is a mode of inquiry that allows one to construct a different relationship between researchers and subjects and between authors and readers. It is more personal, collaborative, and interactive. Narrative is centered on the question of how human experience is endowed with meaning (Ellis & Bochner, 2000, pp. 743-744). Narrative research considers context and what one can learn from the experiences of others. Delpit (1995) stated, We must keep the perspective that people are experts on their own lives. There are certainly aspects of the outside world of which they may not be aware, but they can be the only authentic chroniclers of their own experience (p. 47). Rather than a concentration on the grand narrative of universal truth, in narrative, the person in context is of prime interest (Clandinin & Connelly, 2000, p. 32) as the person shares aspects of his or her life. Watson and Watson-Franke (1985) defined as life history as any retrospective account by the individual of his life in whole or in part, in written or oral form, that has been elicited or prompted by another person (p. 2). Thus, life history and narrative offer exciting alternatives for connecting the lives and stories of individuals to the understanding of larger human and social phenomena (Hatch & Wisniewski, 1995, p. 113). Telling or sharing stories from the past frames present standpoints, and moving back and forth from the personal to the social situates these stories in a place or context (Clandinin & Connelly, 2000). In J. Amos Hatch and Richard Wisniewskis (1995) article, Life history and narrative: Questions, issues, and exemplary works, the authors submitted a questionnaire to leading researchers in life history and narrative research. Generated from scholars in the field of narrative inquiry, a distinction was made between life history and narrative. In narrative research, there is a focus on the individual, a personal nature of the research process, a practical orientation, and there is emphasis on the subjective. For example, Narrative is well suited for making sense of particular experiences, while life history is designed to explain, describe, or reflect upon a lifemaking meaning of a persons life (p. 115). In this sense, narrative may simply pertain to a moment in a text, a story about an episode in ones life (p. 115). The narratives or stories that individual science

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teachers shared comprised the majority of the data and informed me of the sociohistorical aspects of the teachers lives. Life history also emphasizes context. Life history is any retrospective account by the individual of his/[her] life in whole or in part, in written or oral form, that has been prompted by another person (Watson & Watson-Franke, 1985, p. 2, emphasis in original). Life history is also an analysis of the social, historical, political, and economic contexts of life story by the researchers is what turns a life story into a life history (Hatch & Wisniewski, 1995, p. 125). Nevertheless, the definition of life history differs, depending upon the perspective that one chooses (Tierney, 2000). Considering the broader definition of narrative as a method for data collection, and life history as a more specific term of analysis, both seek to understand and make sense of lived experience.

Narrative As a method of data collection

Life Story An emphasis on personal experience

Life History Analysis of experiences within a specific sociohistorical context Figure 5.1 Life Stories

Using a feminist poststructural analysis with interpretive, narrative, and life history methods allowed for a richer understanding and knowledge of teachers and their lived experiences. Narrative research implies not only an alternative way of acquiring knowledge but also constitutes an alternative way of conceptualizing human nature (Elbaz-Luwisch, 1997, p. 78). The narrative genres available, such as biography, autobiography, and life history, are also culturally determined, and thus inevitably gendered as well as raced and classed (Munroe, 1998, p. 5; Rosenwald & Ochenberg, 1992). Therefore, by using both narrative in the form of gathering personal life stories

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and interpretive research, I acquired knowledge about science teachers and the meanings they made of their daily lives. The Hermeneutic Dialectic Circle You might see me coming down the street, a frown on my face. You can see that. But what does that exterior frown actually mean? How will you find out? You will ask me. You will talk with me. You can see my surfaces, but in order to understand my interior, my depths, you will have to enter into the interpretive circle (the hermeneutic cycle). (Wilber, 2000, p. 161) Etymologically hermeneutics derives from the Greek word hermeneuein, which means to interpret or to understand (Crotty, 1998, p. 88). In order for me to begin to understand issues of power, the construction of knowledge and meaning, the application of language, and intersections of race, class, and gender for differences in the lives of the teachers, I talked with the teachers in a process of interpretation. The hermeneutic circle, which is an hermeneutic act of interpretation involv[ing] in its most elemental articulation making sense of what has been observed in a way that communicates understanding involved talking, questioning, listening, and analyzing the stories that teachers told of their experiences in teaching and learning (Kincheloe, & McLaren, 2000, p. 285). My aim was to get an understanding of the conversations or text that went deeper or further than the authors own understanding (Crotty, 1998, p. 91). The text was the dialogue that was shared between the teachers and myself in an attempt to understand and to make meaning of their experiences. The process I used with the teachers was a bridge-building process of interpretation using the hermeneutical cycle to build bridges between reader and text, text and its producer, historical context and present, and one particular social circumstance and another (Kincheloe & McLaren, 2000, p. 286). I did this by engaging in a continual process of analysis as I interviewed and talked with the teachers, and by focusing on the historical and social dynamics that shape textual interpretation in a back-and-forth of studying parts in relation to the whole and the whole in relation to parts (p. 286). This dynamic interaction of interpretation focuses on larger social forces (the general) with the everyday lives of the individuals (the particular) (pp. 28687). Ideally it was a process of talking with the teachers, asking questions for

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clarification of ideas, probing for deeper understanding, and placing what they said as the cue for further questioning. My role in the hermeneutical process was moving between the historical, the social, the professional, and the personal. It was a process of moving back and forth with the textthe stories gathered from the teachers and making analysis as we continued in dialogue. Crotty (2000) explained the hermeneutical process: Gaining hermeneutical understandingof life involves a hermeneutical circle. The interpreter moves from the text to the historical and social circumstances of the author, attempting to reconstruct the world in which the text came to be and to situate the text within itand back again. (p. 95) An additional technique alongside the hermeneutic circle was defamiliarization, a process of introducing new forms of analysis in order to achieve deeper levels of understanding (Berger, 1995; Steinberg, 1998). This was done by offering new metaphors to shape analysis (Kincheloe & McLaren, 2000; Berger, 1995; Clough, 1998), and providing alternative interpretations in order to understand how power or relations of power played out in the lives of the three science teachers, what knowledge they gained from their experiences, and how language was implicated in their experiences. The retelling of their stories and knowledge I gained in understanding differences and similarities of teachers lived experiences was also another aspect of defamiliarization as I presented alternative meanings for teachers experiences. Then the purpose of hermeneutical analysis and defamiliarization were to develop a form of cultural criticism revealing power dynamics within social and cultural texts (Kincheloe & McLaren, 2000, p. 286). The two forms of analysis were also used within the feminist poststructural frame, or the four themes (power, knowledge, language, and difference) that I used for this study. In the process of using the hermeneutical circle, I was aware of the changing and shifting nature of meaning and interpretation. In an interpretivist study, awareness or consciousness was considered to be historically situated, ever changing, ever evolving in relationship to the cultural ideological climate (Hinchey, 1998, p. 66). This held true for those selected to participate in the study and for me as the researcher. We entered with some awareness of critically looking at ourselvesin teaching practices for the teachers and conducting the study for myself as researcher. Though I was not fully aware of how

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or if interpretations would manifest and change throughout the study, I understood that this research endeavor was an emergent design, in flux, multifaceted, and highly contextual (Merriam, 1998, p. 206), and I entered the research context with this in mind. At the same time, any higher understanding of self involves consciousness of oneself as a product of power-driven sociohistorical forces (Kincheloe & McLaren, 2000, p. 288). Hence to achieve what I intended to study and to be conscious of the process of research and its changing nature, multiple methods and sources were used to gather information and to construct meaning. Data Methods In fact history does not belong to us; we belong to it. Long before we understand ourselves through the process of self-examination, we understand ourselves in a self-evident way in the family, society, and state in which we live. ...That is why the prejudices of the individual, far more than his judgments, constitute the historical reality of his being. (Gadamer, 1989, p. 276-77) There were three primary data methods that were used for this study. They were interviews, observations and reflective journals, and communities of learners. Each method is described below. Additionally, data analysis procedures consisted of coding and discourse analysis where there was a concentration on power relations. Interviews as Conversations and Stories I decided to interview participants as formal conversations, meaning that unstructured interviews were conducted (Merriam, 1998). Elbaz-Luwisch (1997) stated that, Being interviewed, narrating ones life story and opening up ones classroom by telling stories about ones practice are challenging activities, and will be successful for teachers and myself as researcher only if assumed in an atmosphere of cooperation and trust (p. 80). Therefore, I chose the term formal conversations, only in the sense that I met with teachers at their schools and recorded our conversations. Conversations as a term were used with the teachers so that they would feel at ease in talking and sharing with me. I wanted them to feel comfortable speaking and sharing aspects of their lives with me. I wanted them to consider their participation in the study merely as extended conversations much like our previous interactions over the past months, except this time our conversations were recorded.

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Audio taped conversations were transcribed and served as the predominant data source. A series of three formal conversations was conducted with each teacher. The taped conversations varied from 30 minutes to 90 minutes at a time over the course of five months. These sessions were held at Carver High School during Mrs. Martin and Mrs. Nelsons lunch and planning periods, and I traveled for about one hour with Mr. ONeal to the Community College where he taught. His sessions were conducted after his morning class. All audio taped conversations from each teacher were transcribed within two to four days after recording. Teachers were offered copies of all written transcripts, which included preliminary interpretations and follow-up questions. The first and subsequent audio taped conversations were used as starting points for ongoing conversations for the next taping. In other words, as I made interpretations of prior conversations, I used the conversations to frame the next conversation. I started with a basic interview guide (Merriam, 1998), which was a list of questions I intended to ask each teacher. As imagined, the direction of the conversations took a different path depending upon individual conversations. The interview guide then served as a prompt to keep me on course with questioning. In the first conversation I collected background information about their goals for teaching science for the year. Teachers professional development plans or goals were discussed along with personal goals for the academic year. I also asked teachers about particular needs that they had and why they planned to focus on those particular areas for their professional development. The second and third conversations consisted of the science teachers telling me stories from their lives. Stories served to situate individuals temporarily backward in time (Clandinin & Connelly, 2000). I focused on specific stories and memories of schooling, of relationships with peers and teachers, and of their experiences in learning science. We talked about critical moments in their lives that influenced their personal and professional development in science teaching and learning. From these experiences I asked further questions and prompted them for clarification of their ideas, feelings, content of the stories, and meanings they made of their experiences. At times, I interjected alternative explanations and had the opportunity to learn personal information about teachers, gain insights into them from a broader perspective, and to think more deeply about my own life experiences. By introducing alternative perspectives, this

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fulfilled expanded and probed more deeply knowledge and meanings attached to teachers lived experiences. It also fulfilled authenticity criteria, which is explained later, a dynamic of qualitative and interpretivist research. During the conversations I tried to make some connections between teachers stories and the feminist poststructural categories of power, knowledge and meaning, language, and difference. Finally, the fourth conversation was used for member checking (Guba & Lincoln, 1989). I shared with the teachers some early interpretations and findings in order to clarify and to continue the process of interpretation begun from the initial conversations. Observations and Reflective Journals I kept a reflective journal of my observations, thoughts and ideas related to my understanding and learning from the study. Because of the extended time I have spent in the district in working with the teachers, I maintained a record of observations and field notes in a reflective journal since entering the district, August 2001, (i.e. participant as observer, Merriam, 1998, p. 101). Keeping a reflective journal was a powerful way for me to give an account of my experiences in the district and to make connections between the phenomena and participants of the study (Clandinin & Connelly, 2000). Furthermore, the journal served additional purposes. I recorded my inner experiences, feelings, doubts, uncertainties, reactions, and remembered stories (Clandinin & Connelly, 2000) throughout the initial stages of preparing for the dissertation study, and during the interpretation, analysis, and writing of the dissertation. In the journal, I added my personal analysis and initial interpretations. The journal reflections provided a means for me to move in and out of the experiences of conducting, interpreting, and analyzing data collected from the study (Clandinin & Connelly, 2000). The journals also served as field notes (Emerson, Fretz, & Shaw, 1995) when I did classroom observations throughout the entire time I spent in the district. The reflective journal gave me a personal forum to reflect. Though I did not share it with anyone, I used the journals to see how much I progressed in learning about the district, the teachers, feminist poststructuralism, and the overall process of conducting interpretivist research. I noted changes in myself and in the teachers over time. I looked at the reflective journal as a tool in helping me to grow professionally in my thinking and in the research process.

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Communities of Learners The communities of learners consisted of a small group of peers or doctoral students, science education faculty, and committee members. I utilized these small communities of learners as tools in helping me to understand the dissertation process and assisting me in making sense of the teachers stories. They served as members in the peer-debriefing process (Guba & Lincoln, 1989) and in referring resources in the form of articles and books. Data Analysis Procedures There is always the possibility (and actuality) of a gap, of misinterpretation, of misrecognition, when we try to make sense of our relation to others. We can never be certain of the meanings of others responses. We can never be certain of the meaning of our own responses. (Orner, 1992) Coding Chunks of Text Because the interviews as conversations were the primary source of data I collected, I generated several pages of transcripts that were analyzed. The data analysis for such a task meant that there were extremely long versions of text for analysis. Also when conducting interviews as conversations, the teachers tended to come back to certain questions that added more substance to something discussed previously. I pulled pieces of text from the interviews to complete thoughts and stories mentioned in earlier conversations. I found this technique to be very useful as it gave me a better understanding of the feminist poststructural themes and the teachers experiences. I did however find it problematic yet useful in a couple of ways. First, by presenting long blocks of text, I risked them being too long to make my point. Still I thought that in providing long texts of conversations, I indeed made sure that I gave voice to what the teachers said, which is an important aspect of feminist research. With using long passages of text, several interpretations could be made from the text. However, I found this aspect of analysis extremely interesting because multiple interpretations are characteristic of feminist poststructural theorizing. Therefore this aspect of my research was appropriate for presenting stories from teachers lives. Likewise, The greatest strength of life history is in its penetration of the subjective reality of the individual; it allows the subject to speak for himself or herself

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(Munroe, 1998, p. 9). In representing the lives of the three teachers, via long text of quotations, readers can gain a better perspective to the language, or words, and thoughts of the teachers. The long quotes give a sense of what it was that the teachers said in their own words. Being cognizant of how representation is lost through the one-dimensional presentation of the written language, the long quotations provided extra meaning to the lived experiences of the teachers. Second, in presenting long blocks of texts, I also had to make judgments as to what should be represented. I spent different amounts of time with the teachers in their classrooms prior to and during the dissertation process. Specifically, I obtained more audio taped conversations from Mrs. Martin, then from Mr. ONeal, and finally from Mrs. Nelson. Mrs. Martin enjoyed communicating and was open to discuss with me at length her experiences. For this reason, I obtained more information about her teaching, learning, and experiences. Because Mr. ONeal had a five-hour break between his morning class and his afternoon classes, we were able to talk for an extended amount of time. I also took advantage of the commute to the Community College by talking with Mr. ONeal about his experiences and sharing some of my interpretations. On three occasions due to bomb threats at Carver High School on days that I was scheduled to meet with Mrs. Nelson, our audio taped sessions were shortened. An additional audio taped conversation was conducted following the bomb threats. I attempted to represent each teacher, not favoring one over another. However, the amount of information that I obtained from the three teachers was obvious in my findings. I talked with the three teachers on similar and different topics and subjects, and therefore, I obtained more information, or less, from certain teachers than from others. Depending on the quantity of information obtained, some of the findings are presented in a multiple case study design of the individual teachers (Merriam, 1998). In another way I highlighted text around the four poststructural themes using what I obtained from all the teachers to support the particular theme. The primary data consisted of transcribed conversations from the three teachers. The transcriptions were analyzed using coding techniques and discourse analysis. Ryan and Bernard (2000) recommended coding as a process of data analysis for contiguous blocks of text. The fundamental task associated with coding was using whole-text

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analysis for judgment and assigning value to the text and developing codes and themes by using the narratives (stories) as data and producing taxonomies and categories (Hatch & Wisniewski, 1995, p. 125) for further analysis. Content analysis assumes that the codes of interest have already been discovered and described (Ryan & Bernard, 2000, p. 785). Because I used feminist poststructuralism as a frame of reference, the categories of power, knowledge and meaning, language, and difference were used as major codes of analysis. I developed minor codes, which emerged from the conversations and were used to enhance and support interpretations around the major codes. This approach to data analysis not only allowed me to apply the four feminist poststructural themes but also enabled me to highlight other themes that emerged from the data. This approach accounted for both inductive and deductive coding processes by using feminist poststructuralism as a coding structure and anticipating codes not accounted for in this framework. Discourse Analysis Power, being the predominant theme of analysis, was central to my study. Focusing on power uses the Foucauldian discourse analysis approach. In Foucauldian discourse analysis, the discourses are not merely bodies of ideas, ideologies, or other symbolic formulations, but are also working attitudes, modes of address, terms of reference, and courses of action suffused into social practices (Gubrium & Holstein, 2000, pp. 493-94). Foucault was interested in linking discourse with lived experience (Gubrium & Holstein, 2000), and he explained that discourse, subjects, and objects, influence one another. The sociocultural context became a fundamental aspect in understanding experience. If now I am interestedin the way in which the subject constitutes himself in an active fashion, by the practices of the self, these practices are nevertheless not something that the individual invents by himself. They are patterns that he finds in his culture and which are proposed, suggested and imposed on him by his culture, his society and his social group. (Foucault, 1988, p. 11) By looking at discourses as systems within society, they can be studied and analyzed. For me, the discourses as systems were connected to the lived experiences of the three teachers in Carver County School District.

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Additionally Foucault (1980) saw that power operated in and through discourses which he called power/knowledge discourses. Discourse as defined by RopersHuilman (1998, p. 3) includes the larger social forces that both influence and constitute unique discourses themselves, as human actors both construct and are constructed by the discourses in which they are located. Discourse involves also language, the use of words, and how language works in society. Discourse not only put words to work, it gives them their meaning, constructs perceptions, and formulates understanding and ongoing courses of interaction (Gubrium & Holstein, 2000, pp. 494-95). Within different contexts, discourse changes and power is shifted. For this study discourse(s) were considered as the practices and philosophies, customs and norms, and attitudes and strategies of and about (Ropers-Huilman, 1998, p. 3) teachers, generated from life stories that they share, displayed in their science teaching as teachers describe their practices, and linked to their individual professional development. This involved a focus on interactional, institutional, and cultural variabilities in socially constituting discursive practice (Gubrium & Holstein, 2000, p. 496), or on the social factors of understanding the individual within social settings. Too, discursive practice was manifested in patterns of talk and interaction that constitute everyday life, the practices refer in common to the lives doing, or ongoing accomplishment, of social worlds (p. 494). For the science teachers in this study, I hoped to understand life history or life stories, analyzed by feminist poststructuralism and Foucauldian discourse analysis of power. Ensuring Quality in Research Trustworthiness as Methodological Criteria Methodological criteria are concerned with how well the process of research is conducted and if the results are trustworthy. There were three techniques for methodological criteriatrustworthiness, the hermeneutic process, and authenticity used in this study (Guba & Lincoln, 1989). Trustworthiness is getting at the interior of a person by dialogue and interpretation (Wilber, 1998). The interior is the underlying assumptions, beliefs, and values that teachers held which are reached through dialogue. The interior also meant trying to understand inner feelings and beliefs for interpretation and meaning. Engagement in the

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hermeneutical circle accommodated for trustworthiness in a back-and-forth, bridgebuilding process of interpretation of text and talk. It involved the immediate and continuous interplay of information through dialogue (Guba & Lincoln, 1989). It also involved reporting the inner status, the inner thoughts and feelings of the person, and it allowed the teachers to have a voice. Additionally trustworthiness referred to the evaluation of a community of researchers (Lieblich, Tuval-Mashiach, & Zilber, 1998, p. 172) for the goodness or quality of the research study. The specific criteria for judging trustworthiness were credibility, transferability, dependability, and confirmability (Guba & Lincoln, 1989). Credibility is concerned with how closely my construction of teachers experiences matches that of the participants. In order to fulfill this criterion, Guba & Lincoln (1989) have proposed several techniquesprolonged engagement, persistent observation, peer debriefing, negative case analysis, progressive subjectivity, and member checks. Prolonged engagement and persistent observation were achieved by spending more than fifteen months in Carver County School District and by maintaining reflective journals during this time. Persistent observation adds depth to the scope which prolonged engagement affords (Guba & Lincoln, 1989, p. 237). Peer debriefing was done by engaging in discussions with peers for testing out findings, conclusions, tentative analyses, and hypothesis (Guba & Lincoln, 1989). Sharing ones views and conclusions and making sense in the eyes of a community of researchers and interested, informed individualsis of the highest significance in narrative inquiry (Lieblich, TuvalMashiach, & Zilber, 1998, p. 173). My community of learners assisted me in fulfilling this criterion as well as the teachers with whom I shared my interpretations. Time in the district and working with the three science teachers consisted of various activities that added to the depth and breath of my interactions in collecting data for this study. For example, observations and field notes from subsequent months and personal conversations with participants were maintained since August 2001. Two teachers and their students were participants in a research project I conducted while in the district. My role as participant observer in the three teachers classrooms enabled me to develop a relationship with the teachers not only as a researcher but also as a teacher. I

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attended extracurricular activities, such as sporting events. I chaperoned field trips, sat in on departmental meetings, and participated in school social events and programs at the schools. I also helped with planning, judging, and obtaining sponsors for Science Fair at the schools and at the regional level. Negative analysis assumes that not all cases would fit into appropriate categories (Guba & Lincoln, 1989). Because I used the four feminist poststructural themes of power, knowledge/meaning, language, and difference, as major themes for analysis, other themes arose from the data, thus supporting the notion that not all of the teachers experiences would fit into these four themes of analysis. Thus progressive subjectivity became critical in monitoring my own developing constructions as I remained open to discover new constructions, ideas, and hypotheses. I looked for common and dissimilar patterns, themes, and codes across teachers texts. For the different themes of analysis I coded particular stories and reported these under categories that were common and different for the three teachers. The categories with more specific examples, or text in the form of quotes, for each of the four themes (power, knowledge/meaning, language, and difference) were reported. Member check is the process of testing hypotheses, data, preliminary categories, and interpretations with the teachers involved in the study (Guba & Lincoln, 1989). Member checks involved sharing with the teachers their own transcripts, and my thoughts, analysis, and interpretations during the research process. Member check was done also during audio taped conversations and in subsequent conversations as we engaged in the hermeneutical circle. The technique for ensuring that a study has met the quality criteria of transferability, I used thick description for an extensive and careful description of the time, the place, the context, and the culture in which hypotheses became relevant (Guba & Lincoln, 1989). I also accomplished this by providing long text. In this way readers are able to apply findings from the study to their own interests and situations. Dependability is concerned with the stability of the data over time (Guba & Lincoln, 1989). Given the emergent design of interpretivist research, I expected to have changes and shifts in understanding. Therefore, by maintaining a reflective journal, the process of change and decisions that were made throughout the study were documented

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and interpreted. I referred to my journals as a means to understand my changing conception of ideas and interpretations. From the teachers perspectives, their stories remain in tact. It is the interpretation and analytical frame that rendered differing or multiple meanings and understandings to their stories. Confirmability seeks to ensure that data, interpretations, and outcomes of the inquiries are rooted in contexts and persons apart from the evaluator and not simply figments of my imagination (Guba & Lincoln, 1989, p. 243). The data can be tracked back to the teachers who shared their experiences and stories. Both implicit and explicit meanings were gathered from their experiences and reported as findings and in discussion centered on the themes and categories used in this study. Authenticity as Negotiation Criteria Guba and Lincoln (1989) described authenticity as primarily concerned with the outcome and product of interpretivist research. The authenticity criteria were fairness, ontological authenticity, educative authenticity, catalytic authenticity, and tactical authenticity. Fairness deals with how different constructions are presented, clarified, and checked. I accomplished this with a deliberate attempt to prevent marginalization, to act affirmatively with respect to inclusion, and to act with energy to ensure that all voices in the inquiry effort had a chance to be represented in any texts and to have their stories treated fairly and with balance (Lincoln & Guba, 2000, p. 180). Because I used a feminist poststructural perspective and conducted an interpretivist study, I accommodated issues of marginality and voice by including and reporting the experiences of African American science teachers. During the conversation process of talking with teachers about their experiences, I asked teachers to clarify their statements, or to elaborate on issues that came up while we talked. This ensured that I interpreted and understood what the teachers meant as we talked about their life experiences. Then through the process of writing the dissertation, I made sure that the teachers views, perspectives, claims, concerns, and voices [were] apparent in the text and that I fairly represented their stories (Lincoln & Guba, 2000, p. 180). This was done via the coding process and by individual and collective representation, as teachers had similar and different experiences that were

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shared. I also went back to the teachers to ask them if my interpretations were correct, which again was accomplished through member checks. Ontological authenticity, educative authenticity, catalytic authenticity, and tactical authenticity serve to disengage bias, to raise level of awareness, and to prompt action and involvement (Guba & Lincoln, 1989; Lincoln & Guba, 2000). Ontological authenticity refers to how teachers improve in any way their own constructions, enhance their own awareness, understand a broader range of issues, or reassess their own experiences over time. Educative authenticity is the ability of the teachers to understand other persons constructions. For both ontological and educative authenticity, I introduced to the teachers the four poststructural themes that included ideas that were similar and different from their own experiences toward understanding themselves as contextual beings. Catalytic authenticity necessarily provokes action on the part of the teachers, while tactical authenticity moves toward self-empowerment so that one is motivated to act. As an overall focus on teacher professional development, reflecting on practice, thinking of ways to improve their science teaching, and planning a course of action for future professional development activities became a desirable goal for this study. However the criterion of catalytic authenticity for teacher professional development and change was beyond the scope of this study. I did not have the opportunity to see if and how teachers put their learning into practice based upon the findings of this study. Still, I was very interested in knowing what and if teachers did in fact change their thinking or were affected by my time in the district. I planned for a fifth conversation to be conducted after completion of this study. For the fifth conversation I met with each teacher separately and shared final conclusions through dialogue. I offered recommendations for future professional development as a personal plan for each teacher based upon their needs, my observations, and our conversations. I gave each one a hardcopy of the discussion sections from the dissertation and literature1 on adult learning, teacher professional development, and multicultural education. I also met with one of the assistant principals at Carver High School. The assistant principal, who knew of my involvement in Carver County, was a former assistant administrator at Parks High School. By sharing the findings of this study with an administrator, I hope to introduce some new ideas and approaches for

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professional development for science teachers in the upcoming academic school year. I also gave her literature for personal knowledge and to share with others at her own discretion. In summary, there were specific activities and procedures I engaged in to ensure quality measures were met for this study (Table 5.1). For example the quality criteria of trustworthiness and authenticity as supported by Guba and Lincoln (1989) were followed. The activities consisted of: open negotiation of the research study, encouragement and participation from science teachers to share their stories, experiences, and thoughts, and documentation of teachers views and voices. I accomplished these tasks by making teachers voices apparent in the text by presenting long blocks of text in the form of quotes. I maintained reflective journals since the first day of entering Carver County School District. The journals served as a chronicle of my thoughts, field notes, and interpretations throughout the study. Peers and committee members served as support in peer debriefing and providing additional directions in the research process.

Table 5.2 Quality Criteria and Strategies (Guba & Lincoln, 1989; Lincoln & Guba, 2000)
Quality Criteria Trustworthiness Credibility Prolonged Engagement Persistent Observation Peer Debriefing Negative Case Analysis Progressive Subjectivity Member Checks Authenticity Fairness Ontological Authenticity Educative Authenticity Catalytic Authenticity Tactical Authenticity Activities and Strategies

Observations and field notes since August 2001 Observations and field notes since August 2001 Committee members as well as peers Maintaining a reflective journal of developing hypotheses Maintaining a reflective journal of developing constructions Sharing with stakeholders transcripts, analysis, interpretations Open negotiation throughout the study; teachers views, perspectives, claims, concerns, and voices apparent in the text Sharing literature and poststructural themes with the teachers Sharing literature and poststructural themes with the teachers Fifth interview: sharing findings with teachers and administration Fifth interview: sharing findings with teachers and administration

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Ethics After receiving consent from the Human Subjects Committee, participants signed the consent2 form for participation in the dissertation study (See Appendix). The consent informed teachers of their role and expectations as participants. They had full and open information regarding their participation in the study (Christians, 2000). Also codes of ethics for protection of location and participants were accomplished by using pseudonyms throughout the study. Excluding mine, all formal names in this study were pseudonyms. Personal data was secured and shared only with permission from the participants. I understood the ethical nature of personal disclosure as I talked with the teachers. This involved at times, some very personal stories or moments in their lives in which I had to be sensitive to their privacy. I was also aware of working relationships in the schools and was respectful of teachers view and opinions of their colleagues. Developing mutual trust and respect was key to handling interactions with the teachers. Limitations The interactions between the individual and the socio-cultural context were important aspects of this research. The issue of power as I understood power as a shifting construct was a difficult concept to grasp, especially when I considered the socio-cultural context and attempted to associate aspects of teachers lives with my understanding of power poststructurally. Thus my research limitations primarily dealt with the theoretical frame I chose, my own understanding of the research design, and the methods I chose to use. I chose poststructuralism, and feminist poststructuralism in particular, as a guiding theoretical framework for the study. This body of research deals primarily with issues of power and the taken-for-grantedness of institutional relations of power and knowledge. It also deals with the political nature of education, policy, and practice. I attempted to take some of these issues and transpose them into professional development of science teachers for understanding their life stories and science teaching practices. This was a limitation because feminist poststructuralism has not been a major focus in science education research. Thus I had no guiding studies to assist me in making this leap to science education research. Nevertheless, this limitation was a privilege as I

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borrowed heavily from feminist theory, critical theory, and adult education literature to address science teacher professional development as influenced by relations of power, race, class, and gender. This limitation then became an opportunity for my research to contribute to the body of literature on the contextual, sociocultural, and political nature of teacher professional development, and to the body of literature on power relations in education, and specifically in the teaching and learning of science. The research design of interpretive research provided a means of understanding teachers stories, but it also opened the door for me to introduce my own views into the interpretation. Not necessarily a liability against interpretivist research, still I had to be aware of how I interpreted and reported what I discovered, and even what I do not discover, in this process. I had to explain and make evident why I had made the kinds of judgments in reporting information and the experiences of the three African American science teachers. This primarily appeared in presenting stories that supported the feminist poststructural themes and categories I created from the data. Also, a limitation in any interpretivist study is being aware that participants may reveal only what they want to reveal, and in this, a limitation is automatic. However, developing a level of trust with the teachers made this element perhaps less of an issue. The teachers revealed very personal aspects of their lives to me. In the following chapter I introduce the teachers and the context of this study of teacher professional development and feminist poststructural analysis. The chapter provides a guiding framework and establishes the basis for the study and the beginning of data presentation and discussion.

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CHAPTER 6 RESEARCH FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION: CONTEXT Introduction We have kids graduating with Bright Futures Scholarships, $2-300,000 worth of money to go to school. We have students graduating with AA degrees. That school is doing something; that county is doing something. But people tend to focus on the negative, and the majority is not. (Mr. ONeal) Carver County and Carver County School District Carver County was established as early as 1823, and was settled by slave owners from other southern states and became famous for its tobacco, which became the leading economic activity until 1975. Carver County has been the leading producer of Fuller's Earth or attapulgite clay since the 1890s. Fuller's Earth is used in the refining of oil, in the clean-up of hazardous waste, and as kitty litter and bedding for pets and other animals. The main crops produced in Carver County are pole beans, squash, sweet corn, hay, and tomatoes. The tomato crop is considered to be Carver Countys chief economy since 1977. It is estimated that 5 million 25-pound boxes of tomatoes will be collected for the Spring 2003 crop. The tomatoes grown in Carver County and in surrounding states require hand picking done primarily by 5,000 to 6,000 migrant workers during the picking season (http://www.floridanetlink.com). In 1993, 42% of Carver County's population was white and 58% was nonwhite, which includes Black and Hispanics. In 1990, 2.3% of the population was Hispanic. Between 1980 and 1990, the population of Carver County decreased because of negative net migration due to more people leaving Carver County to live in surrounding counties than people entering the county (http://www.floridanetlink.com). The per capita income for 1993 in Carver County was $14,119, which is the 49th highest in the state, and the median household income in 1989 was $19,985. Also during this time, 22.0% of families had incomes below the poverty level

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(http://www.floridanetlink.com). Many rural schools have very limited resources and high levels of poverty, which under these conditions of economic injustice create barriers and challenges for teaching students and developing teachers as leaders (Beloin & Peterson, 2000). Carver County School District enrolls approximately 7,148 students in their fifteen public schoolsseven elementary schools, four middle schools, and four high schools (Table 6.1).

Table 6.1 Carver County School District Statistics. Data compiled from The State Indicators Report, 2000-01. School Type and Number Elementary 7 Middle 4 High 4 Student Membership3 4,036 1,376 1,772 Finance4 5,798 5,759 5,798 Graduation5 51.0 51.0 51.0

Within Carver County School District there is Carver High School and Parks High School, grades 9 through 12. Both high schools are described as critically low performing status schools by the State Department of Education. Particularly, Carver High has a student body enrollment of 883 students and was assigned a grade F6 for the 2001-02 academic school year. The school received a D the previous year. There are 38 faculty members at Carver High School, with 23 holding Bachelors degrees and 15 holding Masters degrees. There are currently three full-time and one part-time science faculty. Parks High School, which is located approximately 12 miles southwest of Carver High School, has a student body enrollment of 313 students and was assigned a grade D for the 2002 and 2001 school years. There are 20 faculty members and only two science teachers. The average number of years of teaching experience for Carver School District teachers is 15.0. Due to funding, Carver and Parks are due to close and merge. 82

The new school is scheduled to open for the 2003-04 academic school year for grades 9 through 12. Based on the definition of segregated settings presented by Atwater (2000), Carver High School and Parks High School are considered to be segregated schools schools whose student population is predominantly composed of students of color (p. 162). Both high schools have a student population that is 98% African American and 2% Caucasian and Hispanic. The make-up of Carver Countys residency, however, is closer to 67% African American; 25% Caucasian; and 8% Hispanic (http://nces.ed.gov/surveys). The majority of Caucasian students attend private schools (2 elementary, 2 middle, 1 high school) in Carver County. This accounts for the lower number of Caucasian students in the public schools. The highest numbers of Hispanic students attend one of the two high schools in Carver County. The Teachers Three African American science teachers were chosen to participate in an interpretive study of teacher professional development and poststructural analysis. There were several reasons these three teachers were selected for this study. First, given the nature of interpretivist study, a small number of participants allows for a deeper understanding of the phenomena that is studied. An aim in this study was to understand more deeply a few teachers and their experiences rather than understanding more broadly many teachers and their experiences in the context of a small rural school district. Interpretive method allowed for a subjective and introspective approach (Wilber, 1998, p. 7) for understanding teachers, their lives and work. This approach worked well with the focus or intent of this study in understanding the personal lives of a few teachers, and three teachers were sufficient enough to answer the research questions. Second, I worked with these three science teachers in their classrooms from August 2001 to March 2003, with interactions outside of their classrooms to include school activities and family gatherings. I developed a personal and working relationship with them, and they agreed to continue these relationships by participating in my research. I believed that I could learn from them and they from me because of this congenial relationship.

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Third, the three teachers were at different levels in their professional development as science teachers. I expected that there would be some degree of commonality in experiences due to race, class, and gender, and similar experiences from teaching and working in Carver County. However, the meaning making and the learning gained from their personal experiences brought to the study similar and contrasting meanings of their experiences as learners and teachers of science. Fourth, the teachers were chosen because they represent a small minority of qualified science teachers in rural settings. They broke the stereotype of rural teachers as young, beginning and often inexperienced teachers who have taken on teaching positions because no other appointments were available (Boylan & McSwan, 1998, p. 49). These teachers chose to teach in Carver County or to remain in Carver County. I found them to be very knowledgeable in their content areas. Fifth, I spent extensive time observing and talking with them, and even teaching science lessons in their classes. The teachers have differing teaching styles and approaches to teaching and learning science. Because of the time I spent with them in their classrooms, I gained some insights into their teaching habits and philosophies of education. I noted some contradictions in their espoused theory and actual theory of teaching. I was interested in knowing how these contradictions possibly related to life experiences or professional development and got translated into classroom practices. I attempted to make connections between the personal and the social aspects of their teaching and life stories. I then related this knowledge toward understanding teachers professional development and science teaching practices, within feminist poststructuralism and adult learning. Following is a brief introduction to the three teachers of this study: Mrs. Martin is an African American mother with two daughters. She is married and lives in an adjoining county to Carver, and she commutes to the high school every morning. She participates in many extracurricular activities related to science club and sponsoring/coaching the bands auxiliary units. She taught as an adjunct at nearby King University7her alma materone section of an undergraduate biology lab for the Fall 2002 semester. She holds a Masters Degree in Education and teaches predominantly tenth grade science, which includes General, Honors and Advanced Placement Biology,

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and Environmental Science. She is in her fifth year of teaching scienceall done at Carver High School. Mrs. Nelson is an African American mother of a six-year old daughter. Mrs. Nelson is the science department chair and is active in extracurricular activities. She coaches the cheerleaders and coordinates the school and regional science fair competition. Mrs. Nelson grew up in Carver County and lives less than three miles from the high school. She, her husband, and daughter live in her childhood home. Mrs. Nelson has a Bachelors Degree, and her certification is in Vocational Home Economics and Middle School Sciences, 6-9 grades. She teaches ninth grade Earth Science and has more than 22 years of teaching experience in Carver County School District. Mr. ONeal is an African American father of two childrenone high school son and the other child, a freshman daughter in college. He is divorced and has custody of his teenage son. Because he is also caring for his mother, both Mr. ONeal and his son share a home with his mother. Mr. ONeal also has a Masters Degree in Biology. Mr. ONeal returned to teaching after working 16 years as an insurance agent for Prudential. He taught for six years at Parks High School, and during the 2001-02 academic school year, he taught undergraduate biology courses and biology labs at King University. Last summer, Mr. ONeal left Carver County School District and took a position at a small Community College about an hours drive from his home. At the Community College he teaches Anatomy & Physiology, Biology II, and the labs that accompany these courses. The three teachers have many insights and information about the district. They were good resources in orienting me to the culture of their schools and their work as science teachers in Carver County School District. I provide in the following section descriptions that the teachers gave regarding their observations and experiences about Carver School District, the students and parents. Teachers Knowledge of Carver County School District and Their Students Historical Perspective The overall performance of the school or the county has not been that great. A number of different reasons were given. The knowledge that Mr. ONeal, Mrs. Nelson, and Mrs. Martin share about the district provides insights into their daily work as teachers, the backgrounds of the students, and the changes that have taken place in the

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district over the years. Many of these factors are forces that they contend with as science teachers teaching in financially stressed, predominantly African American schools. Providing a historical account of the District, Mr. ONeal centered the poor performance of Carver County School District as a sufferer of economics and white parents reaction to integration. A large number of White parents pulled their children from the public schools and placed them in private schools, thus displacing financial resources and changing school demographics. When they integrated the schools, all the white money left. They sent those kids to private schools. Most of the money thats in support of [Carver County public] schools comes from the state only. There is no money coming from parents. Some of the money is coming from landowners, but a lot of things changed. Carver District has a low graduation rate and limited financial resources (Table 6.1). The neglect of the district and its schools is evident. Still, Mr. ONeal stated that graduates of Carver School District were successful people in the community. The district overall and Parks High School, I have to separate it out. Parks has been neglected, overlooked for a long period of time, especially financially. The attention that it has received has been minimal. That school, I graduated from there, so I think I turned out to be pretty good, and a lot of other people graduated. I know a lot of people that are doctors and lawyers. As a matter of fact, the guy that is over the legal department at King University is a Parks graduate, and the guy that is over all the parking and recreation at King University is from Parks. We have a lot of students who are doing some great things. The Vice President at the Community College is from Carver County. We have kids graduating with Bright Futures Scholarships, $2-300,000 worth of money to go to school. We have students graduating with AA degrees. That school is doing something; that county is doing something. But people tend to focus on the negative, and the majority is not. An example of students who were doing well in science was given in the following story. Mr. ONeal entered his AP and Honors Biology classes in an Engineering Competition sponsored by the two local universities.

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Last year I took students to the Engineering competition by King and State Engineering School. When they got off the bus the first thing they did was to see everyone elses projects and automatically just shrunk that theirs was so inferior. I said you shouldnt feel that way. You should feel good about what you did. What you put into it is what you are going to get out of it. They worked really hard. They played around, but they did work hard. They learned something from it. They got a lot out of it. And when they did the final tally, Parks High won like first place the fastest, third place fastest, second place the slowest one. We must have brought home four prizes that day. Out of everybody, we won the most prizes. And they were so elated, and I was so happy for them. Here they are, but of course everybody looks down on us, saying that the school is trouble all the time. We are always having problems, but that is not always the case. For us to go in and do that, it really felt good. Winning the engineering competition for the students was shown on the local news that evening. Winning the competition was a morale booster for the students and for Mr. ONeal. Mr. ONeal offered another reason for poor student performance. He believed that African American parents are not as involved in the education of their children. They are not knowledgeable of the services that schools should provide and do not demand that schools act on behalf of their children. Also Mr. ONeal believed that parents are not placing education as a high priority. Both parents and students have lost their focus on education. Blacks arent as responsible as they should be or as active. Because you come to demand certain things that the school is required to do, and a lot of parents are not aware of things. As a result the kids have gotten to the point where education has been diluted at home, and its diluted in the schools. Parents dont emphasize it and place much emphasis on it because they dont have the education, and they are not as involved in their kids in making them do things. These kids are not placing a whole lot of emphasis on it. All they are placing emphasis on is what their parents have placed emphasis onmaterial things, having a car, having the material designer clothes and shoes, and stuff like that. That is where their

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interests and emphasis are placed. You got kids who live in run-down homes, and you look out the front door and the back door but they got the best of clothes, and in fact they are even driving a car. Thats where the emphasis has been placed. And as a result, these kids have lost their focus; parents have lost it sometimes. Students are doing what their parents are doingparents hang out late at night; students hang out late at night. Though he acknowledged that parents influence education in how successful students are in school, it is still the teacher who has a responsibility to teach and to have high expectations for student success. But if parents have not instilled in children that education is important first, then students will not do anything at school. I mean parents need to instill in the kids that [education] is important. When I go home, my parents should ask me, How was your day? What did you learn today? They should do that kind of thing. They dont have to come to the classroom and make me do my job, or make my child do because they have already done what they need to do at home. But if they are not doing that, then the kid begins to think, oh, they didnt ask me about my homework. They aint making me do my homework. So therefore it doesnt become important at school. My mom wont make me do it, so I aint going to do it here either. And they dont. Mr. ONeal discussed with me a report he received from the Georgia Department of Education. In the report, researchers concluded that children from low-income, working class backgrounds are just as successful in schools as children from more affluent homes. His rationale for sharing the report was that teachers have to teach and that ultimately they are responsible for the success of children in schools. The socioeconomic status is secondary to teachers primary role of teaching. The state of Georgia, and I have the document, has gone in and proven that parent participation does not make kids perform any better. They have proven it. They took low-income students whose parents could not come [to the schools] because they are out there working those jobs, and they dont have any days off, and they have presented them this information. They [the teachers] have kept their

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attention spans. They have made them feel good about themselves, and they have scored just as well as any of those rich kids. Mr. ONeal developed an understanding that the role of the teacher in teaching students is essential for student success. Though socioeconomic status plays a role also, it is not the major factor in deciding how successful students are in school. Teachers Perceptions of Students Mrs. Nelson also gave her perspectives of students and her views of education. She acknowledged that students are changing. However, she is not pleased with the direction of change she sees students going. She is disappointed in that students will graduate and will not be prepared for life. My kids are changing. The kids are changing for the worse. I see a decline in their expectations. I see a decline in the childrens academic abilities. I see a decline in the childrens desire to learn, and that saddens me. A lot of kids are coming to school now because it is here. They have no inclination of a big picture. Some of the kids see no tomorrow. Most of the kids see no tomorrow as far as their education goes. They dont understand the importance of getting an education today to become a productive citizen tomorrow. It is sad. Most kids dont see that. We have some kids whose parents do a real good job at helping them understand [the big picture], but for the most part, these kids are not understanding. They are going to leave school in three to four years unprepared for nothing. Students perceived as having no motivation to learn are placing their futures in jeopardy. Mrs. Nelson explained that students in the middle of the road eventually realize that they are unprepared for the real world and will try later to obtain the education they missed in high school. These students are met with the reality of not having an adequate education fit for the working world. You have the kids in the middle of the road who want to go to school, who want to graduate from high school, and think they can get a good job because they finished high school. Then they start realizing that in order to work, I got to fill out an application and they do not know how to fill out a good application or decently because they will have scratch-throughs, [or] they will have grease all

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over them. And those applications will immediately go into the trashcan. They dont understand that. These are the kids who will get out and realize I need to go back to school. I need to go to college and do something. They will start trying to retake tests. They will start thinking about taking SAT and ACT. And then they realize, Uh oh, I didnt do well on SCAT, I havent passed high school Students who do not complete high school realize later that they should have taken their education more seriously. According to the State Department of Educations School Advisory Council Report and the State Indicators Report (2000-01), the dropout rate for Carver High School is higher than average with a 5.1%, and the statewide average is 3.8%. Administrative Change Mrs. Martin voiced her frustration about the amount of change that Carver High School has experienced in the five years she has been teaching. Because of the changes in administration over the years, not having consistent leadership has placed her and the school at a disadvantage. I have been five years at this school site. I have had three principals, and four assistant principals, and with that, it has been difficult. I know that there are schools in the state where theres been one administrator in fifteen years, and I know that those schools have a jump on us because when you have consistent leadership and stability, you tend to do better. You can follow through and be more consistent yourself. I am not saying that the administration this year is bad or good, Im just saying that it is just another element of change. Well we have new administration and with that new things come as with two years ago we had new administration. So things like that we are in a state of change. And even though I know that its good, it is kind of after a certain point. Sometimes you have to stop and make allowances for the changes that the administration requires of you; however, when the administration keeps changing it is not a good change for the people involved. So I am still putting up my Gipper attitude, but it is a little frustrating. I feel like I should be further along than I am. Trying to maintain a positive attitude with all the changes that have occurred is a challenge for the teachers. They have seen changes in the community as financial

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resources have decreased because White parents have taken their children out of the public schools; changes in parents and students attitudes, expectations, and priorities in education; changes in leadership over the years, with implementation of new district and state policies; and decreased students motivations and interests in school. With yet another change in administration this academic school year (2002-03), new measures of teacher and student accountability policies have been instituted by the state and district. Accountability Both Parks High School and Carver High School, within Carver School District, have been assigned a grade D and F, respectively, according to The State Comprehensive Assessment Test (SCAT). With these low grades, both schools have been required to do more paperwork to document that certain polices, procedures, and activities have been done. As Mrs. Nelson thinks about the increased paperwork at Carver High that she and her colleagues have to do this year, she viewed it as a necessary measure that ensured that everyone was held accountable and was doing what the state, district, and administration mandated. Having to complete the extra work meant that teachers were looked at as not doing their job. I understand exactly why we have a paper trail this year. People look at us [and] again we are an F school, and basically people automatically assume that we are not doing anything. So by asking us, encouraging us to turn in different paperwork, and asking us to be accountable for saying that we actually did something and making us, encouraging us to keep track of certain things because it is definitely making us all accountable. With the F grade assigned to Carver High School, many more things were required of teachers than the previous year. Feeling overwhelmed at times, Mrs. Martin described with much frustration what she has to document. Documentation then became the word associated with accountability. It is a lot of work especially with having this cloud of F over us. It is so much work. I am finding that we have to do more data-based activities to document that we are doing what we are suppose to do to make sure that the kids come from out of this F. We have to give pre and post tests. We have to score the pre and post tests for math, science, and English. We have to turn in the paperwork so that

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they can generate data-driven information to document for the state that we are putting things into place to help our students. We have to do, what else are we doing at this school in this county? We also had to have certain days where we documented that we have had assemblies and speakers to come in. The District required that teachers document their performance by maintaining a professional development portfolio. The portfolio was going to be used to evaluate teachers and their teaching. Mrs. Martins approach for doing the professional portfolio was to document areas that supported a high level of accomplishment for district standards. The portfolio will serve as an assessment instrument at the end of the year. We have a rubric that is handed down by the county, by the district. There are certain things that we must document in order to be evaluated as commendable. I think, I dont remember if it is superior, average, or good, needs improvement, or not recommended. I really dont remember the ones down after superior because thats the one area I focused on. So I wanted to document throughout the year that I was commendable in all the areas that the district asked of me. Because of the teaching portfolio she completed for National Board Certification, Mrs. Martin thought that the school portfolio was easier to complete. She replied, With the national board process, I had already done most of those things, and I just filed them and went on. Thus the school portfolio process was simply an exercise in collecting artifacts to show what had been done. In addition to completing a teaching portfolio, teachers were required to do a learning portfolio on every student they taught. This requirement was another measure of accountability that science teachers had to document, and this requirement was perceived as an extra burden. Much of what was expected of teachers was focused on preparing for The State Comprehensive Assessment Test. While preparing for the SCAT, Mrs. Martin felt that there was little time to prepare for teaching science or science content standards. We have to do portfolios. This is a good thing, but it is taxing because we have to do them on every student that we teach [and] provide the students with extra practice or give the students activities that provide practice for them so they can do better on the SCAT. This is a lot. I havent even touched on making sure that they understand. I havent even mentioned the things that we have to do because

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we are an F, [or] the things that we have to cover because theyre in a biology class. Mrs. Martin described how overwhelming the accountability measures were and how the extra requirement of doing student portfolios and preparing for the state test impinged upon her science teaching. As a science teacher she also had to document that she taught the Grade Level Expectations, or standards from the state, and show that students have mastered these standards through check-off lists. The professional portfolio that Mrs. Nelson worked on was more challenging for her. Though she had the experience of completing a teaching portfolio the previous year, the one for this year was a little easier because teachers were given specific guidelines for constructing their portfolios. She felt the guidelines helped her to organize her portfolio. The guidelines became requirements that she included in her portfolio. But this years portfolio is geared toward what we will be evaluated on and what we need to have. It is geared toward a standard. It is a standard that we know we have to meet with our portfolios, so that is the biggest. Another purpose in maintaining a teaching portfolio is to see change over time. For Mrs. Nelson, completing a portfolio helped her to develop organizational skills or to see how much she had grown over the year. To keep that portfolio so that you know that you have changed your instruction, and you know that you are growing professionally because you begin to see things. You grow every year, but this is like an organizational growth. You learn how to piece together [and learn] the importance of putting things together. Mrs. Nelson also stated that the portfolio was a form of accountability to document that certain things had been done. Though completing the teaching portfolio was time-consuming, she saw the importance in completing it as evidence to defend her practices. The teaching portfolio served as an accountability measure of her teaching. Its good. It is bad because it is time consuming, but it is good because it makes you accountable and it leaves a paper trail so that you dont have to stand up and needlessly defend yourself. You have something to fill the void if you have to defend yourself. I turned in my pacing guide. [If they ask for it again], here is a copy, and you dont have to hurry to type one. Here is a copy. It is really good in

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that manner. It is really more good than bad. The bad, the only bad, is that it is time consuming, and a lot of people do not have the time. It is just time consuming that is the biggest complaint. Accountability measures that are handed down by the state came in the form of policies that concentrated on preparing students for The State Comprehensive Assessment Test, and competing various teacher assignments such as pacing guides/lesson plans, and portfolios that had to be turned in to the administrators. With these accountability measures, documentation of additional paperwork and activities are recorded. Science teachers are expected to complete teaching and student portfolios to show that all are making progress toward raising their school grade and that they are doing what the state and district have mandated through accountability policies. Context Discussion Context, being key in how science teachers understand their work as teachers, provides a frame to explore the sociohistorical factors that are often overlooked in analysis. In the small, rural predominantly African American Carver County School District, the three teachers contend with many social variables, such as race, class, and gender in their learning and teaching of science. The changes in decreasing economic support of Carver School District and its schools, increasing enrollment of Hispanic students, and continuing changes in administrative leadership over the years have created several concerns for teachers. These changes are predominantly the result of historical and social factors, and influence the success of students, teachers, and the school district. Historically, the impact of segregation on Carver County School District removed money from the public schools. Black and Hispanic parents who were not able to afford private school kept their children in the public schools while the majority of White parents placed their children in the private schools. This trend of resegregated schools is increasingly becoming a common phenomenon across the country (Bush, Burley, & Causey-Bush, 2001; Harrison, 2002). According to Roderick Harrison (2000), White flight alludes to the out-movement of whites--often quite rapid--that can ensue once blacks or other minority populations exceed a threshold percentage of the population in a neighborhood or locality. It thus refers to a response by whites to the influx of minority populations into predominantly or exclusively white

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areas, and to the tendency of whites to leave many of those areas more quickly than comparable locales not experiencing such an influx. (p. 23) Still, it as been forty-six years since the U.S. Supreme Court effectively ended legal segregation of public schools, yet most students still attend schools dominated by those of their own race and income level (Orfield, 2001). The effect of segregation in Carver County School District has created public school environments that are predominantly African American. An increasingly higher number of Hispanic students are entering these Black schools. Despite changes in demographics and the reputation that Carver County School District has, students graduate from Carver County schools with scholarships to college and college credit. Graduates have pursued careers in medicine, education, and other fields, and they have accomplished good things in the community. The neglect of the school financially and the low self-image students experience are tied to racial and class issues. For example, teachers at Carver and Parks have to overcome negative stereotypes that they are poor performing because they are not teaching. Students have to contend with feeling inferior compared to students from other schools. Being African American, from economically poor schools, and from working-class backgrounds have compounded feelings of inferiority and perceptions from outsiders that Carver County School district teachers and students are poor performing. The assumptions are heard and felt by both teachers and students almost daily. With a high turnover of administrative leadership at Carver High School, the school has undergone change after change after change for several years. With each new administration, new policies come, especially this year (2002-03), making it difficult to maintain a constant leadership and school agenda. With the current administration, accountability measuressome geared toward teacher development and student achievementthese policies have placed burdens and constraints on teaching and learning. For example portfolios are used not as measures to help teachers think about their practices. They are used more as measures of accountability and for documenting that teachers have done what is required of them by the state and district. Thus doing the teaching portfolios and the student portfolios, rather than concentrating on teachers

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classroom practices for continuous improvement or professional development, have created additional constraints and pressures for conforming to state and district mandates. The teachers constructed portfolios because they teach at F and D schools. Specific guidelines were given to teachers on what to place in their portfolios. No reflective thinking processes for improving science teaching practices are considered. Teachers see the guidelines as check-off lists to generate artifacts for a particular standard. Teachers are required to maintain student portfolios of student work samples, and check-off lists are used to show they have mastered grade level science standards. With having to do both professional teaching and student portfolios, along with the additional test preparation strategies geared toward The State Comprehensive Assessment Test, teachers are more overwhelmed than they are overjoyed in having to do these assignments. Still they understand that they have to do this extra work and document completion of assignments because they are teaching in a low performing school district. In the following four chapters I introduce four feminist poststructural themes power, knowledge/meaning, language, and difference. Each theme is presented separately and is followed by a discussion of the theme at the end of its chapter.

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CHAPTER 7 RESEARCH FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION: POWER Introduction Mom how does it feel when you are in front of the class teaching your students? I said, Britney it is a wonderful feeling because it gives you a lot of power. It makes you think that you know everything there is to know about a subject. It gives you power to have a captive audience and lets them know what you know. So the word power makes you feel special. (Mrs. Nelson) Davis and Fisher (1993) defined power in terms of a capillary that circulates through the social body and exerts its authority through self-surveillance and everyday practices. They held that, power produces all social categories, including women, constituting them as both objects and subjects of knowledge (p. 9). In other words, power produces all social categories, including race, class, age, and gender with both women and men as objects and subjects of knowledge within relations of power. Michel Foucault theorized that power exists in relations, where power is understood as power relations or as relations of power. Power draws attention from the individual to its productive dimensions, such as how power works through individual actions to vision and re-vision our selves as acting, thinking, and feeling persons (Popkewitz & Brennan, 1998, p. 16). The productive nature of power is most concerned with its effects as it circulates through institutional practices and the discourses of daily life (p. 18). Power is like a dynamic force that works between and among individuals. By looking at power as effects, it focuses the study on individuals within historical and social context as they construct boundaries and possibilities (p. 19) and meaning from their experiences. Power is no longer considered to belong to an individual nor is it considered as a negative thing (St. Pierre, 2000).

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Power Relations in Schooling and in Work In poststructural thinking, the individual, or the subject, is not exclusively the product of language but that institutions such as schools produce relations of power and knowledge that regulate and constitute that individual (Munroe, 1998). In school interactions, power relations are described in the schooling process to exist primarily between teachers and students. Mr. ONeal described one incident from college where one of his science professors exercises his own form of power by choosing to bypass Mr. ONeal when collecting student work. Mr. ONeal understood the situation to be related to power and to race. But this particular situation was, had to do with that power struggle thing I guess. I was probably a sophomore in college at the time, and I was taking a physics class and we had labs, and in this particular lab we had to have everything checked before we could leave. And so after I finished my work, I got in line, and when I got to the front of the line, my professor would not take my paper. He reached behind me and took the next persons paper. Oh, well, that was like [19]75. It became more obvious of what he was doing. It was enough students to realize that. I guess I could have gotten angry. The students these days would not be as tolerant over what happened. With the increasing emphasis on the personal as a source of power and with parallel attention to subjectivity (Collins, 2000, p. 53), power is used as a personal tool. Mr. ONeal was able to rethink the situation that occurred between his professor and himself and to understand what happened in a historical context in that he was the only African American in his biology class. Mr. ONeal exerted his own form of power in handling his professor. At the same time he understood that power relations were ultimately in his control. As I have gotten older, Ive looked back over that several times. I look back and really I could have handled that a lot of different ways but I probably handled it the best way of being patient and not letting him know that I was not going to leave until I got what I needed from him. Sometimes thats what you have to do. You can look at it anyway you want to but in essence you can tick someone off and not get what you want, or you can be diplomatic about it and wait them out. I

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can see them struggling about that at the time I wasnt actually being stubborn, I was being nave because I just stood there until he took my paper and he graded it then I left. That was probably a really racial situation for me. After reflecting on the situation over the years, Mr. ONeal still has some hesitation in claiming the incident to be racially connected yet believes issues of power were in effect between his professor and himself. Because he was the only student of color in his college science lab, being passed over by his White professor explains how power relations are exercised and controlled between individuals. Systems of ideas discipline individuals as they act, see, think, and see themselves in the world (Popkewitz & Brennan, 1998, p. 18). The practices of this teacher against Mr. ONeal created instead for Mr. ONeal an alternative life strategy in dealing with people. He chose to act and think in a way that allowed him to get what he wanted from his professor. In another incident several years later, Mr. ONeal found himself in an unfortunate situation where he lost his job. This occurred during his first couple of years of teaching. Another teacher wanted to return to their hometown in Carver County to coach. Mr. ONeal described that the principal had the power to fire and hire. My second year, I was a biology teacher and an assistant basketball coach. The head basketball coach decided after the first [year of coaching] that he wanted to come back home [to Carver County]. The principal got mad and fired me too. So I was like looking for a job. He came back because he knew he had fired me out of anger. He came back and offered me my job, but I had already found a job selling insurance for Prudential. I didnt like the idea that he had that much power that he could hire and fire me at will. He wasnt even concerned about what was going on in the classroom. He just decided to fire me because the other guy was leaving. In the two stories above, Mr. ONeal finds himself influenced by power relations in schooling and in a work situation. There is some level of understanding in that race played a part. Being the only African American in his college science lab, Mr. ONeal felt his science professor treated him unfairly. Conversely race was not an issue concerning his firing by the high school principal, since both Mr. ONeal, the other teacher, and the principal were African American. In fact Mr. ONeal was more outraged

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because the principal was not concerned with the effectiveness of his science teaching as a measure to fire and hire. In both cases power appears to be something that is possessed and manifested in the actions of individuals in powerful positions, such as a college professor and a school principal. True to Foucaults ideas of power, power is not only negative, ruling, prohibiting, censoring, and uniform domination (Simola, Heikkinen, & Silvonen, 1998, p. 68), it is also positive, productive, and creative (p. 68). The oppressive and unfair treatment Mr. ONeal received from his professor and administrator enabled him to create strategies and opportunities that would benefit him in his adult life for handling relationships with others in positions of power. Power Relations in Teaching The third interview I had with Mrs. Nelson was very interesting in that I wanted to discuss power, and she laughed when I mentioned the word. She mentioned that only days before this interview, she did a project with her daughter concerning power. My daughter, my Britney, did a research project in first grade last week. Her teacher sent a little note home that said Britney had chosen teachers as her project and that she wanted to do a video. So I brought Britney out last Monday to check with some of the teachers to help us. So when I came out, they were not here. There was a custodian here so she taped us. So Britney asked as one of the questions, Mom, how does it feel when you are in front of the class teaching your students? I said, Britney it is a wonderful feeling because it gives you a lot of power. It makes you think that you know everything there is to know about a subject. It gives you power to have a captive audience and lets them know what you know. So the word power makes you feel special. Power is a term necessarily associated with teachers. With being a teacher comes the taken-for-granted notion of having power, influence, and authority to impact the lives of students. For Mrs. Nelson being a teacher means she has power to set the tone for student learning. She has the power to influence how students deal with people. Realizing this power that teachers have, she admitted that teachers should not take their power lightly. You do have power. You have a lot of power to influence these children daily with experiences and life decisions. You have power to tell them right or wrong

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information, and they will believe you. Just like the teacher who told the kids that they dont need to pass The State Comprehensive Assessment Test in the 9th grade. You have power. If you tell a kid that he does not have to pass The State Comprehensive Assessment Test in the 9th grade, what is that child going to work for? We have to be careful how we use that power because we have power to set the tone for how kids act in each others classroom. We have the power to set the tone for how kids treat each other, [and] how they respect administration. So we have to be real careful how we [wield] that power. I wont use the word god-like or anything, but its an awesome power that we have as teachers. And it is one that we should not abuse. The teacher as authority-figure in the classroom is viewed as natural. ONeal proclaimed confidently that he was the authority in the classroom. With being the teacher in the classroom, however, he viewed his power not necessarily one of a dictator. Students are made to feel comfortable so that they will participate in the class. Well, in reference to being the one in charge, I am the one who is giving the instruction. I am the one who will later assume the knowledge. I share that they probably should learn from each other, I hope, and I try to express that I dont like to be a dictator in a sense. I like everybody to feel comfortable in my class. But when it gets to a point where someone needs to take the lead, I feel like it is my place to do that. Considering relations of power, Mr. ONeal acknowledges that he is not a dictator and does not conduct his classroom in this way. Ultimately, he makes the final decisions, imparted to him as institutionally granted power that comes with being the teacher (Ropers-Huilman, 1998, p. 85). By virtue of being the classroom teacher, both Mrs. Nelson and Mr. ONeal assume the power in their classrooms. They view themselves as being the authority in the classroom. There were instances where teachers were willing to share the power in the classroom through classroom practices. For example, in classroom interactions with students, Mr. ONeal allowed students to participate and to get involved in the learning process through critical thinking activities, such as asking open-ended questions and

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engaging students in dialogue. These activities were designed to help students to develop skills for the state test. I like instructing students on being critical thinkers so thats one of the first things I put forth to them in reference to what I expect of them. I didnt teach The State Comprehensive Assessment Test, but I taught the things that I thought would prepare them for becoming critical thinkers, which I think is part of what The State Comprehensive Assessment Test is all about, dealing with certain math skills, and reading skills, and being able to make interpretations was another one that I thought was really important. Additionally, Mr. ONeal is an instructor at the Community College. He described his expectations of students and classroom practices in this context. Again critical thinking was the key to his teaching style where he involved students in the learning of science through application of science concepts and connecting this to students daily lives. I expect them to be critical thinkers. I dont expect them to be able to match word to word type of definition type questions, even my multiple choice questions and true-false questions are about thinking, and they have to know the definitions in order to apply them and be able to apply the principles that are being presented, and as a result they become critical thinkers. Thats what I am more concerned with and them being able to apply it to everyday life type situations. I like doing research and including the students in it, which I think is important in their learning. In terms of power relations, Mr. ONeal taught in a way that encouraged students to become critical thinkers. He involved them in doing research or learning science that connected to real life application. His style of teaching was consistent at both Parks High School and the Community College. With more discussion of his science teaching practices in the classroom, power relations were not as simple as teacher-student dynamics. Sometimes his studentcentered classroom became a teacher-demonstrated classroom when doing science labs at Parks High. Factors such as space and limited resources for supplies contributed to his taking the lead in the classroom and having to do demonstrations while students watched.

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Yes, at the high school [constraints of space] was always a problem. I had a separate room for a lab, [so] it depends on the type of demonstration that is being done. I think like the convection demonstration with everybody discussing it then it would be more beneficial versus me just having twelve hotplates and all of these people trying to demonstrate the same things to get something out of it. Or the thing with density it was easier for me to hold their attention and have them to write down their hypotheses and we do the demonstration as a class versus buying all of those drinks. I guess it becomes an economical thing too. They were trying to decide whether the regular drink, or the diet drink or the caffeine free drink, which one would float or which one would sink. So I did that one myself. If it is something to really get them to understand something like when we were doing the parts of the flower, then everybody participated, knowing the difference between monocots and dicots. Because of limited resources, space, and the particular science content, or the specific laboratory lessons to conduct, Mr. ONeal decides if the students watch or participate in science classroom activities or demonstrations. Parks did not have a lab facility and science labs were conducted in the classroom. Students did laboratories on desktops. Mr. ONeal rallied for a separate classroom with tables and chairs and created a laboratory space mainly to conduct AP Biology labs. This makeshift lab had very limited supplies and equipment. In looking more critically at individual teachers and their particular teaching practices, exposing or uncovering power relationships in teaching science also reveals some level of power that students hold in the classroom. Some practices empower while others tend to keep students within relations of power that are not empowering. Empowerment in this context impl[ies] power to and not power over (Monkman, 1998, p. 498) as teachers exercise their authority in the classroom and at times encourage students to have power to make decisions concerning their roles in the learning process. Many times teachers feel that they are empowering students yet their methods and teaching style do not show this intention. Mrs. Nelson described herself as a lecturer who uses lots of notes.

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My overall general teaching style, I am a lecturer who uses lots and lots of notes. I use the overhead extensively. We use the book, but I am more of a lecturer. I want kids to learn how to take notes, how to listen. We try to use as many handson activities and group work. We use assignments and group work a lot of times. [I use lots of notes] so they can learn how to listen. They have problems listening. Taking notes develops their listening skills, and it helps them to tune in. A lot of times kids do not do well because they dont know how to concentrate. So if they are taught how to listen, if they are taught how to then thats one of the biggest gains I notice in my kids from the beginning of the year to the end of the year. Conversely some practices are empowering to both teachers and students. At the Community College, Mr. ONeal described his teaching in terms of talking, questioning, and getting students involved in classroom discussion. Through these exchanges he learns from his students and students learn from each other. I think it is student-centered because I get my students to participate in class. That is why I teach more inquiry-based. I talk but then I ask questions to make sure that it is understood or ask for their ideas of how they can relate it, that kind of thing. Sometimes, it might be something that I might not necessarily understand but most of students are LPNs (licensed practical nurses), a lot of them. When theyre in the classroom, I will ask them about things that are going on at work that they might be able to relate to me more so than my experiences that they can share with the class. Mrs. Martins teaching style is similar to Mr. ONeals classroom teaching in which she has an interactive classroom. She describes her open style of teaching as discussion-based. Students are encouraged to respond freely. I try to incorporate all the modalities in my teaching. I have a very chaotic, loud class consistently. Students know that they can come in, like I have one now. My door is open; they know that they can come in, and I will help them. I try to have an open door policy in my teaching, so if and when questions come up with my students, they know to just raise their hands or say something to let me know that they are either getting the information or they are not getting it. I think I teach openly. I dont know if theres a word for that. I have an open door, open

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classroom. I really dont like to sit down and be quiet. It is a very relaxed setting. I think I can describe it that way. I have a very relaxed classroom, yet at the same time, they know I mean what I say. They know that I expect certain assignments on certain deadlines. They know that I have a deadline. It is not that, ok I can do what I want to do kind of class. Its relaxed with restrictions; it is relaxed with boundaries. Power relations in classrooms are expressed in terms of teacher-student dynamics and look very differently across classrooms. The teachers describe their predominate mode of science teaching and classrooms as lecture, inquiry focused, and open. Because of extensive time in all of their classrooms, I agree with their descriptions in some ways. Looking more deeply at implications of teaching style for relations of power, my descriptions and interpretations of their teaching, however, look very different. Following are brief comments I wrote in a reflective journal. These comments were written the first day of visiting each teacher. I stayed for two class periods with each teacher. Mrs. Nelson-- Very orderly class. Quiet. Students in their seats, sitting quietly before the bell rings. The students appear reserved (sat quietly in their seats, few interactions with each other and teacher). One half of the class responded more than the other half. Very teacher-centered classroom (teacher did most of the talking and teaching). Teacher talked about science fair projects. Formulated definition of model in their notes. Teacher took multiple understandings of students ideas and meanings (called on several students to respond) to define model. (Reflective Journal, February 7, 2002: Carver High School) Mr. ONeal-- Watched film (Men of Honor). Emphasis on life skills and science content. Took tally marks of number of times he called on males and females: 98 males responses, 25 female responses. Men had time to express their comments. The discussions were very male-centered (mainly discussions centered around the young mens comments). Two students hands went up, but teacher called on only one student to respond. (Reflective Journal, November 11, 2001: Parks High School)

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Mrs. Martin-- Very interactive class: students talking and asking questions. Teacher asking questions and soliciting student responses; kind of noisy classroom. Teacher did opening exercises (stretching and jumping jacks) to warm up the class. Activities or questions were challenging (asking higher order thinking questions), rather than having students copy notes from the text. Students moved around and helped each other. Most groups divided by sex: all female, all male, or one male/female in the group (3 of 6 groups like this). Students sat much of the time at beginning of class talking about nonscience topics, and last half of the class, students become more engaged in the lesson for the day by doing their assignment, or working together. (Reflective Journal, February 7, 2002: Carver High School) From my observations and descriptions of the classrooms and teaching methods, power relations are very different across the three classrooms. In Mrs. Nelsons classroom, where there is more teacher-directed teaching, or less teacher facilitation, students have fewer opportunities to communicate and to discuss science content with the teacher or with each other. Also relations of power concerning gender are seen in Mr. ONeals classroom in that female students were called on less than male students. Power relations in his classroom favored male communication over female communication. Male students also had more interactions and conversations with the teacher than did the female students (Sadker, Sadker, & Klein, 1991). In Mrs. Martins open classroom, students had more opportunities to work with each other and to discuss their assignments. Still, a great deal of instructional time was lost at the beginning of class as students talked about outside topics more than doing their science assignment. Power as Ownership and Process Popkewitz and Brennan (1998) apply notions of power as sovereign and power as deployment. Power as sovereign is understood in the traditional sense as ownership and possession. Power as deployment is much more of how Foucault explained power as an effect or process that is enacted through particular practices and application of power. Popekewitz and Brennan view power as a political and intellectual strategy that is displayed through concrete practices as power circulates in daily life. In order to understand these notions, and relations of power, its effects, and to understand the

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shifting nature of power, as supported in feminist poststructural theory, more descriptions from the teachers of their classroom interactions are given. The focus here is on how power circulates through classrooms, how through particular teacher practices it is manifested, and how it affects teaching and learning. Mrs. Martin stated that she was not always in control of the classroom and her students. There were times when she had to relinquish her control to her students. I have to relinquish my control to them. And it is difficult because I kind of want to keep the flow of the lesson going for the little 50 minutes that we have, and its difficult. Its difficult. [I give them control] when they are coming up with activities to help them learn things. I try to ask them what interests them. What are their interests on a certain topic? I allow them to have control in that area. Mrs. Martin realizes that as the teacher she has to relinquish power so that students have opportunities to learn about science topics and content that interests them. In relinquishing control, Mrs. Martin also recognizes that she is not setting up limitations for her students. She stated that, I understand limits and how we can place them on our students, how a teacher can place limits on a student. As a result, she considers how students learn and her role in this process. To take this further, relinquishing control has to be more systemic than simply allowing students to choose topics to study. Relinquishing power through particular classroom practices has to engage students in the process of education as a productive endeavor that engages them in developing content knowledge, skills, and scientific discourse. For the teacher, her role is providing an environment where these efforts are practiced daily. Tisdell (1993) noted that the power dynamics that exist in classrooms between teachers and learners and also between learners and co-learners are often affected by gender and racial differences. For Mrs. Nelson who does not speak Spanish, she has to trust her English-speaking Hispanic students to interpret and translate for her. In this sense, there is a shift in power relations from the teacher to the Hispanic students who can speak both English and Spanish in the science classroom. When teachers realize the shifting power relations in classrooms interactions, they feel somewhat vulnerable. This shift in power relations places Mrs. Nelson in an uncomfortable situation because she does not speak Spanish. At the same time it places her Hispanic students in a position of

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power within a small community of Spanish and English speakers in the science classroom. The Hispanics are migrant workers so they come in now for the fall tomato crops, and what we are finding is that more and more people, more and more Hispanics are settling in the County. The class that you just witnessed, that class has more Hispanics in it than any of my other classes. I think what they did was that one little girl is a good interpreter, and I think that they tried to put most of them in with here. There is one male that speaks real well and goes ahead to speak with some more students, and he would speak with the students. I think they wanted to put the kids somewhere where they would be comfortable. I think that I have one, two, three, four Hispanics who are ESOL students, where English is their second language, and two of those four speak almost no English. When I gave them their assignment yesterday, the interpreter said, Miss Nelson, they dont read; they cant read the newspaper. And we worked with that. When she finishes her assignment, I have to trust her to help them with theirs. I just have to trust her, and I have to go out on blind faith, you know because I dont speak Spanish. In trusting her female Spanish interpreter, Mrs. Nelson has to relinquish her power in the classroom. Reluctantly, she is forced to make accommodations because there are some students in the science class who do not speak English very well and need to communicate in their home language. At the same time there are some Hispanic students who speak both English and Spanish and are in a position to communicate with the teacher and other Hispanic students. Race/ethnicity, playing a role in power relations within the science classroom creates an environment where the teacher finds herself in a less powerful position than her Hispanic interpreters and students. She has to relinquish power to account for language, which places Mrs. Nelson in less powerful position in her science classroom because she does not speak Spanish. Although educators and practitioners acknowledge race as a variable that affects teaching and learning, they do so without fully acknowledging how race shapes the ways in which we plan and practice (Johnson-Bailey, 2002, p. 41). For Mrs. Martin, race is a critical identifier in how and why she teaches science.

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Oh, I think because (with emphasis) of my gender and because of my race, its my duty that I understand as many things [as I do]. Its my duty; there it is again, because I understand the things I do about science for me to pass it on. I think Im just suppose to do it. I dont think that I have been exposed to as many things I have been exposed to and not pass it on. I think it would just be disrespectful to our future, to my future if I dont. I dont think that I have had the good experiences and even the bad experiences that Ive had and I am just suppose to sit on them. Because people dont understand gram positive and gram negative, they dont get it. They do not understand how some drugs work through your body. And for me to have that knowledge and not pass it on or try to teach the underlying things behind it, I think that would just be horrible. I have a duty to teach accurate information to my students and to steer them from any misconceptions that they have about a topic. I think that is just my duty. That is what I am supposed to do. For Mrs. Martin, race and gender are key elements in her commitment to teach quality science. She feels a sense of duty and obligation to teach students and to pass on knowledge that she has acquired from her life experiences and from teaching and learning science. Her duty and obligation to share with students and to prepare them for the future compels her to teach science to improve her students and society. Because of her race, gender, and class, Mrs. Martin has a strong commitment to teach science and to expose her students to science in ways that will allow them to learn science and to become better citizens. Thus her positionality affects the way she approaches the teaching and learning of science (Brown, Cervero, & Johnson-Bailey, 2000; JohnsonBailey, 2000; Tisdell, 1998). Though having to teach state requirements, Mrs. Martin tries to follow what is mandated and at the same time tries to manage and plan what science she teaches. First of all I go by what the state says I have to cover in a certain amount of time, and I break it up into chunks, and from chunks into weeks. I try not to [deviate]. I try to especially since we have this accountability now. I try to make sure I have those things covered. Sometimes I may have to take a little more time in certain

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areas and that cuts out [my] covering something else in detail, but I try to stay on course. I try. The power exerted on teachers from state and district demands places them in a difficult situation relative to their teaching and compliance to state and district mandates. Mrs. Martins attention to teaching science based upon mandates from the district provides a comfortable transition to discuss power relations within the school district. In order to understand how Carver School District works as a system, a look at the administration, the district and how individuals participate in it provides additional insight into teachers and the district. Understanding the teachers and the system together offers critical information about power relations within systems (Johnson, 2001). Power Relations: Administration, Teachers, and the District Power relations between teachers and administration give further insights into the shifting nature of power, which are embedded in relationships of authority. The productive nature of power is concerned with institutional practices and discourses. In Carver County School District this translates into state and district policies that affect teaching often within a hierarchical structure. In trying to find ones place within the hierarchy becomes a source of tension for Mr. ONeal. The uncertainty of staying on as a teacher at Parks High School for the 2002-03 academic year was tense. Power in this case is shown to influence not only his teaching position but also his livelihood in order to support his family. He viewed power that administration exerted as playing games. Choosing to play or not to play was his decision, which was connected to his knowledge about low representation of African American males in science teaching fields. Well, you know when your son is totally dependent upon you, [and] I have a daughter that I am paying child support for, and my mother is dependent on me for certain things, and I like to have control of my life, even though I try not to be money oriented, it is somewhat. It gives you some control over your life. If you do not have it then you are pretty much controlled by the circumstances, and that wasnt a good feeling, that it was a possibility that I might not have a job to do what it is for me to do. I wasnt a good feeling at all. And I think that some people dont think about that when they play those games with you because I

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know that it is a shortage of science instructors, males particular, in any field. Youre not complementing me so dont try to hinder me or try to pull me down and I think that those people who feel somewhat threatened by you or whatever, try to flex their little muscles sometimes is really unnecessary. When you have someone who is self motivated you should just not bother [him or her]. Mr. ONeal handled relations of power as an individual exercise of getting what he wanted. He believed that people exert their form of power as a means to belittle others. Rather than allowing someone to have the power, he does not play or participate in any power games. When people try to impress upon you their authority, you know, they try to make you feel small, but at the same time, you can turn around as long as you are getting what you want, they seem to be more frustrated than you are about a situation. I dont need to play it. Thats the way I deal with it. Mr. ONeal feels that administration, who are in position to make decisions concerning job placement, should not be so negligent in exerting their power by playing games that affect not only him as an individual but also his family that he supports. Magda Gere Lewis (1993) definition of power may be useful in understanding Mr. ONeals views of playing games. Power, as an embodied practice in relations of inequality, means being entitled to choose between a variety of meanings and further being entitled to decide when to hear and when not to hear the meanings articulated by another. (p. 166) Mr. ONeal makes a conscious decision not to play or to engage in particular kinds of talk or actions that he associates with the administration as playing games. Here, the effects of power relations entitles him to decide whether he will or will not engage with administration, especially when they try to exert their authority, or flex their little muscles through playing games. Rather than exert administrative power, Mr. ONeal believes administration should encourage teachers to develop as professionals or simply leave them alone to do their job. The current principal at Carver High School has managed to dispel any past power cliques that were in the school prior to her administration. Mrs. Nelson

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maintained that the principal is in control and sees the principal as the power in the school. No, not this year. Im laughing. Im laughing, Felicia. Im laughing because we have had so many administrators since I have been here, and I came in 1986-87, my first year here back. I started teaching in 1980 but I taught at the [middle] school and came back to Carver High. There were power cliques then, definitely power cliques, but those cliques have retired, died, or whatever. There were some cliques. There are cliques here, but there are no power cliques this year. The principal is the power. While Mrs. Nelson acknowledges and appreciates the power that is extended to her as departmental chair, she realizes too that her power goes only so far in relation to the principal. The principal being the power in the school enforced the ideal that everyone plays by the rules. By enforcing that all play by the rules, Mrs. Nelson described that certain freedoms were taken away from teachers and her. She is the power clique. (With emphasis) She is the power clique, okay. I love her for that because it has put everybody in their little place, even me. (Laughing) My thing is I dont get into the gossip, and I guess my thing was go wherever I want and do whatever I want to do. You know what I mean. And I guess everyone does that, or that it was okay to do that, but this year you are playing by the rules. Some people dont like it. Some people have problems with that. One thing that I dont like is the fact that keys were taken from us. The locks were changed on the doors. So the doors that we might have had keys to, like coming into the school, we dont have that anymore. That is one of the biggest problems that I have, and I want to address that with her because there are times when I really need to get into the building at night with cheerleaders after a basketball game. I am used to getting a cooler and bringing that cooler back down here [to my classroom] at night. Power, seen as a possession or as ownership, appears to be with the principal this year at Carver High School. With the new administration and new state and district policies, teachers had to change the way things were done in the past and even had to

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comply with new policies that eliminated certain privileges teachers had, like entering classrooms after school hours and having keys to certain buildings and classrooms. Mrs. Nelson provided some history of the school as far as power and power relations in past years regarding administration, teachers, and students. With so many changes in administration over the years, power moved from administration to teachers, and from teachers to students and now is back with administration. In Mrs. Nelsons description of power cliques, it is obvious that the shifting nature of power relations have disrupted school relationships, and the way that students and teacher interact with each other. We had problems because there were so many power cliques. The structures have been broken down with so many different administrators coming in. The kids do not have the power. A couple of years ago the kids ran the school. We had a kid principal here, and he felt like whatever the kids thought [he let them do it]. There are classes that are lagging from that administration, and the juniors are getting back to that. But the freshmen classes are coming in, but they are not in control. So by taking that power out of the students hands we are slowly regaining the school with policies and that kind of stuff. Definitely no power cliques. If you talk to a lot of people at school, they are very upset because some of their power has been taken. I will just go with the flow. Valerie Walkerdine (1990) argued that teachers are not unitary subjects uniquely positioned but are produced as a nexus of subjectivities in relations of power which are constantly shifting, rendering them at one moment powerful and at another powerless (p. 3). Therefore relations of power are always shifting, and the effects of power relations at Carver High School have appeared in different ways. First, the shifting nature of power relations is seen in Mrs. Nelsons description. For instance, at one point in time, students were described as having power, then teachers, and currently the administration has the power. For example, in one week there were two bomb threats at the school. I was there both of them, which interrupted audio taped conversations with Mrs. Nelson. Also this year, the school experienced more than the usual number of fire drill alarms and student fighting.

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As power relations continued to shift, teachers found themselves trying to negotiate their place in the hierarchy. For example, Mrs. Nelson stated that she will find a way to get around barriers that have been placed before her by the administration. She commented that, I am going to find a way. I will leave it like that. Im going to find a way dot-dot-dot. Okay. In whatever situation she feels that she needs to accomplish a particular goal, she will do, regardless of what the administration says. Her resistance is expressed in terms of finding ways to go around what administration says. For example, in her role as department chair, Mrs. Nelson has an avenue to act. She also has the opportunity to voice her opinions and to make decisions that impact her department and other faculty members at Carver High. Being department chair allowed her to negotiate particular duties and responsibilities. With the change in administration, what she is trying to do, Miss Owens and the administration this year, shes making us as department chairs a little more responsible for things in our departments that we are held accountable for. Just last week in faculty meeting when we were discussing the pacing guides that she asked the teachers to turn in, she wanted to give that responsibility to the department chairsto collect the pacing guides. As department chair I asked her not to give us that duty simply being that we are turning in so much paperwork this year, things are getting lost. I did not want to have the responsibility of maybe losing a peers paperwork before it made it in to the principal. I didnt want that responsibility. As science department chair, Mrs. Nelson is in a leadership position where she can make decisions involving her peers, thus placing her at the top of the hierarchy. She is able to negotiate and maneuver within this position. At the same time, due to the shifting nature of power relations, Mrs. Nelson is at one moment powerful and at another powerless (Walkerdine, 1990, p. 3), remembering that the administrator has to even put her in her place. Being science department chair does not necessarily place her in a position of power to act as she wills. Mrs. Nelson described that relationships between her peers in the science department are supportive. She explained her role as science chair and told of her professional development from being the science chairperson. Being the chair afforded

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her the opportunity to understand the various roles that administration and peers play in the school. What have I noticed now about being a chair professionally is that it has taught me how to be tolerant of people, working with people. It has helped me to understand the role that my principal and supervisors play, and the role I play in them getting things done and meeting deadlines, because if I have a report to make for my school to my principal and my department people, it reflects back on me. Being department chair has also helped me understand the importance of delegating duties because you cant do everything by yourself. And as department chair you tend to divide things among your peers. Also as being department chair I have understood the differences in people and their motive to do certain things. In science department we have one faculty member who is sick, he is ill, he is really working ill, and we are pitching together to make sure that he meets success not just in the classroom but successfully gets his paperwork in on time. We make sure he gets all the documents and collecting them. Kind of like being the department chair makes you a lot more sensitive to other peoples needs and disabilities that they have. As departmental chair, Mrs. Nelson learned many things related to how individuals work individually and collectively as a department within the school system. For example, she learned about the role of administration at Carver High School and how to delegate responsibilities among the faculty members in the science department. Learning how to be more sensitive to the needs of her colleagues and noting differences and motivations of teachers were counted as lessons learned from being science department chair. The administration required that department chairs take charge of certain responsibilities. For example, accountability policies were implemented for meeting school and department deadlines, completing paperwork, and conducting departmental meetings. These were activities that Mrs. Nelson was responsible for carrying out these responsibilities as science department chair. She saw these activities and responsibilities as making her department and herself more accountable.

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She [Miss Owens, the principal] is putting more responsibility on us, and it is good because it is developing leadership skills and developing yourself as a leader. I am much more cognizant of making sure that we meet as a department. As a department chair I make sure we have minutes turned in. We are going to have fun in science department because of our personalities, but we also make sure our meetings are purpose oriented, that we are there for a reason and that we are meeting and are accomplishing something at these meetings. That is one of the biggest differences I have noticed with this new administration, with the administrative change. We are more accountable with what we are doing, much more accountable. The new administration is concerned with accountability and making teachers more responsible for completing paperwork and meeting deadlines. Many responsibilities are passed on to department chairs, and they in turn oversee their individual departments. Thus, power relations are seen in the form of accountability practices that have been set up by the administration. As a result, teachers, parents and students are all held accountable. Mrs. Nelson sees accountability as her responsibility to inform parents and students of what is going on in her classroom. One of the things I have noticed about the administrator and what she is asking of us, of me, is trickling down to everybody because I am making my students accountable and I am making my peers accountable. I send home grade sheets and letters telling parents that they have the grade sheets so that they can be accountable for what their childs grade is the entire time they are in my room. With the accountability piece, one little girl came back this morning because she lost her grade sheet because she understandsobviously her parent was asking about gradesthis little girl understands that she needs to go get her grade sheet. Last year I probably said, once you get the grade sheet that is it. I will not give another. But this year if they get lost I give another grade sheet because I want to make sure that I am accountable This past year there should be a cut off point, but because I am trying to be accountable this year, I will not cut it off. Hopefully after the second or third one, they will remember to keep up with it. But my part of it is that I give it to them. I grade their papers and give the grade back to them.

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Accountability becomes a source for maintaining relations of power in that it guides Mrs. Nelson in how she communicates with students, parents, and her colleagues. Mrs. Nelson makes sure that parents are informed of grades and that students and parents have access to grades as needed. Students and parents have a right to know what is going in Mrs. Nelsons classroom. She believes that since the school has adopted an accountability policy, the policy places teachers, students, and parents in positions to become more aware of what is going on at the school. Meeting with parents and students gave Mrs. Nelson an extra boost of assurance in that she is doing what is expected of her. I have noticed now that I am more aware that the children and the parents are aware of what I am doing, whereas before, you become complacent after a number of years. Especially in your hometown, you feel like those who have taught you know what you are realizing that there is a form that my students parents are notified of how I am teaching. They know what I am teaching, and they make a correlation between what I am teaching and the tests that the children have taken. I will feel more comfortable when I have parent conferences. I am more comfortable knowing that I have notified parents that I have shared my responsibilities. I have put the pieces together to be successful. I use that with my classes, and I let them know my piece of the puzzle, my accountability and responsibilities. I am more confident that I am sharing those things with them, and I am making myself more responsible, and I am making my parents and my kids understand my portion and what I expect of them too. Looking at power relations at the district level, Mrs. Martin acknowledged that the school board, the principal, and the state have the power. She realized that she has a certain amount of power, and she was willing to share her control, or power, with administration and students. She stated, Oh, goodness, probably the school board and the principal, and the state of course. I try to share control with them, or let them share my control (laughing). I try to do that as well as with the students. In this context, power is something that people own, and that ownership can be re-distributed among groups (Popkewitz & Brennan, 1998, p. 17). Power viewed in

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terms of ownership fails to question how the effects of power and how it is exercised within systems that produce and reproduce power effects individual subjectivity (Foucault, 1980; Popkewitz & Brennan, 1998; Simola, Heikkinen, & Silvonen, 1998). For example Mr. ONeal believes that the school board has power, though he sees it as a negative thing. He thinks that the school board limits those who are trying to accomplish goals. He feels that the school board should be more active in securing money for Carver County School District, and school board members should be more visible in the community by mentoring and setting an example for teachers. The people that were in control over the school board those kinds of people were limiting more so than anything else. There are people in positions who dont know what to do or how to do it. And therefore they are not trying to learn and it hinders people. I think the school board should be the ones that are actively writing grants, bringing in monies to help teachers to be better teachers. If you are not going to do that then you should not stand in the way of that person doing. You should be lending a helping hand. And [the school board] just didnt do that. They did not come to the schools. They did not come out to mentor because truly if you are expecting the public to mentor then you should be doing it also. They were not doing those kinds of things. Of course thats just my opinion. Because administration at Parks High, Carver High, and Carver County School Board are regarded as having the power, in terms of ownership and possession, they are in powerful positions to influence the educational process. Though the administration and the school board are perceived as being in powerful positions, teachers views of their power are contradictory. On the one hand, Mr. ONeal sees them as not contributing to his professional growth. The power that administration at Parks High School has should not limit teachers and their professional growth and development. Their power should be exercised in ways that secure financial resources for the district and in ways that set examples of leadership through mentoring. Conversely, Mrs. Nelsons increased responsibilities given to her by her administration at Carver High School are seen as beneficial. She is pleased with the growth she has experienced by being science department chair. The differences in power relations as oppression and opportunity are experienced and perceived by the teachers in different ways through particular practices

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that administration enact that creates or produces certain opportunities for science teachers. Power Discussion Foucault theorized power in his early work as sovereign power, the king with power of life and death over his subjects (Popkewitz & Brennan, 1998, p. 16). He later reconceptualized power as not a possession or a capacity (Sarup, 1988, p. 82; Foucault, 1980), but as a How the subject is constituted in power relations (Sarup, 1988, p. 3). Madan Sarup (1988) further describes his understanding of Foucault and the reconceptualized view of power as effect or as process: Power is not simply a commodity, which may be acquired or seized. Rather it has the character of a network; its threads extend everywhere. Foucault suggests that power should concentrate not on the level of conscious intention but on the point of application of power. In other words, he wants to shift attention from questions such as Who has power? or What intentions or aims do power holders have? to the processes by which subjects are constituted as effects of power. (p. 82) Jennifer Gore (1993) offered a definition of power beyond Foucaults traditional understanding of power as possession or ownership. Power is exercised or practiced, rather than possessed, and so circulates, passing through every related force. Students, as well as teachers, exercise power. In order to understand the operation of power contextually, we need to understand the particular points through which it passes. (p. 52) Therefore, power is understood to mean what effects power relations have rather than who is affecting the power relations, or how is power exercised as a process rather than who has power. This re-conceptualization of power is extremely interesting as it looks at concrete practices where power is enacted. Still, it necessary to concentrate on aspects of power from a traditional view as who has it along with a discussion of the effects of power as process. For this discussion on power I argue that understanding both the traditional view of power as possession or ownership, the re-conceptualized definition of power as process and effects, and the feminist poststructural of power as shifting, all of these together offer an extremely rich analysis of science teaching and learning and power relations in Carver County School District.

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Interpreting power relations within Carver County School District and analyzing power from a feminist poststructural understanding is informative and contradictory in a couple of ways. First, the traditional definition as defined by Foucault and the poststructural definition as defined by Gore offer two views of power that are not necessarily as separatists as they are complementary in understanding power relations. Nevertheless the traditional definition seems to fit theoretically with how teachers experience and describe power relations at Parks and Carver High Schools, as a possession or as ownership. Power is a shifting phenomenon and there are arenas and multiple sources of power (Ropers-Huilman, 1998, p. 75) in understanding power relations within schools and the district. Administration, teachers, students, and parents are all sources of power and social actors in power relations. Particularly, as teachers describe their practices and discuss their interactions with administration, students, and colleagues, this shifting of power is evident, moving from teacher to student to administration and back again, basically in an hierarchy of power afforded to teachers and administration as institutionally granted power. Second, teachers understanding of power is predominantly in descriptions of ownership and possession and not in process and effects. Several pieces of text where teachers described their experiences were highlighted. In them, power is described more often as an object or possession, something immanent to the specific setting (Popkewitz & Brennan, 1998, p. 17), that creates an oppressor/oppressed relationship rather than as processes of power relations with effects and production that operate within multiple arenas and social practices (Popkewitz, 1993). Teachers know that there are power relations in the school and in the district. Nevertheless, the traditional view of power is experienced as teachers see administration and the school board in powerful positions that regulate what they can and cannot do as teachers. Power in this view is seen through specific actions, practices, and policies that perpetuate, hinder, and marginalize. Power can be more easily conceptualized as possession and ownership in the traditional sense when understanding the social and historical context of Carver County School District. Being a low performing school district, policies from the state and district were implemented in order to raise the standards of teaching and learning. With

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new policies and mandates from the state, teachers were required to act in ways that conformed to state measures of accountability. For example teachers have a responsibility to inform and communicate what is going on in their classrooms. The communication is enforced through accountability practices. Teachers feel the tension of having to document and record certain things related to their science teaching. This pressure exerted on them from the district and the state is enforced daily by the school administration. In this way, the traditional dichotomy of oppressor/oppressed is quite evident. As accountability policies are enforced, teachers feel the effects through increased paperwork, teaching skills centered on preparation for The State Comprehensive Assessment Test, and performing additional duties that were not required of them in the past. Power analyzed in a feminist poststructural frame views power as shifting and circulatory (Davis & Fisher, 1993). Feminist and poststructural scholars and educators have considered the implications of power, stating that power is everywhere working through everyone (Foucault, 1978); that it is strongly related to knowledge, language, and difference (Lather, 1991); and that resistance exists within the exercise of power as power is dispersed rather than consolidated (Munroe, 1998, p. 120). It is something that changes and moves among the teachers, administration, and the students. In this view, power is situated within relations, power is not reducible to any one source; it is a relationship which inheres in material discursive practices (Weedon, 1997, p. 174). Power as a discursive practice impacts all involved in the teaching process, from district to classroom level politics. The implementation of new policies as a form of discursive practice established order and control. The process of power now resides in the current administration, the district, and state, which are at the highest level, but not with the teachers and the students at the classroom level. Carver County School District mandates policies of accountability; administration enforces them through completion of paperwork to show that policies are in effect; and teachers comply. All of these measures of accountability are required because Carver County is a low performing school district. Therefore power as a process is mainly exercised at the point of polices of accountability that the teachers at Carver High School have to comply to because they are an F school. Strategically, the

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study of the effects of power allows us to focus on ways that individual teachers construct meaning and knowledge from interacting within systems (Popkewitz & Brennan, 1998), and this can be seen in teaching practices. Teachers do not intend to hinder the learning process, yet unconsciously through district policies and teaching style, application of power and effects of power relations have practical implications in the science classroom. For example, immediately after bringing to Mr. ONeals attention that he was biased against female participation, he became overly cautious and aware by calling on females more in the next period. When I visited him at the Community College for the first time (September 12, 2002), he made reference to my observation months ago of his not calling on female students. He announced to the class that he was pleased that I was there to witness that he now calls on females in his class. Teachers can become aware of hidden power relations in the classroom when it comes to their teaching methods. Poststructurally, power is concerned with results and effects. In Becky RopersHuilmans chapter Engaging Power, she explains that feminist poststructural teachers operate within arenas of power interactions through their words and actions as teachers (p. 75), where power relations are enacted and resisted in different ways. The arenas of power interactions and their corollary of resistance are seen as Mrs. Nelson describes the shifting power relations within the school over the years. At each arenaadministrative, teacher, studentpower in terms of its results, or power at the point where it is wielded, (Bloland, 1995, as cited by Ropers-Huilman, 1998, p. 75), is seen in response to administrative and district mandates of accountability, teacher classroom teaching style or methods, and student response through bomb threats and fire drills. Teachers find ways to resist power relations through individual acts, such as refusing to engage in particular kinds of relations of power with administration who play games or flex their little muscles. Even being aware of administrative power, leaves possibilities open for one teacher to find a way to do what she feels she needs to do. Thus, Individuals are constituted by power relations, power being the ultimate principle of social reality (Sarup, 1988, p. 81), and through conscious acts in which they exercise their form of power as teachers.

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As Jennifer Gore (1993) affirmed, it is difficult to figure out ones role in a classroom when looking at power only in terms of either/or, or as those who have and those who have not. Likewise, it is difficult to think about power solely as possession or ownership without also considering the effects and processes that power has on individual and collective interests. Recognizing that there are multiple sources of power and that the processes of power are critical for understanding how power relations within school systems, schools, and classrooms affect science teaching and learning. New roles for teachers and students, and even administration, are created within fluctuating power relations. The concern as Foucault would argue is not solely on ownership but on the effects of power as it moves throughout Carver County School District, the schools, and within individual classrooms. Rather than an either/or, dichotomous association of power as one who has and one who has not, power relations can be handled more effectively with consideration as to how it affects teaching, learning, and development for teachers, students, administration, the schools, and the district. This all-level view encompasses power as a contextually bound force. Administrative and district demands for accountability greatly influence what and how teachers are coping with increased demands from the district and the state. Power and power relations are tricky concepts to understand. Power is exerted on teachers to do what the administration and district require of them. Power relations are connected to knowledge, where power and knowledge coexist in their enactments and effects (Gore, 1993). The second feminist poststructural theme of this study is knowledge and meaning (knowledge/meaning).

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CHAPTER 8 RESEARCH FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION: KNOWLEDGE /MEANING Introduction Many times through my quest to attain a college degree, I wasnt sure that I had what it took to finish school. I later learned that it was just how the information was presented to me. (Mrs. Martin) In this section stories are presented in a case study format of teachers past experiences in science learning, teaching, and professional development. The stories reveal some of the historical and social aspects of whose knowledge is privileged and how teachers have gained knowledge and meaning from their past experiences. Becky Ropers-Huilman (1998) proclaimed that it is in the power-knowledge relationship that determines whose experiences and whose knowledges become recognized and acted upon (p. 96). Further, feminist poststructuralism acknowledges [that] the varied realities presented from each persons own locations, [is] influenced by their experiential backgrounds (p. 96). Chris Weedon (1987) believed that the meaning of experience is perhaps the most crucial site of political struggle over meaning since it involves personal, psychic and emotional investment on the part of the individual (p. 79). The personal stories also highlight areas of both personal and professional growth and development. Mrs. Martin Knowledge from Learning Science As Mrs. Martin reflected on her experiences in learning, she felt that teachers were not interested in her learning science. Because of the lack of encouragement she received from her science teachers, Mrs. Martin tried to be more of an encouragement to her students. She was not certain how to express what she experienced in her learning of science, yet she has a desire to help her students in different areas of their learning. Well, I remember having teachers that werent really interested in me learning the subject matter. If you did, fine; if you dont, fine. I wasnt really encouraged. I

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dont know how to put this. I dont remember too many teachers approaching teaching like I do. I really try to help my students, be it in moral support or making sure that they have their paperwork in before their deadlines, or for whatever deadlines. I have a lot of students that take military exams. I have a lot of students that take college preparatory exams. I really dont remember anyone saying you can do this; you can apply for this scholarship, or this is available for you. I dont really remember that occurring in my high school or my early years of school. Comparing her teaching to that of her past teachers, Mrs. Martin prefers to be of help to her students. Learning from her past experiences, Mrs. Martin developed a philosophy of practice that supported her students in their goals. She talked about her past experiences in learning science, Mrs. Martin remembered that her science teachers were negative to the point that she didnt feel as if [she] had what it took to take physics the next year. She added, I didnt take it. I just simply didnt enroll in physics. Mrs. Martins concerns for helping students to help themselves are reflections of her past experiences in learning science. A practice of empowering her students was developed from her personal experiences in applying for college financial assistance. She obtained money for college on her own initiative and with the help of her parents. The scholarships that I received were because of parental involvement or me seeking them out myself. I went to school on student loans, and I know how difficult it is to pay them back, you know, just when theres just so many opportunities for scholarship, and just writing a letter and getting it in by a certain deadline. I didnt really have that in high school, and I know there are more things that students can apply for to help them than if they werent exposed to the information. I really believe in helping students help themselves. Exposing students to the available resources and information is knowledge that Mrs. Martin gained from her past experiences. She encourages students to seek out information about college scholarships and to apply for them. As Mrs. Martin shared more of her experiences in school, she made connections between the assistance she received and persons being less and more knowledgeable than she was. Those who did

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not have the information could not relay the information to her. The knowledgeable others however were able to provide information and support that helped to advance her educationally. In high school, I had guidance counselors that werent really aware. The information wasnt disseminated down to me. I didnt get it. I had a parent that was a teacher. She was at the elementary level, so the things that [I] did apply for, it was different when you have someone who knows, or you have someone in your corner that tells you that you need to do this by this date, you know, and kind of help keep it before you. Having to rely on her own knowledge, supported by a parent and individuals who provided information and encouragement, Mrs. Martin was able to support her college career with scholarships. She considered the support she received as mentoring. The assistance she received from nurturing professors compensates for the limited support she received from teachers and counselors in high school. In college, my first set of college instructors were more helpful than in high school, more nurturing and just more of assistance than in high school. I received a lot of mentoring and things happened because I knew some people from my past in science on campus, and they kind of felt like I didthat I was not treated justly in my former areas, so they kind of told me to do this. That will help you, so the mentoring, basically King University staff, was a way for them to help me. Mrs. Martin further explained that her mentors helped her to complete her degree. I was helped into teaching through people whispering take advantage of this, or take this course, just guidance. I can call them mentors. I felt that I was unusually mentored more than the regular or average person. There were professors and secretaries. You know secretaries know everything that goes on behind the scenes. So there were two in particular that gave me information about getting a scholarship so that I could complete my program without having to pay for it. Also information from my [college] guidance counselor, [she]also took responsibility in gearing me on which courses to take so that I could just go ahead

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on and complete my degree. There were just little nuances that I would not have known had these people not stepped in to help me. Almost in a secretive manner, knowledgeable others in the form of mentors, such as professors, office staff and counselors, and her parents, helped Mrs. Martin to access opportunities and information that eventually helped her to complete her college degree. The mentoring provided an interesting mix of knowledge, power, support, and care. They made her feel special, which she commented, I do that with students too. She was given support from individuals who knew her and wanted to help her to be successful. She then reciprocates by helping her students. As we discussed further her early experiences in learning science, Mrs. Martins explanation centered around her positionalitythat of an African American student from a working class background, and the historical nature of her experiences in middle school and high school during the 1970s and 1980s. Mary Atwater (2000) remarked that, The concept of race is both obscured and present in American science classrooms (p. 160). Obtaining scientific knowledge presented some barriers that she perceived as being related to her gender, race, and the times. I think it was just the times. I think we were just coming out of integration ten years, and people just were not interested in [teaching] a little black girl like me. I think that was really what it was. Though, segregation offers one explanation, I introduced to Mrs. Martin an alternative explanation of her experiences that concentrated more on scientific discourse, knowledge and teaching of science content. Scientific discourse suggested for the sake of discussion, the content, history, culture, and discursive practices of teaching and learning science (Calabrese-Barton, 1998, p. 13). In teaching science, the science curriculum fails to clarify the historical and contested status of race (Atwater, 2000, p. 160; 1998). Mrs. Martins response then incorporated additional observations of her science teachers, the learning environment, and science as a discipline. I have noticed a certain personality in scientists. They are very aloof. Scientists can be very monotone, and that in itself is discouraging when you are teaching lively, creative students. When theyre being exposed to my topic which is biology, to my discipline of biology both in high school and in college years, you

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just cannot stand up before people and just spew out a lot of facts and not get them into the lesson. Many times through my quest to attain a college degree, I wasnt sure that I had what it took to finish school. I later learned that it was just how the information was presented to me. Paulo Freire (2000) stated that, in order for the oppressed to be able to wage the struggle for their liberation, they must perceive the reality of oppression not as a closed world from which there is no exit, but as a limiting situation which they can transform (p. 49). In Mrs. Martins case, at one point in her learning of science she was not confident in herself that she could learn and be successful. Understanding Freires ideas of the oppressor, the oppressor in this case is scientific discourse. Scientific discourse can be explained as the androcentric, Western view of science, as hierarchically structured and competitively driven (Calabrese-Barton, 1998; Longino, 1989). Scientific knowledge as real and objective, free of personal or public bias and values, empirical, and presented in a rather strict positivistic fashion (Calabrese-Barton, 1998, p. 26) often alienates students from learning science. Science knowledge is only one more way of knowing and explaining the world. As Mrs. Martin continued to study and thus to understand science, she now considers that it was the way science was presented to her that kept her from learning science as a young student. In her current teaching practices, Mrs. Martin understands her positionality in teaching her students as related to the way she learned science and developed an alternative approach to teaching science through sharing knowledge she has acquired in her learning and teaching. This is based upon her past experiences, her positionality as well as the positionality of her students. I am in a county where there are a lot of minority students that dont get a chance to see the science that I have been afforded and exposed to, I feel a need to share with my students what I have been exposed to in my life. I see where there is a need for them to learn the things that I learned so that they can go into nontraditional areas. We need Black physicians; we need African American veterinarians; we need people that can go out into the community to do scientific things; we need food inspectors, you know. We need African American teachers.

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Mrs. Martin created ways to engage in science beyond the way that science was taught to her and then developed into a teacher who is supportive of her students. She has a vision for where she wants students to be in their learning of science. Therefore, knowledge about science for Mrs. Martin is about preparing students for the future in areas that impact our society. For the future, students have to be exposed to biotechnology. I like the CSI (Crime Scene Investigation) show and the students like that also. We have to expose kids to biotechnology because that is the futurestem cell research [and] polymerase reactions. They have to know those things [and] DNA based knowledge as well as evolution. We have to know from whence we came, and how things have progressed over time. So for the future, I think students must have a good base in whats happening in the past, and we have to prepare them for the technological changes that are going to happen in the future in order for us to have a progressive society. Knowledge of science and understanding science as a progressive field motivates Mrs. Martin in teaching science. The power in learning science is connected to preparing students to live in a science-driven society. Learning and knowledge are intertwined or interconnected within the context in which they occur (Alfred, 2002). Further, Black American students must overcome the various conventions that shape ordinary conversation in White cultures if they are going to negotiate their scientific understanding in classroom discussions (Atwater, 2000, p. 160). Thus exposing students to current topics in science makes them more aware of what is going on society and allows them to connect classroom teaching with the real world. Further considerations into obtaining scientific understanding go deeper as Mrs. Martin played with her initial interpretation of prejudice. At the same time, she continued to rethink her ideas of prejudice and her experiences in learning science. She reflected more on science as discourse. Now going back to your question a few minutes ago about what did I think that the information on how the teachers presented [science to me]it might have been [the way that science is taught]. It may have been that instead of that being overwhelmingly prejudice. People were just aloof and maybe in the twenty-two

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years since I have been out of high school, maybe the trend has changed, maybe some of the initial prejudice that has occurred since my graduating from high school has trickled down, and maybe they are pulling my leg. Maybe so, I didnt think maybe thats just how people taught biology or chemistry. That was just the way things were. I hadnt really considered that. Understanding Mrs. Martins past experiences in learning science are consistent with the view that, Science learning of Black American students is influenced by the students themselves, the science teacher, the other students in the class, the science curriculum, the milieu of the science class and schools, and the assessment of and evaluation procedures used in science classrooms (Atwater, 2000, p. 161). The changing perception and meaning of Mrs. Martins experiences in learning science are appropriate in a feminist poststructural analysis. Knowledge changes as meaning is always a historical product, produced in processes of contextualization, decontextualization and recontextualization, but history cannot fix meaning by being its foundation (Weedon, 1997, p. 159). Thinking about learning science as discourse is one additionally way of giving meaning to Mrs. Martins past experiences in learning science. Obed Norman (1998) described how the authority of scientific discourse in our society has a profound impact on the attitudes toward race and gender manifested in the wider culture (p. 365). Because of the authority and power relations of mainstream science, Norman advocated that marginalized discourses have arisen to oppose the racism, sexism, and classism espoused and advocated by mainstream science (p. 365). These discourses are necessary in order for students, teachers and the society to resist modern attempts to appropriate science for undesirable cultural agendas (p. 372). It places discourse within a context, or a system for analyzing the effects of power and knowledge on individual constructions of meaning. Knowledge About Teaching Science Mrs. Martin believes that students have to be prepared for advances in science and technology. Therefore preparing students to be knowledgeable about science and technology are goals she has in teaching science at Carver High School. Some of her goals are to plan more laboratory activities, to develop school and university relationships or collaborations with the State University8 and King University, and to use local and

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state resources to learn more practical applications of science. Goals for teaching science extend beyond her current practices. She wants students to be exposed to science in many different ways. Ill be doing a whole lot more labs with a lot more collaboration with the universities for those things that we cannot do in the high school, just for the sake of students being exposed to those things. I did not know the State University had so much research on taxol. I didnt know that, and I am embarrassed to say that. A publication came in the other day, and for our great read-in last Friday, students read the publication, and we all learned a lot that day. I dont know how that document got in my mailbox, but Im glad it did. I have no idea. I think also with the labs that we have in the city, with the crime lab for the city and the state, we have to be in partnership with them as well as the police department. Learning and teaching science is not an individual effort. Mrs. Martin believes local resources, parents, and her colleagues have to be more proactive in helping students to gain scientific knowledge. Students have to learn other information; however, science is a very necessary part of the school curriculum. Students must learn science. We all have to do this together. I dont know why I feel like science is just so important. Students also need to know how to read and perform mathematical applications and apply them in the real world. But they have to know science too! (Emphasis, laughing). But thats just me, and my love for the content. I think science is the best of the language and the mathematical world. In a study of teachers and their sense of self, Jennifer Helms (1998) found that teachers identity is rooted in their own sense of who they are as science teachers and individuals in the world, and that the self comes not just from what a person does, or his or her affiliations, but also from what a person believes, what a person values, and what a person wants to become (p. 812). She found that teachers developed a sense of who they are in connection to the subject matter that they teach. Mrs. Martins strong love for science and the emphasis she places on teaching science is connected to a sense of self and an obligation to teach science. Though teaching some science concepts are challenging, Mrs. Martin loves science as a content area, and she loves teaching it. Being

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knowledgeable of scientific concepts and language, she feels that she is an effective teacher. I just feel that it is my place right now to explain as much science as I can to students on a much higher level. And it is not easy because the concepts arent easy because it is not something that they come into contact with every single day. But at the same time, in its difficulty we have to get through the information. It is striking a balance with that is the part that is not easy. I know that as a person who is knowledgeable with the science jargon so to speak, I will be able to help those who want to come into this field. Soon after accepting a position in Carver County, Mrs. Martins apartment was robbed. She developed a deeper appreciation and value of education from having lived through this experience. Well, my apartment was robbed the third week in October, and I had not had a chance to go back and get my things. A friend of mine called me and said I have some bad news. Your apartment has been burglarized. The reason why they knew that the apartment was burglarized was that my air condition was yanked out and my curtains were just billowing in the wind. Well that weekend, when I went to [home] to pick up the rest of my things, and guess what was left? Everything in my apartment was gone but my AA degree and my BS degree that I just had plaqued before I left [to come back to school]. And the police officer said there was a condom on the floor in the kitchen, all of my dishes, everything was gone. There were some Cheetos and a coke, or something like that, on the floor of my kitchen. I remember the police officer saying that, the only thing they did was to steal your belongings. No one will ever be able to steal your education away from you. And that statement was so profound for me. So you know I have an open forum to tell my students that people can steal and take all of these things away from you, but your education, no one can ever take. They cannot take it. They may also be able to take your plaques, you know. But ityour educationcant ever leave you. Learning from personal experiences offers very valuable material to share with others. In Teaching to Transgress, bell hooks (1994) discusses the benefits of learning

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from the authority of experience (p. 84) in ways that deepen classroom discussion. She also states that, there is a particular knowledge that comes from suffering. It is a way of knowing that is often expressed through the body, what it knows, what has been deeply inscribed on it through experience (p. 91). Knowledge that a person gains from personal experience cannot be stolen. In our conversation of stolen goods, the power in the message is realizing that education is ours and is something that cannot be taken from you. This experiential truth resonated with Mrs. Martin and myself toward a personal ownership and importance of having knowledge that no one can take from you. Knowledge of Self From Professional Development Activities Knowledge of the self is gained from participating in professional development activities. Mrs. Martins primary knowledge-building activity came from participating in the National Board Certification9 process and doing professional development activities. Mrs. Martin described herself as a reflective teacher and in fact maintained a reflective journal of her teaching for several years. Due to the increased accountability measures, additional responsibilities, and changes in the school scheduling from block schedule last year to seven 50-minute periods of instruction this year, Mrs. Martin felt that she did not have the time to reflect on her practice this year as much as she did in the past. Keeping a reflective journal helped her to build a knowledge base about teaching and learning science. Im learning to be more reflective in my practice. Now this year, I did not keep a journal like I wanted to. The past three years I would write a little excerpt after each class on what happened in the class. At the end of the day or the end of the week, I would look back over what I wrote and summarize it to help me for the next week. I havent been able to do that, but I realize why. My first three years here we were on a block schedule, and I loved it because it gave me time to do perfect science. I feel like I was being more effective in those years. Mrs. Martin confessed that she feels she was not as effective this year in teaching science due to the changes in class scheduling. The decreased time in class also changed some of the teaching methods she used in the past. She felt that the quality of her teaching has decreased and that students have fewer chances to apply science knowledge. She felt constrained by time, especially in doing labs and experiments in her classroom.

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This year I am the rush mode, rush to do this. I am not really having the time that I need this year. I was able to take my classes outside. If we were studying plant germination they planted the plants, they got the manure. The fish market would send the fish heads and we could till it in the ground because we had that kind of time. But I think the quality [of my teaching] was better when we were on the block schedule. Many of the changes in school scheduling and teaching at Carver High this year was concerned with preparing students for The State Comprehensive Assessment. Switching to shorter class periods was a difficult adjustment for Mrs. Martin. As a result, the liberties that she had in teaching science in the past, like spending more time outside and doing science projects outside of the classroom, are compromised. Making accommodations for test preparation, like cutting and pasting icons and directions in the format of the state test onto teacher-generated tests, are things that teachers did so that students can practice and become familiar with the state testing format. Mrs. Martin felt she had insufficient time to plan and accomplish all the things that were required of her to do on a daily basis. We have to record grades, and many times the things that they have in place for us as far as the grade book to help us average grades, sometimes that isnt working properly, so we have to go back and do it the old-fashioned way, you know dot every I and cross every T and make sure that our grades are in. Then we have to create the exams. Now that we have SCAT we have to provide experiences for students. We have to provide experiences to students that reflect that they have been exposed to SCAT principles in our classroom. So we literally have to cut the icon out, paste it on the sheet of paper, make sure they have enough lines for the long short and extended responses, and it is just work. You cant do it on a fifty-minute planning period and teach six classes and manage 130 students. We have a difficult job, but I guess were crazy because we love it, right? (Both laughing) I dont understand it. For professional development as a science teacher, Mrs. Martin stated that she learned a great deal from the National Board process. The types of questions that were

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asked allowed her to think about her teaching and how it impacted students learning. The process encouraged her to think critically about her science teaching. The main thing that I learned through them is how does what I do impact student learning? That was the question that was constantly posed to me that I had to address. How was the way that I presented the pH scale, how did it impact the students learning? Could I have done something different to make them, to help them learn it better, or what did I miscommunicate to them that contributed to their misconceptions about a topic? There were a lot of probing questions that I encountered in that process that helped my teaching practice. The National Board process and the activities that Mrs. Martin completed helped her to gain more knowledge about herself, her teaching practices, and science content. From having completed the National Board process, knowledge acquired about her teaching methods came from critically looking at her practice. Well they asked me a lot of questions about my teaching methods that I hadnt really addressed. I just had not really addressed them. So it was strange for me to even look at my methods that way. Knowledge about the self is an additional aspect that is learned from teaching science and participating in professional development activities. The critical and reflective nature of looking at her science teaching practices was a difficult process for Mrs. Martin. Fortunately, this critical process of decoding as Freire described it, allowed Mrs. Martin to build new perceptions and the development of new knowledge about teaching and learning (2000, p. 115). By completing the National Board portfolio, Mrs. Martin learned more about herself, her teaching practices, and science content knowledge. The national board portfolio was more probing of my methods and the pedagogy of how I addressed my methods. It was so supercalifragilistic for me. It was very strange. It was analytical in my approach to science teaching, which only grew me; it only grew me. And it really made me realize some things about myself that I didnt knowlike I could do it. I didnt think that I could. I didnt think that I needed work in certain areas, so it made me go back and restudy certain things, and just nail the genetics. You know, it made me revisit enzymatic regulation.

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Let me see. It just made me more thorough. It made me go back to revisit topics and clear up my own misconceptions. Oh, one thing I remember having to restudy was blood typing. Mrs. Martin believed her National Board portfolio showed better her growth as a science teacher. The schools portfolio guidelines were easier to complete and to show than the critical nature of comprising the National Board portfolio. [The school portfolio] was easier because with the national board process, I had already done most of those things, and I just filed them and went on. The National Board portfolio was more probing of my methods and the pedagogy of how I addressed my methods. The rigorous process of the completing the National Board process was also an esteem-builder for Mrs. Martin. She stated that she grew as result of the process. Although she felt prior to the process that she was a good teacher, the process made her a more thorough teacher. Teachers also engage in professional development workshops, which is a predominant mode of professional development or inservice for practicing teachers (Weimer & Lenze, 1994; Herr, 1998). Mrs. Martin attended professional workshops with the intent to learn and to bring back new knowledge to be used in her classroom. Because of my personality I am going to a workshop with the intent on bringing something back that I can apply in my classroom, and when I bring it back, I immediately bring it back and use it. Thats just me. I dont sit there and say Im bored; Im ready to go; can I do this? Or have my mind elsewhere. I bring it back to my students. Professional development workshops and opportunities to attend them have almost been cut out this year and have decreased overall for the teachers in the district. Mrs. Martin admitted that teachers take personal days in order to attend development activities. If you cant do development during the weekends, basically you cant go. Thats whats been going on in our county this year because you will be denied when you check leaving the line of duty. If you just dont take your own personal days, theres no professional development this year.

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Despite the difficulty in getting time off to attend professional development workshops, Mrs. Martin took personal days and attended workshops not sponsored by the school district. The activities that I have gone to for my professional development plan have not been district based. Now last year, we did. We had a few workdays. We have been extended invitations to two activitiesone was in September; it was cancelled. It was [near the coast]; and the other was somewhere in [the adjoining county] and it was cancelled. As a result, [the state science coordinator] has come to our county and to our school to discuss whats going on cutting edge with the state in science [for The State Comprehensive Assessment Test]. She told us a lot of websites that we can visit and not so much activities but just sites that we can visit and conferences that we can attend, but basically because there has been a lockdown on conferences for us this year. Professional development workshops for the District have decreased this year, yet teachers found it difficult to attend workshops because getting time off from school was difficult. Some workshops that were scheduled were cancelled, and teachers could not take advantage of those opportunities. The state science coordinator came to Carver High to share with the science department websites that could help them with preparing for the upcoming Science SCAT assessment scheduled in early March 2003. The workshop session however did not concentrate on helping teachers to become better teachers, but rather focused on preparing teachers to teach SCAT skills, which they were already doing as part of their accountability measures. For Mrs. Martin, changes to science teaching practices came about from criticism she received from others. Her view of criticism is about self-improvement as a process of professional growth and development. Therefore, change and criticism were intertwined as a form of professional development. The critiques she received from National Board mentors assisted her in making changes. Just do it. I love being critiqued because that makes me grow, and it makes me better. But I know that with the National Board portfolio, you are shredded to pieces many times by your mentor, and you have to go back and make this change, go back and make that adjustment, and when you think you have your

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best work, and you have a team of people who are teaching the content that you are teaching, you really just have to submit yourself for correction, and I dont have a problem with that. It really just makes me grow even more. I noticed that you can get offended and just say forget it. I have my certificate. The state says I can do this teaching. But really in order to do a quality job, you need to be critiqued, and it is ok. So it is ok with me. Even though advice and comments that others gave her about her practice offended her sometimes, Mrs. Martin still looks at herself as the person who has to change. She sees critique as professional development and as a process that grows you if a teacher is willing to surrender and act upon advice that people give. Criticism or critical reflection involves thinking and problem solving, a process of making sense of a challenging situation, identifying areas of practice that need scrutiny, defining goals of improvement, and pursuing actions to accomplish them (Yost, Sentner, Forlenza-Bailey, 2000). Mrs. Martin takes comments from others as a means for enhancing her teaching and learning of science and is willing to make the necessary changes to her practice through critical reflection and criticism. Understanding Mrs. Martins Knowledge In applying feminist poststructural understandings of knowledge in Mrs. Martins case, there has to be a critical expansion of traditional knowledge[and] with this expansion or redefinition comes an understanding that what is traditionally understood to be formal or academic knowledge is contested and interrogated (Ropers-Huilman, 1998, p. 114). The formal knowledge that Mrs. Martin received in teaching and learning science was reconfigured in that she developed a strong desire to share her knowledge with students. Similarly, The very belief that students and teachers construct knowledge within a politics of location and identity suggests that knowingknowing science, knowing education, knowing ourselves, knowing othersis historically and politically contextual, and also changeable. These understandings allow for the intersubjective deconstruction of scientific knowledge and for the construction of alternative visions of science and self (Calabrese-Barton, 1998, p. 15; Harding, 1986; Smith, 1987). The knowledge and meaning that Mrs. Martin gained from being a science teacher at Carver High School is situated within a larger context that has a tremendous

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impact on her teaching and the kind of knowledge that she has acquired. For example, the power relations associated with national certification are seemingly specific and secretive. Teachers are only given scores of pass or fail. Their entries or portfolios are not returned. So, Mrs. Martin has yet to figure out what it is that she is not doing that is causing her not to pass. The sections of her National Board portfolio in which she scored the highest were sections I assisted her in constructing. Nevertheless, she was not given the necessary feedback so that she could improve her portfolio. Particularly the sections with a low score could not be reassessed for improving her writing, teaching, or presentation of the materials. Despite not passing the National Board certification process, Mrs. Martin learned more about herself and her teaching, and she acquired more scientific knowledge and understanding. She finally resolved that she is a good teacher. The experiential knowledge she gained as a young student, a college graduate, and a science teacher in the district has enhanced her teaching and professional development. Thinking about her professional development, Mrs. Martin has future goals to return to graduate school to obtain a PhD. She is thinking about science education, and we have had several conversations about attending a graduate program at the State University. Her plans are gray for now, and her interests in helping new teachers keeps her focused and motivated on improving her practice. It is still a little gray as to where I would like to be five years from now. I know that I would love to be able to work on my PhD, and I know that I would be of assistance in nurturing teachers, be it science or just beginning new teachers, and I know that I would be a good resource person. Im just trying to tie my teaching and my personal goals together; however, I have not come to the end and just decided what I want to do professionally. I know that I am a good teacher, and I would like to very much hone my teaching skills, yet there is an administrative piece there that I know is within me but I am not clear on it yetI dont know; I dont know if it is teaching or administration. I am still, like I said, it is very, very gray, very gray. I am still searching myself. In the meanwhile I am just focusing on the teaching aspects of it, and if something administratively comes along that works well the teaching part of it, then I will do it. I hope that makes sense.

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The National Board Certification process in science was a rigorous and critical process for Mrs. Martin. She learned a great deal about herself as a teacher and even enhanced her science content knowledge. What has been discouraging for her through this process is not passing it for the fifth year. We discussed several reasons for her not passing the exam. These conversations were not part of the data collection process, yet the conversations allowed me to think about knowledge and power relations involved in the National Board process and whose knowledge is considered to be privileged. Sadly, the National Board Certification does not allow teachers to know what areas need further concentration. Although teachers receive a score of passing or failing, they are not privileged with obtaining specific feedback regarding their materials. For example, Mrs. Martin could not tell me what was scored lower, like specific content knowledge, or videotaped entries that needed additional reflection, or even writing samples that were unclear. Although the process of National Board Certification is empowering and beneficial in many ways, it nevertheless leaves several gaps in assisting teachers in specific areas of their teaching and professional development toward continuous improvement. Mr. ONeal Knowledge About Teaching Science Teaching is a sharing process. Teaching should engage teachers and students in this process. Mr. ONeal acknowledged that he should not be the only person in the classroom who can share knowledge. He believed that students have something to offer and that he can learn from them also. I think teaching is sharing of informationmy knowledge and your knowledge together we can come up with a good solution or a good ends to a problem. I dont think I should be the only one that is sharing that information because I can learn from other peoples experiences. And by us doing that, hopefully everybody will leave with a better understanding. Being a science teacher allowed Mr. ONeal to do hands-on teaching and learning. When asked hypothetically about being a mentor to a first year teacher, he offered that hands-on learning was the most appropriate way to get students engaged. Hands-on learning helps to maintain classroom order.

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I guess for a science teacher, because there are so many things that you can do to demonstrate [science], it will always have to be a hands-on type situation. I think that if they [new teachers] incorporate as far as a demonstration type thing, handson situations with students in order for them to participate, they learn better. Of course there has got to be some lecturing that type thing, but if they can actually do something they can learn a lot better. It will also keep them under control by holding their attention. Science is one way of knowing about the world and understanding the world. Mr. ONeal sees science as answering questions that pertain to our daily living. Science helps to explain everything that is going on around us. If you want to know why the sun is rising on one side of the world and going down on the other side, or why when the sun shines on me, I heat up, or why does certain colors heat up faster than others, or what am I made of, or when I start growing and going through all these developmental things, it explains everything. Why should I not put salt on meat? Including me in making his point, Mr. ONeal added that, I dont know about the supremacy [of science], but you know, and I know that most of the technology and everything that we have at our disposal came from science. Science is a field that encompasses many aspects of our daily lives. Mr. ONeal also referred to the tentative nature of science and the on-going search of scientific discovery and understanding. dealing with science, things change all the time. People have been trying to prove that Pluto doesnt really exist. Of course it is still on the list as a planet. Two or three times this year alone someone has confronted that issue, so science changes all the time. They dont call it facts, or theories, dont they? Acquiring science knowledge comes from many sources. As a child he developed an appreciation of science. He obtained knowledge about science as a young boy by being exposed to the outside world of animal life and plants. He grew up in Carver County and learned different skills by working on his grandfather and fathers farms. His love of science developed into aspirations for a career in medicine. I spent most of my time in the woods digging up plants, making my garden, capturing things, dealing with my dad and his hogs, killing hogs, killing chickens,

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and curing. Everything I have always done have always dealt with animals. So I have always been intrigued by it. My daddy had a hog farm, and my granddaddy was a farmer. I was trying to go to med school, so I majored in the sciences. The primary sources that Mr. ONeal uses for obtaining scientific knowledge comes from textbooks. He recognizes that different people relate information in different ways. Mr. ONeal put together many sources, such as textbooks and magazines, in order to build his knowledge of science. Reading books. I just dont read one Anatomy and Physiology book. I read more than one. I deal with three probably. My biology books, it is threethe high school book, which is more basic stuff, and then the one from King University, and I have one more that I deal with, to get a better understanding because some people can say some things better, and I read Natural Science and National Geographic, and some stuff from the newspaper. His confidence in teaching science is extended to thinking about teaching elementary science in the schools. Mr. ONeal believed that the key to teaching young children science is to get them involved in learning through playing games. His knowledge of teaching science in this way came from teaching science to his son as a young child. I believe I can go to an elementary classroom right now and teach that class and do a much better job than most elementary teachers that are there because of what they teach and how they teach it. They are teaching those kids and they are not really incorporating them into learning things. The way I taught my son when we are riding down the road and we are playing games were playing learning games, and they are not doing that in the classroom. It can be as simple as read this sentenceJack jumped over the moon. Now how many As are in that sentence? We are incorporating reading and math in the same text. But if you dont do that and you just have them reading and not really playing the other games with them, then they are not going to be able to learn it. Somebody, by you asking them to do the math part, it is going to draw their attention back to it, because some people are not really interested in reading, but now they are going to pay attention because you may ask a question that is going to require them to have read that

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sentence, or to at least paid attention to it. I just think that they do not do that kind of stuff. Mr. ONeals knowledge about teaching and learning science comes from interacting and playing learning games with his son. He believes that teaching and learning should incorporate learning games that motivate students to learn. The teaching methods of teachers at the elementary level are geared toward The State Comprehensive Assessment Test. When teachers concentrate on teaching to the test, then student engagement and motivation are lost. Instead a more integrated approach to teaching elementary students should be used. They are teaching them to test and they shouldnt be doing that. Little boys and girls should not be bored students. If you ask them, how many birds do you see? Were playing a game. But you can do that kind of thing. You can shoot marbles and teach math. How many do you have left in the ring? You can do that. But theyre not doing that. They are down there putting stuff on the chalkboard. Those little boys and girls are not interested in that. You can bring in a whole bunch of balloons with hot air in them or helium and say how many red balloons are there? We are teaching math. Okay, Im taking this away. Actually I can stick in a pin in it and that will really excite them. Okay, how many do I have left? You can do that kind of thing. Thats why I say I can do that because I know how to play with kids and most people dont. (Laughing) I was teaching but they were learning. I am learning to because I bet you some kid will come up with some idea to do the same thing to do the same thing, which is what Ill do. I will ask them, okay, everybody is responsible for bringing one idea tomorrow that we can share with the class. Based on what I just did, you need to bring something to class to do the same thing. For Mr. ONeal the process of teaching and learning should be an interactive process of sharing between teachers and students. He believes that his knowledge of teaching and learning science, his methods of teaching, and his experiences at the secondary and college levels, would make him an effective teacher at the elementary level. In fact he thinks about how he could make the time in order to teach and work with teachers in elementary schools.

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Knowledge of Self From Professional Development For Mr. ONeal knowledge about himself comes from an academic background in science. He just completed his Masters of Science degree in Biology from King University (summer 2002). He also participates in professional development activities, many of which are not sponsored by the district. He was a candidate for the National Board Certification process in science. His primary forms of professional development activities come from membership in a professional organization, such as the National Association of Biology Teachers, and attending Advanced Placement workshops sponsored by the state. At the time of this interview, he had planned to attend the annual NABT conference. He registered for workshops at the conference that focused on gaining knowledge and skills in science laboratory techniques. Well, I just finished my masters, you know that, so and I am still waiting on my results for my National Boards. So right now, for me, Im involved, or signed up for different types of workshops like National Association of Biology Teachers, trying to gain more knowledge and more skills in the laboratory and that kind of thing, so I signed up for those things if I can get the school [Community College] to pay for them, Ill being going to Cincinnati, Ohio in October. I am also geared up for my doctorate work, and working on that, which is another one of my goals. Mr. ONeal had a couple of reasons for wanting to attend the annual NABT conference. He wants to learn and develop new science laboratory skills. He eventually wants to continue his education toward a Ph. D. in science so that he could expand his thesis work. My research has to do with determining if E. coli was getting from the fecal septic tanks to the bodies of water supply in the areas where houses existed, so now what I want to do is try to determine, [or] I want to add traces to [fecal material] and actually label them and then see if they actually do get from the septic tanks. I want to prove that. And my dissertation, I hope to develop a method of measuring, [or developing] some type of device that can be sold on a local market so that it can detect E. coli presence when it gets really high or which will pretty much indicate that the septic tank is not filling or its not upgrading properly. And

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as a result of that, I want to also have some indicator other than someone telling us that E. coli is in the bodies of water. Therefore, Mr. ONeals goals for professional development are focused on laboratory techniques and on how to do certain types of test runs so that [he] can show [his] students these techniques and use them for future research. He wants to know a little bit more about that and how to perform those experiments so that he can use these techniques in his science teaching. When asked about his professional development and personal development, Mr. ONeal saw these as connected to his overall development as an individual. He tries to develop both personally and professionally by setting goals and working toward accomplishing them and then setting new goals. It is kind of hard to separate the two [professional and personal] for me because I will never be satisfied. I will always be updating my goals and moving forward and thinking of something else to do, or once I have accomplished that then there is obviously something else. I stretch out my [goals chart]. I highlight out my goals, and I have them at home, and when I get close to accomplishing most of them I think it is time to reassess what I am trying to do. I am goal oriented I guess you might say. Nee-Benham and Dudley (1997) found that professional and personal lives do not follow separate paths but are often intertwined. Mr. ONeal has a chart that he keeps with a list of professional and personal goals. The chart is displayed at home so that he can refer to it, and he marks periodically the things he has accomplished. Maintaining or updating the chart is something that he has done for years. I have my own developmental plan and my own goals. As I accomplish them, I highlight them. When I highlight so many of them, I go back and do them over. I am in the process of doing that now. I try to have one every year. Usually I update it twice a year. His professional development plan is not disconnected from his personal plan. Both professional and personal goals are worked on together. For professional and personal development, Mr. ONeal believes that preparation and hard work places a person in a position to take advantage of opportunity when it comes. For example, he

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explained how his preparation to take on the position at the Community College was a result of his hard work, setting goals, and accomplishing them. Otherwise, he would not have been in the position to accept the job nor would he have been qualified to take the position. Well, my whole goal is to always be in the position so when a particular blessing comes my way I am in a position to receive it. If I had not driven [or] worked hard to get my Masters, when this particular opportunity came about because they called me Easter break and asked me to interview for this job. And I had applied, I sent in a resume like three months prior to that, so I was not even thinking about doing anything. And if I had not been working hard to be in a position to graduate on time, I would not have been able to take this job. Of course they let me teach this summer but it was part-time. The full time position was contingent upon me graduating. So Im goal-driven because of that reason. I dont ever want a situation, although I know that there would be times when it will actually come up, or I want to be in a position where I have all that I need so when I apply for something or something comes available, they cant tell me Im not qualified. Carver County School District requires that teachers complete a professional development plan that shows their knowledge and skills in teaching. The goals that teachers make have to be connected to student performance. Mr. ONeal recognized that his development was connected to others and potentially could benefit him and his students. For example, he told me about one activity that served as a professional development opportunity for him that opened up as educational and financial opportunity for one of his students to attend college on scholarship. I think it is almost hard to separate the situation where you want to improve yourself and it not benefit someone else when you are a schoolteacher pretty much. So even though it might seem [selfish], I dont think it is a selfish thing. I wrote a Learn and Serve10 grant. It was for me, I got credit for it, but at the same time it was going to benefit the students, or being in the National Association of Biology Teachers was for me but I wanted to go to those workshops which were going to benefit me and indirectly benefit the kids to share that knowledge with them, or going to the national convention those types of

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things. We actually went to the engineering national convention in Orlando, Florida, and those kids who actually went down benefited because [representatives] from King University did come to the school to talk with one of them about going to school. Hes at King now, so hopefully hes gotten a scholarship to go to engineering school. By choosing professional development activities that helps him to grow as a science teacher, his involvement and learning from these opportunities has the potential to help not only himself but also his students. He noted too that professional development was about self-improvement and opening up opportunities to help others. As previously cited, professional development workshops are the predominant mode of teacher development activities for teachers. Mr. ONeal however gave two criticisms of workshops as professional development opportunities. First, people attend because they have to have the points and that kind of stuff. Second, workshop facilitators present the same basic materials, which is only re-introduced in a different way. Overlooking the presentation of the same old thing, he attends workshops with the intent to receive and to improve himself. Ideally teachers have to be receptive to learn from professional development workshops. He attended workshops with the purpose of bringing back knowledge and using what was learned from the workshop to for classroom teaching and learning. Most of the ideas that people present to teachers have already been presented before. It is just that individual that wants it. You go to development things all the time and they go and come back the same way they went. It depends on the receptiveness and the individual who really wants to improve himself. Me, I want to improve so Im constantly looking at different ways of doing things. A lot of them Im already doing, but the way that someone else may be doing it may help me to do it a lot quicker. I dont know. How many times can you go to a workshop and learn how to do a Venn diagram? (Laughing) or a concept map? I like Venn diagrams. I like concept maps. I use them in the classroom. My students have to do concept maps. It is required, and all of their labs must be in a concept format, step by step what they did and how they did that.

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Professional development workshops provided by Carver County School District that concentrated on computer skills were beneficial for Mr. ONeal in developing computer literacy skills to be used in classroom instruction. Still he noted that the knowledge he learned from writing and receiving the Learn and Serve grant was a professional and financial plus. Additionally opportunities provided by professional organizations offered the most in his development as a science teacher. There are different classes for computer software learning, Microsoft web page, PowerPoint workshops, those are for me personally, because I needed to do that, I wanted to know how to do them better. It would also help me in my classroom instruction too. The State Learn and Serve grant was basically for me because I did a grant where I could pay myself, it helped me financially and at the same time it gave me a little more credibility in applying for grants, now I have had one and I will use that to make me look better for other grants. And course the National Association of Biology Teachers I think is going to be better for me. It is going to give me more information also, and getting away and relaxing without having to pay for it. Mr. ONeal received funding from the Community College and attended the annual NABT conference. He talked very enthusiastically about his experiences at the conference. He obtained knowledge and skills that he shared with his students when he returned. Oh, man, a lot of things was happening at that conference. It was a good conference. I learned a lot of good things, cloning plants in baby food jars, any kind of trees, flowering plants, African violets. I learned how to do DNA transformations by taking fragments of DNA and transferring it to another organism and it being incorporated into that organisms DNA. You have to lyze the cell to get the DNA out of it and cleaning, and purifying. I learned how to work with the electrophoresisthings that we never did in our high school, and I never really did it in college either, not even in grad school. I had worked with some in other workshops, like National Boards workshops. I learned a lot especially when it came to the speaker. She shared a lot of knowledge with us about going into outer space. When you go out, your whole facial expression,

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your face torts up and of course you can see a change when you come back, or the shape of a water molecule. A lot of knowledge was shared. I picked up a lot of stuff that I brought back that I can share with my kids hopefully. The NABT conference and their workshops provided Mr. ONeal with an environment conducive to his learning more science content, skills, and techniques. His learning was facilitated by interacting with people, picking up on new and better ideas, learning from others, and they learning from you. At the national conference, Mr. ONeal added that, a lot of good information especially when it comes to accessing what you are doing was beneficial. The collaborations with other science teachers from across the country was exciting and informative for him. The conference provided a necessary forum for him to learn new science techniques and skills to be incorporated into his current practice. His students benefited from new approaches to learning science. For example, Mr. ONeal showed me the baby food jars of cloned African violets that were stored in his science lab. He shared that, by incorporating those things into what I am doing nowwe have already cloned the African violet plants. We are going to do the DNA extractions. I know Im going to do that and DNA transformations as future activities in lab. When I met with Mr. ONeal for the final interview, he had received his scores from National Board. The overall process however was not what he had envisioned, and he was disappointed that did not pass. Though he stated that he did not learn anything new about himself, he was pleased that he completed the process. Well, (long pause), nothing that I didnt already did not know that if I didnt stick with it and persevere I will finish it. I didnt pass it, but I finished it. I have learned some new things but I havent learned anything new about myself. I know myself pretty well. I dont know if I am unrooted in anything. I am on to new frontiers, doing new things. I am always adding to my goals list. It makes [life] better to do that, to always have something to aspire toward. Although he did not pass the National Board certification, Mr. ONeal continues to work toward other areas for professional development. He is considering professional development opportunities that will also supplement his income. He still believed the

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national process was important but concluded that he would not be able to benefit from it now that he is no longer teaching in the public school system. Now that I am not in the high school setting, my goals are more set on College Boards to become like a reader or a grader, or something like that. Most of the things I want to do, I want to get paid for them that kind of thing. I do enough volunteer stuff, and I have done enough volunteer stuff in my life. Right now I want to think smart and get paid. Basically thats it. National Boards is important, but even if I pass the National Boards, I wouldnt get paid for it because I am not a high school teacher. Professional development opportunities in the form of professional science associations, such as National Association of Biology Teachers, and AP workshops were beneficial activities for Mr. ONeals development. Also getting involved in grant writing activities and learning science content, techniques, and skills were additional professional development activities that Mr. ONeal participated in and preferred to do. Though he was critical of traditional workshops that presented the same old thing, he attended workshops with the purpose of improving himself and bringing back new knowledge to be shared with his students. Mrs. Nelson Knowledge of Teaching from Extracurricular Activities and Family Mrs. Nelson gained knowledge about the value of education from her involvement as cheerleading coach. However, she noted some inconsistencies with teaching and extracurricular activities. Her role as cheerleading coach and teacher were not necessarily compatible when it came to the best interests of the students and their obtaining an education. Her concern was that there is a double standard. In the classroom, I shouldnt do this, and I dont make concessions for athletes, especially cheerleaders. They have to do their part, and I do understand that. What I have learned is something that upsets me. It is the fact that in [this state] we allow certain programs to have games at night during the school week. I have learned that I dont like that because it puts the kids at a disadvantage. We as teachers expect them to excel, to do homework, [and] prepare for tests, when their minds arent on that. It is unfair for us to continue to practice that. I wish

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someone would change that because it is really hard to have a Thursday night football game and a Friday vocabulary test, or a Thursday night basketball game and homework and a quiz are due Friday in some classes. But we expect the children to do that, and I think that is a little too much. I really do. Learning and obtaining knowledge outside of the classroom by getting involved in coaching carried over into the classroom. Though Mrs. Martin did not show favoritism or allowed cheerleaders and team players to shun their academics, she is still concerned that the school is sending a double message that students should excel in extracurricular activities but the school did not create school policies that could accommodate athletes and their academic requirements. She sees that student athletes suffer academically, which is unfair, because they are involved in extracurricular activities. Mrs. Nelsons parental knowledge is used in the classroom also. She learned to become a more sensitive teacher after becoming a mother. Though she acknowledged that becoming more sensitive to the needs of her students was a gradual process, the knowledge she gained about students and their learning was enhanced because of her parenting skills. Im surprised at how much more sensitive I have become once I became a mother. And its not something that I have noticed overnight; it has been a gradual change. And then too kids have changed so much. When you hear of kids in Columbine and places, coming in and shooting and killing people, it makes you re-evaluate yourself; it makes you really want to understand children, and its made me want to help my kids understand that no matter what I say, before we leave here, lets make sure we are okay, that we are not mad with each other; so its probably the motherhood and then the things that have happened nationally at schools have kind of changed the way I do things. Now I still fuss at kids in a heartbeat and I will still try to steer a kid right, and I will still discipline a child, but it is a different way now. Its different. Mrs. Nelson makes sure that the relationship she has with her students remain intact. She does not want to experience a tragedy like Columbine at Carver High. Being the mother of a six-year old has enhanced the way she looks at herself and her students in

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the classroom. She tries to develop relationships with students where they can approach her with their concerns. She believes she is more sensitive to their needs. As se talked about some of her early experiences, Mrs. Nelson spoke very affectionately about her father who was also an educator. They are not here; my parents are not here so my sister and I talk about favorite moments. I tell my kids I love food, especially cafeteria cake because I can remember there are five of us in the family and I guess my dad had more kids than anybody else at the time. My mother didnt teach. Whenever there was the prom, or graduation or something, we knew we were going to get the leftovers. The prom cake is a fun memory because it would come back and it would be so neat and cut in those little squares, and we would get ham and stuff. He was a busy educator. He loved his job. As Mrs. Nelson described an early childhood memory and her father, I was thinking about her activities and involvement in school. I noted certain qualities about her father that were also some of the same qualities that she has. Her desire to teach originated from her father. I have always wanted to teach. My daddy was a teacher. He was super. He was well liked by the community. We would ride through the community and people just held my daddy like he was president or something. He taught mathematics. He had a Masters [degree] in mathematics. Super dude, super dude! As a child we would grade papers for him and put his grades in his roll book. And when I would go to the school that he worked at, I picked up his papers for him in the mornings. I did his paperwork for him. Making some connections between Mrs. Nelson and her father were obvious to me from the descriptions that she gave of her father. I saw immediately that she has many of the qualities that her father has regarding a passion for teaching, responsibilities in the school and community, and the busy schedule she maintains. At times she solicited my help with fulfilling some of her duties. I even accompanied her on running errands during her lunch and planning periods. When I brought this to her attention, about being like father like daughter, Mrs. Nelson said, You know what, Im just seeing it now, so probably so, because dad was always busy.

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Mrs. Nelson told me about how she received her first teaching job in Carver County. Because her father was a teacher, he advised her about how she should carry herself at school. I had already taken the teachers exam that spring. I was in summer school just waiting to go home because I didnt have a job. Mrs. Rawlings called from the County office. She heard that I was looking for a job, and she offered me the job here at Carver for Mrs. Green, who was getting ready to go out on maternity leave. And I remember getting that job, and my daddy sat down and talked with me. The first thing he told me, You are to avoid the gossip at that school. Dont hang out in the teachers lounge. Dont sit up and gossip and talk about people. Stay in your room and do your work. The advice Mrs. Nelson received from her father was the same advice she received from her cooperating during her student teaching internship in Carver County. In both cases, from her father and from her cooperating teacher, Mrs. Martin believed that knowledge about staying out of the teachers lounge was worthy advice to pass on to a new teacher. When I interned, I interned with an older white woman, a home economics teacher. She ran the schoolabout 50-60 kids. She was in charge of the seniors. She repeated the same thing my daddy said. When I graduate dont you go into that teachers lounge. I didnt go into the teachers lounge, and now I dont go into the teachers lounge. Luckily, I have always worked in classrooms with bathrooms or I would go just to use the restroom and back to my room. When people looked for me, they would come to my room to find me because they know I am not in the teachers lounge, or I might be in my sisters room if I am not in the lounge. That is what I would tell any beginning teacher. Stay in your room and do your work. Mrs. Nelson gained valuable first-hand knowledge about teaching from her father and from her cooperating teacher. She spoke tenderly about her father, whom she considered to be a very knowledgeable, well respected, and busy educator. She internalized many of her fathers traits, which are evident in her teaching, school responsibilities, personality, and activities in the community.

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Knowledge of Self from Professional Development Knowledge that a teacher receives comes from a number of sources. For Mrs. Nelson being observant and paying attention to her own knowledge about herself provides insights about her as a teacher. Comments from others and how she interacts with others gives Mrs. Nelson some knowledge about herself too. A teacher finds knowledge about herself based on a number of things. One, just listening to what other people say about youmaybe indirect comments or direct comments. I guess as a teacher, it is the comments that people make about you, the indirect and the direct. Sometimes you gain knowledge because you realize you know things you didnt know you knew basically from different assessments. I guess basically it is listening and watching how people react to you and how people deal with you. Professional development is basically left up to the teachers to find workshops, attend classes, or participate in opportunities on their own. Mrs. Nelson planned to attend a workshop for test preparation strategies. She spoke disappointedly that it was cancelled. Her primary professional activities involved attending district-sponsored workshops. She preferred professional development activities that focused on learning activities and strategies for teaching science. Extensive training that I have had, include SCAT traininga lot of good workshops last year. I signed up for one two weeks from Monday but it was canceled. [It] was for SCAT and teaching some strategies for science, and of course science is being tested this year on SCAT. So Im very interested in continuing to develop in learning activities or methodologies that can help me to teach my students science better so that they understand the questions that will be asked on the SCAT. A major area of professional development for Mrs. Nelson is attending the science fair workshops. She is the science fair coordinator for Carver High and for Carver County School District. Most of her time during the academic year is spent on coordinating the science fair and preparing students for the annual State Science Fair Competition.

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Every year we do an extensive training session for the science fairs, local science fairs, which encompasses teachers within the state. It encourages students to participate in science fair according to rules and regulations from the National Science and Engineering fairs. So most of my training per year, every year, centers around science fair types of training, and of course through that you get to network with people throughout [the State]. This year the teachers at Carver High School have to maintain a teaching portfolio. For Mrs. Nelson the teaching portfolio was one of her biggest challenges in her professional development as a science teacher. The previous year she did not have any guidelines to follow which made the process of doing the portfolio difficult and confusing. This year with a rubric from the school district, she was able to organize her portfolio a little better than last year. One of the biggest changes in my professional development plan is keeping a portfolio, especially this year. Already this year, my portfolio is more organized than it was last year simply because we were given instruction this year. Last year the word portfolio was thrown out with no meaning and no direction so portfolios looked like anything, and it included anything, some things you needed, some things you didnt, some things of value, some things were not valued. The teaching portfolio offers a way for teachers to document and reflect on their teaching; however teachers construction of the portfolio or materials that they place in the portfolio is not based on individual creativity nor is it reflective of their practices. The school district set up standards and teachers adhere to these standards by providing specific artifacts that represent each standard to be placed in their portfolios. By having the rubric Mrs. Nelson organized her portfolio around district standards. And to keep that portfolio so that you know that you have changed your instruction, and you know that you are growing professionally because you begin to see things. You have always, you grow every year, but this is like an organizational growth. You learn how to piece together the importance of putting things together. Doing a professional portfolio was more of a measure of accountability rather than a personal and critical piece that documents professional growth and development.

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The teachers have specific guidelines from the district that they must follow. At the end of the school year teachers will be evaluated according to criterion established by the state and district. This will also determine teacher promotion. The portfolio serves mainly to document mastery of standards created by the district and the state in an organized manner. Knowledge/Meaning Discussion Knowledge/meaning, being a key theme in feminist poststructural theory, acknowledges the varied realities presented from each persons own locations, as influenced by their experiential backgrounds (Ropers-Huilman, 1998, p. 96). Teachers obtain knowledge about science, teaching, students, and themselves from many sources and from their varied, experiential backgrounds within a social context. For example, knowledge is gained from teaching in Carver County School District, from holding leadership positions in the school and district, from professional development activities provided by the district, and from professional development opportunities that teachers created for themselves, such as adjunct positions at King University. Teachers also gain knowledge from participating in professional development activities sponsored by professional organizations, such as the National Association of Biology Teachers, state-sponsored Advanced Placement workshops in the sciences, and participation in the National Board Certification process. Thus, teachers gain experiential knowledge about teaching, learning, and themselves from various resources and in various contexts that help them in teaching science. These professional development opportunities encourage teachers to grow as professionals. Knowledge they gain serves as a strong foundation for developing their professional self. However, Experience was not transparent but could be interpreted and reinterpreted in many different ways, depending on the theoretical tools to which one had access (Weedon, 1997, p. 171). For example, a critical look at Mrs. Martins experiences in learning science in school could be interpreted and reinterpreted in different ways. The historical time in which she was an African American student in a desegregated school provided an explanation of her experiences as prejudice, or reinterpreted today as science discursive practices, which alienate and limit

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participation of Blacks, females, and minorities in learning science (Atwater, 2000; Norman, 1998). Feminist poststructuralists claim that knowledge is partial and political, incomplete, and varies in a given social context over time (Ropers-Huilman, 1998), and that our perceptions of reality are constantly grounded in the shifting social systems in which they are operating (p. 6). From these claims Mrs. Martins interpretations and meanings of her experiences in learning science shift depending on the social, historical, and political forces that are, in a specific situation, crafting multiple interpretations for its various observers (p. 6). The multiple meanings attributed to her experiences in learning science are prejudice and/or science discursive practices. Not dismissing the treatment she received from her science instructors, her perceptions and meanings are valid. Both explanationsprejudice and discursive practiceemphasize how the effects of power and knowledge are connected in order to make meaning of personal experience. Consequently, as individuals, and science teachers in particular, our social locations will have implications for where and how we might act as part of a broader challenge to existing power relations which will also help us to understand our experiences (Weedon, 1997, p. 168). As power and knowledge are manifested in classroom practices, Mrs. Martin is more sensitive to the needs of her students because of her experiences and tries to teach so that her students become knowledgeable of science. She exposes them to science and technology and encourages them to seek careers in the sciences. She speaks strongly about the importance of her students understanding science and being prepared for a future where an understanding of science is necessary. Developing a relationship between students and science in schools is a powerful link for interacting and living in a fast-paced technological society in the future. Ropers-Huilman (1998) stated in her research of feminist teachers and their classrooms that, the examination of these power relations and the norms that they establish and maintain is important because of their impact on our lives. Power relations are hidden, yet their effects are felt continually (p. 75). A discussion of hidden power relations and knowledge is applied or discussed for both Mrs. Martin and Mr. ONeals experiences with the National Board Certification process. The process can be

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empowering to teachers as a form of personal and professional development that makes them a better teacher (Moseley, 2002). However, in their cases, the norms established by the National Board process and knowledge that teachers are required to have are hidden. Mrs. Martin and Mr. ONeal were only given notification of passing or failing scores and did not have access to comments or scoring of their materials. The assumption in poststructural theory regarding knowledge and power is that knowledge is not natural or necessarily based on scientific rigor or rationality or cause and effect but is constructed within the play of the power relations circulating in discourse and cultural practice (St. Pierre, 2000, p. 496). Then the concern for poststructural theory is to understand the processes through which an individual is subjected to, and constituted by, structure and discourse (Burr, 1995, p. 13). The National Board process as a structure or discourse has certain standards and practices. Teachers must show mastery in teaching practices, subject-matter knowledge, and competence in understanding of how to teach subjects to students (National Board, 2003). The teachers believe that they are knowledgeable and effective teachers. Somewhere in the process of translating their practices to conform to the National Standards, which is a performance-based assessment, they are left in despair and do not understand why they did not pass. As a process the secrecy behind not knowing how their portfolios are graded or how they could improve in areas that received a low score, the teachers perceive the process as discriminatory, and they experienced it in this way. Theorists in poststructural circles doubt that knowledge can be free from error, illusion, or the political (St. Pierre, 2000, p. 496). Discourses and operations of power have produced certain knowledge and truth about what it means to be a science teacher, or a National Board Certified teacher. The National Board process creates knowledge for particular reasons and from particular positions of power (p. 499). The process legitimates certain knowledge, practices, and experiences, and then not others. Talking with the three teachers about their professional development plans, each described activities they wanted to engage in for their development. Being able to act upon ones own behalf, especially in a school district that has enforced some strict guidelines, is another way teachers enact personal and professional knowledge. Teachers instead develop their own goals and work toward achieving these goals, while at the same

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time connecting their experiences to their classrooms and to their personal and professional development. For instance, attending conferences provides a great deal of knowledge for Mr. ONeal as a science teacher. He criticizes the traditional Venn diagrams and concept maps workshops that did not offer him knowledge or strategies for teaching science. However, he believes that you have to be receptive and want to improve. He attended the NABT conference (October 2002) and learned specific scientific techniques, which he currently uses in his classrooms at the Community College. His excitement in learning not only techniques but also science content motivated him to share this information with his students. He gained a great deal of knowledge that he ordinarily would not have received at the district level. Test preparations and passing with a higher grade are top priorities of the school district. It is such a priority that professional development focuses mainly on test preparation, and teachers are expected to give students opportunities to practice taking SCAT assessment-type tests on a regular basis. Though professional development workshops for Carver County School District this school year have decreased, teachers find it difficult to attend workshops because it is unlikely that they will get approval or time off from school to participate in them. As a result, teachers take personal sick days to attend conferences and workshops not sponsored by the district. The district sponsored a recent workshop for the science department at Carver High. The state science coordinator shared with teachers several websites that could help them in preparing for the upcoming SCAT in the spring. The workshop session however did not concentrate on helping teachers to become better teacherscritical and reflective practitioners, but rather focused on preparing teachers to teach students SCAT skills. Professional development opportunities at Carver High School are geared more toward helping students to pass The State Comprehensive Assessment Test and less on providing teachers opportunities to help them make informed decisions about what they need to learn to grow as teachers, or to help them to understand what their students need to learn as students in this particular school district (Sparks, 1997). Teachers are teaching toward the test rather than using their own knowledge gained from their personal and

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professional development experiences. In a real way, their knowledge is not legitimated but rather is deferred as state and district strategies are emphasized. In the following chapter, I discuss the relationship of power and language to teachers development and teaching practices. Two central ideas of language in poststructural theory are discussed. First, language operates to produce for us our realities, and second language is tentative, partial, and constantly changing.

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CHAPTER 9 RESEARCH FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION: LANGUAGE Introduction Do you go in talking to black students, talking about would you put that in the waste can? No, you put it in the trashcan. My parents didnt teach me anything about a waste can. What is a waste can? Its a trashcan, and it was not the sanitation area. It was always the dump.(Mr. ONeal) In this section I explain how language is used in many ways. For example how words are used to construct understanding of past experience, how language is used as a gatekeeper to access and learn science, and how teachers view the importance of learning and teaching science through specific cultural examples which emphasize words and the students own language. Some of the same stories that were presented earlier and are analyzed in respect of an understanding of language in feminist poststructuralist thinking. I also present more discussion of the context and teaching practices of the teachers for understanding language and power. Deconstructing Language: Prejudice and Not Passing Poststructural theory emphasizes the use of language and how language reveals meaning through words. Feminists and others representing disadvantaged groups use poststructural critiques of language, particularly deconstruction, to make visible how language operates to produce very real, material, and damaging structures in the world (St. Pierre, 2000, p. 481). For example, I wrote in the previous chapter Mrs. Martins experiences in learning science in school were described as prejudice. Below I explore her use of prejudice further. She explained that prejudice was described in very specific terms through specific actions that her teacher displayed. Prejudice was, when you have a question, your hand was not addressed. Prejudice was not being available after school, before school, yet you saw other students concerns and questions were addressed; it seemed like they were addressed.

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Prejudice was just because you did not have a rich daddy or mom, because some and not all black students were treated that way, but if you had a dad or a mom that was influential, you were addressed quicker than the average person. Prejudice was, and probably still is, but I am just addressing it from my perspective. Oh, you just need to study harder instead of giving you constructive feedback on exactly what you did wrong. Thats what I interpret prejudice. Prejudice for Mrs. Martin has many layers of meaning and understanding. She addresses prejudice as differences in students socioeconomic status. Students from highincome families received more attention and guidance from the teacher than other students. Mrs. Martin further explained that prejudice deterred her from taking certain science classes in high school. She also did not receive feedback from her science teachers. All of these issues creates experiences which she called prejudice that kept her from learning and taking higher level science courses in school. Although prejudice was not as evident in college, her understanding of prejudice came mainly from interactions and experiences in learning high school science. In college a little but not so much, not as much, [but] mainly in high school. Prejudice was you dont need physics. Just take something else. Prejudice was not even giving you directives, not even giving you any feedback. One of the most significant effects of deconstruction is that it foregrounds the idea that language does not simply point to preexisting things and ideas but rather helps to construct them and, by extension, the world as we know it (St. Pierre, 2000, p. 483). For Mrs. Martin, her world is constructed in terms of prejudicial behavior she received from her high school science teachers. She notes how different students were treated based upon race and class in particular. With the behaviors of her teachers, in conjunction with noting differences between other students and herself, Mrs. Martin suffered prejudice and attributed this meaning to her experiences. In an effort to deconstruct and then reconstruct her world, Mrs. Martin understood the complications she had in learning science as a high school student, and therefore as a teacher she is more of an assistant in helping her students to learn science. Im very helpful. I look at my students and sometimes see the way that I was taught, and I remember some of the pitfalls that I encountered as a high school

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student, and [I] just try to help them. I remember in high school how things could have been a little bit different for me. Reflecting still on her experiences as a high school student in science classes, Mrs. Martin connects with her students and tries to help them learn science better than the way she learned it. Only when students, especially science students, discern the methods of oppression working against them and understand that society is a mental constructionnot an immutable realitycan they act to change those constructions (Atwater, 1996, p. 823). This idea that the world is a mental construction and one that can be changed through reflection and acting upon ones own behalf, is one way to explain Mrs. Martins science teaching. She attempts to create a classroom environment that is different from the way she learned science. This environment is open and invites student participation, which is different from the closed environments in her learning of science. Teachers experience the gatekeeper techniques of language not only in learning science but also in achieving professional honors in teaching science. For Mr. ONeal language and his way of writing was a means to exclude him from passing the National Board Certification process in science teaching. He compared his college experiences in English with the National Board process and their writing requirements. I think that National Boards is similar to what I experienced in college. My English teacher had a problem understanding what I was saying in my papers, and I think thats what National Boards has a problem with, understanding my writing, my writing style. So I guess [if] you are able to write a good story that sounds sellable then okay, fine. But all of my stuff was what Im actually doing. What was really ironic because I had six people to read my stuffwhite people, who thought it was great. You shouldnt have any problem passing at all. And these are people who have passed already, science people. And I didnt pass. Help me to understand that. So I dont know. There must be some rhyme to the reason. The frustration Mr. ONeal experienced in not passing the National Boards is connected to issues of race and language. When differences in narrative style produce differences in interpretation of competence (Delpit, 1995, p. 55), implications are evident. He received feedback from White science teachers, who had successfully passed

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the certification process and who had assured him that his application and writing samples were satisfactory. Still, Mr. ONeal does not understand why he did not pass. Not passing the National Board process conjured up memories of what it was like for him in school, which he also connects to differences in the use of language and not passing. When I was in school, I would write my paper to an English teacher who was white, [and] she would always give it back to me. I always thought I was a good writer, but when they read it, they could not understand where I was coming from. They did not have my experiences. They were more in tuned to white experiences than black experiences, so they did not understand what I was saying, and they did not like the way I was saying it. So I got a bad grade, or lower grade, or not as good a grade as I thought I should have gotten. Mr. ONeal believes that there is bias toward Anglo American experiences rather than African American experiences. His writing reflected his experiences but was not legitimated by his teachers. Language connected to dominant experiences should not be on the only way to assess and confirm knowledge. Therefore, language and culture play a critical part in understanding experiences and how one uses language. For language, we use it to explain, construct, and deconstruct the world around us. It is through language and cultural practice that we deconstruct and reconstruct (St. Pierre, 2000). Still, This is the oppressors language yet I need it to talk to you.11 Acquisition and use of the dominant mode of communication and language is necessary in order to pass writing assignments, or standards for the National Board certification process. The dominant language being Standard American English is the language of power, and in order to be successful in most areas of writing, teachers and students have to learn the linguistic forms, communicative strategies, and presentation of self in order to be successful (Delpit, 1995, p. 25). Knowing and using the oppressors language is necessary in achieving the culture of power of language. Looking more closely at language, it appears that language was not the only issue concerning teachers not passing the National Board certification. Perhaps content is the culprit that should be looked at more closely. As James Paul Gee (1999) explained, Language has a magical property: when we speak or write we craft what we have to say to fit the situation or context in which we are communicating. But, at the same time, how

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we speak or write creates that very situation or context (p. 11). In other words, there is much to say about how we write as a process and what it is that we have written. The emphasis then becomes using language in the right way. Gee made this point: Such socially accepted associations among ways of using language, of thinking, valuing, acting, and interacting, in the right places and at the right times with the right objects (associations that can be used to identify oneself as a member of a socially meaningful group or social network), I refer to as Discourses, with a capitol D. (p. 17) These Big D discourses of scientific ways of teaching and learning, and writing may explain to some extent why language is implicated for why teachers feel prejudice in learning science or do not pass professional assessment standards. For instance teachers have to complete a series of written exercises that probe the depth of their subject-matter knowledge, as well as their understanding of how to teach those subjects to their students (National Board, 2003). Thus everyday languagein-use may be perfectly correct in our everyday contexts of communication (p. 45); however for communicating scientific and educational language or Discourse to a board of science and educational professionals, Discourse associated with and used in professional, specialist worlds (p. 45), is most likely what the National Board assessors deem as acceptable, or right and what teachers may find as prejudicial toward not passing. Thus, those taken-for-granted assumptions about what is typical or normal (Gee, 1999, p. 59), or what is right, or correct become barriers for passing and a means to create boundaries of power between passing and not passing, or even creates boundaries between learning and not learning science. Thus language works both to constrain and to open up the everyday lived experiences of the teachers (St. Pierre, 2000). Language as Cultural Practice Language is implicated in cultural practice (St. Pierre, 2000, p. 483) and is an important aspect in teaching, learning and understanding science. For Mrs. Martin, it is imperative that students understand the language of science in order to communicate and learn science. You know since we are studying mitosis and meiosis right now, if students dont understand the vocabulary and the language behind it, the syntax behind it, they

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can easily confuse the cycles, easily. And what they are communicating wont be what it actually is, and that will cause them to lose points if they are trying to pass standardized exams. They understand it, but because they dont have the way of communicating that properly it is going to come out wrong. Students may have an understanding of science concepts but may be unable to communicate these understandings in the right way or according to specific rules of discourse. Lisa Delpit (1995) described these rules or codes as relating to ways of talking, ways of writing, ways of dressing, and ways of interacting (p. 25). She called these rules as existing in a culture of power. For participating in a culture of power such as science, it involves communicating an understanding of science concepts and using terms appropriately. To help students to acquire the culture of power in learning science, particular classroom practices can be used. For example, Mrs. Martin teaches science so that students can make connections and applications to real world events. I try to apply the concepts according to whats going on currently in the world so that students can have a link from what the state says we should be teaching them with, oh, this is really what is going on in the classroom. I try to make my [teaching] current. Language has to be connected to students experiences in real ways. A specific application and connection of science content and students language was done through a writing assignment in Mrs. Martins biology classes. Through Intel, the computer people, we received a grant, and in the grant we were to create a unit. I chose cancer because a lot of students -- I noticed the first two and three years that I was at this school -- a lot of my students have parents and relatives that are deceased as a result of the disease. It has just been a pressing question with mewhy is there so much cancer here in this county? Students did research on the cancers that afflicted their lives, and we made a few documents from what their experiences were with cancer. They were allowed to learn the mitotic process and the processes [that] govern the controls of cancer. I think they got a lot out of it.

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Using the students own language, accounting for cultural interpretations, and providing examples for students to learn foundational information were considered as students learned about cancer in their families and community. Thus, teaching and learning science as a language are connected to culture or experience. This connection is essential for helping students achieve success in learning science, and it is necessary for establishing meaningful, personal, and relevant associations of science with students personal experiences. Mr. ONeal expressed that teaching science has to be relevant and taught in a language that students understand. As bell hooks stated, the acknowledgement and celebration of diverse voices, and consequently of diverse language and speech, necessarily disrupts the primacy of Standard English (1994, p. 173). In this context, standard use is not always beneficial for teaching, especially when it does not match the home language of students. Still whatever examples are used in teaching, the teaching process itself has to be relevant, and language that comes from the students home culture is advocated. Mr. ONeal gave one example. [Teaching] has to be relevant. They got to be able to relate to it. Do you go in talking to black students, talking about would you put that in the waste can? No, you put it in the trashcan. My parents didnt teach me anything about a waste can. What is a waste can? Its a trashcan, and it was not the sanitation area. It was always the dump. Mr. ONeal emphasizes the nature of cultural language in his professional development and in standardized testing for students. Language is something that we all possess yet language is used differently by different groups of people. In talking about the National Board process again, Mr. ONeal believed that until people realize that there are multiple ways of speaking, he and others will continue to fail tests. Thats what I was saying about the National Boards because they didnt understand my language. I wont say that my vocabulary is limited though. I think we all have the language. I think that there should be two ways of looking at the test results. I think were all saying the same thing. We are just saying it differently. Until the test graders realize that there is more than one way to skin a

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cat, or to communicate, then yes, [some people have the language and some do not]. Teachers have experienced for themselves the gatekeeper techniques for learning science and for teaching science, mainly through language. They express awareness in achieving the language of science for success yet they affirm that their way of talking is also a legitimate form of communication. However, I am not convinced that teachers realize the impact of language and its power. They know that the dominant way of doing, saying, or communicating will advance them professionally and their students academically, yet distinguishing Big D Discourse from small d discourse is one aspect of language use, whether in writing to pass tests or in teaching science content, knowledge, and skills, where teachers need more understanding. In this way, language use is not transparent (St. Pierre, 2000, p. 484). There is a difference between using language as the context and purpose dictates usage. Gee (1999) explained, In fact, to be a particular who and to pull off a particular what requires that we act, value, interact, and use language in sync with or in coordination with other people and with various objects (props) in appropriate locations and at appropriate times. (p. 14) When language is not used in the appropriate context, it reveals the power inherent in its use. The language/power intersection produces structures and practices in the world where language is used differently and judged. The structure becomes apparent as language reveals cultural difference within differing cultures and contexts. Acquiring the Culture of Power in Science Science is a major force for understanding the world. Acquiring the culture of power in science comes from teaching science explicitly, especially in regards to teaching more explicitly the nature of science (Lederman, 1999; Smith & Scharmann, 1999; Bell, Lederman, & Abd-El-Khalick, 1998). Teaching the nature of science more explicitly and incorporating students home cultures, and language at the same time has great potential for allowing students to obtain the culture of power in science. As teachers become inclusive of their students cultural backgrounds, this may also mean introducing scientific knowledge that is not just the traditional, Western view of the world, but teaching science that emerges from the lived experience of students (Seiler, 2001). As

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teachers build on the language and discourse of science, they allow students to negotiate meanings for themselves through learning science concepts that connect personal experiences and science learning in meaningful ways. Mrs. Nelson attempted to connect science to the community in which she and her students live. At a recent County Commissioners meeting, discussions about the city water supply were questioned. Contaminated water was thought to contributing to a high number of African American men in the county dying prematurely. The description was given as way to understand how knowledge of science and some of our daily acts impact our lives. At a County Commissioners meeting, it was stated that [for] the black males, there is a higher death rate among the black males in Carver County than any other city in the state. And these kids dont understand that. We have a mine around here that had been dug in the land and has destroyed the water table. We have, I call them grandmommaswith the ten children living in the backyard in the trailer with septic tanks in the back yardcontaminating our water. We gleam from the same well. We are so congested here, and everybody is so congested in a little bit of area that we are hurting and killing ourselves, and these kids dont understand that. When we talk about the ecosystems, I will ask them and lead the discussion. I will ask them how many of you change your own oil, or maybe your uncles change the oil? I would say, Dont raise your hands. Then I say, How many of you know people who change their oil and then dump it in the backyard? Now, dont raise your hands! And then I will ask them, How many of you have your bathtubs and kitchen sinks and your washing machine water flowing into your backyards? Dont raise your hands. But hands will go up. I try to help them to understand science from the standpoint that it is affecting your life; it is your life. Teachers believe that science teaching is very important, and they try to make connections between science and students background. Mrs. Martin stated that learning science is not just important now. It is important that students understand basic science principles so that they can pass on knowledge to future generations.

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[Science is] very important. I remember last week in environmental science, I said, What does September 21 represent? My junior and senior level students didnt know. I feel like that there is something very wrong with that. We have people getting ready to graduate and they dont understand what March 22 or December 21 is. In my lecturing and explanation of the seasons with them, I said, You know one day and it wont be too long you all will have children. How will you explain the length of days to them? How will you explain the different seasons because kids think the sun is following them? Mommie, the sun is following me! (Laughing), or the moon is following me. We need to be able to explain that, and I think as adults we have to be able to lead our children, and they will have to be in a position where they will have to lead their kids. We will eventually get back to the earth is flat, (both laughing) you know, if it is not explained, [and] if they do not get it. Having an understanding of science is important for students to know and essential for acquiring the culture of power in science. As teachers pass on basic scientific information, it is vital that students learn it so they can teach their children. Jokingly attending to reverting back to outdated understandings of science, Mrs. Martin believes that we are doing a disservice as science teachers if students do not learn and retain fundamental scientific explanations. Modeling the use of technology and allowing students to develop an appreciation of technology are ways to assist students in developing these skills in the science classroom. For the teachers, teaching and learning science is also about providing technology skills connected to assignments done in the classroom. For some students in Mrs. Martins biology class, this approach was met with opposition, but they later developed an appreciation of how technology could enhance their learning of science. I want them to be exposed to technology. In a few years paper will be obsolete When I gave them the option of turning [their cancer reports] in on a disk, it was met with a lot of opposition, but when they saw the things I did with their work from the disk, they appreciated it. I did the initial document, but the next time theyll have to do it, and they understood, oh if we have to make copies and cut and paste all of this information onto a newsletter, it will take us three years to do

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it! So they appreciated it once I explained it to them how I would use the software to make their document. Another thing a few of them didnt have disks, so I asked them to email the information to me, and when they saw how easy it was to email their information, I think the appreciated the technology even more. I am just trying to incorporate some technology standards into their learning. Introducing technology in the science classroom through assignments and personal conversation are way to help students gain technology skills and new knowledge about advancements in science due to technology. Mrs. Nelson used examples from her childhood to explain the changing nature of scientific knowledge and technological advances. She believed that students should know about science and technology. I want to share this with kids because of the technology. I use food, for example. One of my favorite pastimes is eating, but I use examples of technology. I try to get the kids to understand that when I was growing up we had two flavors of potato chips, plain and barbeque. And now there are all of these different flavors of potato chips and it is because some guy somewhere started experimenting with flavors and tastes and textures, and now they have come up with all of these different kinds of chips. Teachers are extending the use of language in their classrooms for helping students to acquire basic scientific knowledge that emerges from their lived experiences and are providing opportunities to extend their understanding of science and technology through cultural and personal examples. Atwater (1993) encourages teachers to take advantage of the different cultural perspectives and viewpoints that exist in classrooms. Teachers have to provide opportunities for students to communicate their science understandings based upon experiences students bring with them to the classroom. It is important that teachers and students understand and use language in various ways in the science classroom for acquiring the culture of power in science. Challenges in Language Chris Weedon (1997) claimed that language is primarily used as a vehicle for enactment of power, knowledge, and meaning, all of which we communicate, produce, and reproduce within constantly changing social systems. In essence language is truly social and a site of political struggle (p. 23). In science teaching and learning, Mrs.

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Nelsons challenge is working with English as a Second Language students in her science classes. The challenge she described is developing a more sensitive nature for understanding the Hispanic students needs because they do not speak English. With my little ESOL students in here, I think that it is [just as] uncomfortable in here with them not understanding as I am with them. I dont let the kids speak Spanish in here because I dont speak Spanish. And then there are times when I let them speak Spanish, and I can pick up a word or two, so I think I am very sensitive to peoples needs, but I havent always been, but now I think I am. In Mrs. Nelsons science classes, limited language skills are barriers for her and her students. The insistence that Hispanic students speak English is emphasized because English is the language that they have to learn at school. Standard English is the primary vehicle for the transmission of knowledge (hooks, 1994, p. 173). The students are expected to use English in the classroom. With the Hispanics in this class, we are getting used to each other now. I dont allow them to tell me they cant speak English even though they may not understand every word, but I encourage them to speak English as much as possible because it is just the way it is. They have to learn it, and they have to learn how to deal with me, and they are doing a pretty good job of that. By offering an alternative way of looking at the Hispanic students in her classroom, I asked Mrs. Nelson about strategies that the students use in learning science and if they were functioning in a survival mode in order to understand science and English. I think for the most part, yes. I think they are in the survival mode, especially with the girls. With the boys, I am looking at it more as a defiant mode. Most of the boys speak English well. Most of the children speak English well, with the exception of maybe two or three of the little girls. I think the girls speak Spanish as a comfort zone. I see the boys taunting each other and maybe some of the black boys by speaking in Spanish. Being the teacher its just being rude. I tell my kids to put themselves in their place. If you were in Mexico in a class and you spoke no Spanish, how would you feel? For that reason I try to be lenient with them, and I know a lot of them will not be here for the whole year because they

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are transient students. It is definitely a mode where they feel comfortable. They hang together and they feel comfortable with that. Some of the Hispanic students in Mrs. Nelsons class resist the use of English by speaking Spanish. Differences in language present barriers to learning and understanding science not only for Mrs. Nelson but also for her students. Patricia Hill Collins (2000) proclaimed that, For those intellectuals currently privileged within hierarchical power relations, the issue of language appears to be a minor theme. As many speakers of Standard American English as a second language know, in the United States, language signifies access to or exclusion from communities of power. Not possessing the language, whether written or oral, remains a major device used to maintain boundaries between insiders and outsiders. Exclusionary language usually results in exclusionary outcomes. (pp. 57-58) Language in this classroom created tensions on the one hand for a teacher who feels uncomfortable and ineffective because she does not speak Spanish. Her Hispanic students on the other hand find security within their own cultural group where they speak Spanish against the norm. At the same time boundaries between the two have to be negotiated in order for students to learn and for this teacher to teach science for understanding. Some of the Hispanic students are excluded from full participation in learning science by choosing to be resistant to speaking English. It is understandable that they would be resistant to speaking the dominant language at the expense of neglecting their cultural identity. Their behaviors are similar to enslaved Africans who would regain their personal power within a context of domination by establishing a communal language community and creating the political solidarity necessary to resist an enslaved status (hooks, 1994, p. 170). Language as an enactment of power, knowledge, meaning, and cultural identity is situated in science classrooms where there are different languages between teachers and students. Weedon (1997) advocated, Resistance to the dominant at the level of the individual subject is the first stage in the production of alternative forms of knowledge, or where such alternatives already exist, of winning individuals over to these discourses and gradually increasing their social power (pp. 107-08). The teacher has to learn strategies

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in order to win resistant students over to learning science in ways that do not exclude their home cultures, similar to ways in which African American students home cultures, experiences, and knowledge are highlighted in learning science (Seiler, 2001). Language Discussion Language opens up the everyday lived experiences and daily teaching practices of three African American science teachers. True to form in poststructural critiques of language, language provides a vehicle that reveals the power relations in how it is used and who has access to it. Poststructural theories of language allow us to understand how knowledge, truth, and subjects are produced in language and cultural practice as well as how they might be reconfigured (St. Pierre, 2000, p. 486). In the cases of Mrs. Martin and Mr. ONeal language is used to understand experiences in learning science, teaching science, and advancing professional credentials. In these cases, language is considered to be both a constraint and an opportunity for their professional development as science teachers. They try to uphold some form of openness in their own classrooms for teaching science by using relevant and cultural examples. However this openness in learning science can be understood as both a means to access power in terms of scientific understanding in order to pass tests or in terms of achieving specific goals for their own professional development. As teachers build on the discourse of science, they allow students to negotiate meanings for themselves through learning science concepts that connect to personal experiences and in ways that allow students to use their own language for acquiring the culture of power. As Lisa Delpit (1995) explains there are five aspects of the culture of power12 (p. 24). Two of them are relevant to a discussion of language: The rules of the culture of power are a reflection of the rules of the culture of those who have power, and If you are not already a participant in the culture of power, being told explicitly the rules of that culture makes acquiring power easier (p. 24). If students are not taught explicitly the codes or rules, or science language and discourse, they will not be successful in learning and communicating science according to the dominant discourse evident in science. By not teaching the rules or codes, especially in the case of the Hispanic students in Mrs. Nelsons science classes, her limited English-speaking students are further marginalized in learning and speaking science. The point is not to eliminate students home

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languages, but rather to add other voices and discourses to their repertoires (Delpit, 1995, p. 163). Audre Lorde (2000) stated, For in order to survive, those of us for whom oppression is as american as apple pie have always had to be watchers, to become familiar with the language and manners of the oppressor, even sometimes adopting them for some illusion of protection (p. 503). Thus in order to participate fully in the culture of power, a necessary first step is learn explicitly its structure, discursive practices, and language. This is true of the National Board process for teachers and for the teaching of science to students of color, otherwise not knowing the rules and discourse continues to marginalize and exclude teachers and students from acquiring the language and culture of power. Edwards and Miller (2000) declared that, Disciplinary boundaries demarcate what is considered to be knowledge within particular domains and the criteria by which claims are established as true or false, legitimate or illegitimate (p. 128). The National Board Certification process with all of its good intentions nevertheless is perceived as holding the language/power as a category to mark what is false or illegitimate knowledge. When analyzing language from a poststructural perspective, social structures and the effects of language on individuals are recognized. Language, which is closely connected to power relations and knowledge, is tentative, partial, and constantly shifting (Ropers-Huilman, 1998). Meaning is situated, social, and cultural, making the partiality and inconsistency in language the result of different and conflicting social and cultural values (Gee, 1999). These differences come from varied experiences and meanings we make of them. Because there are differences in social and cultural values, language reveals power relations. The final theme within poststructural theory for this study is difference. In the difference chapter feminist poststructuralism and adult education are discussed. An argument is made for looking at science teachers as adult learners and designing professional development opportunities that touch on their varied experiences in learning, teaching, and professional growth.

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CHAPTER 10 FINDINGS AND DISSCUSSION: DIFFERENCE AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT Introduction Its scary, but I will probably be cheerleading coach until I die. They say, do you want to retire? I dont know. Sometimes I feel old; sometimes I dont feel old. Most of the time I dont feel old though. In my mind something tells me that I shouldnt be teaching these children, but I think I relate to them pretty good. (Mrs. Nelson) In this final chapter issues such as race, class, gender, and age in connection with teachers experiences and professional development are explored. In setting up this chapter around difference and positionality (race, class, gender, age), the teachers are reintroduced. Teachers as adult learners with similar and different experiences and needs for professional development situate them within a particularly unique context for opening up opportunities for professional development that are inclusive of these experiences and the contexts in which they teach. Mrs. Martin Entering Teaching Mary Rogers and C.D. Grant (2002) stated that, Much of our diversity comes down to one or several socially constructed ways we have been differentiated from one another as subordinated members of society. Most of us are subordinated in multiple ways (p. 85). As we think about how we are subordinated in society, social markers such as race, class, gender, and age provide a context for understanding experiences and highlighting difference. Mrs. Martin had early connections to education. She grew up in a family where several members were in various fields of education. Many of her relatives worked with

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children or worked in educational settings. She worked for a short time as a substitute teacher after graduating from college. I finished undergraduate, and I worked as a substitute teacher, trying to decide what I would do with my biology degree. After not being able to find a job, and being raised with teachers, I went into teaching. My mother is; my aunts are. Basically everyone on my mothers side of the family, even cousins, we all have our finger in education. We have daycare owners, teacher aides, and teachers, cafeteria workersjust everything was school in my development and growth. With some more questioning into the history of her family of educators and what prompted her to choose a career in education, Mrs. Martin explained that entering education was natural or an expected course to take in keeping with her family tradition of educators. I learned that my grandmothers grandfather was a principal in Mt. Olive, North Carolina. You heard of Mt. Olive? Thats where theyre from. Someone got sick, and my grandmothers mother came and she married and lived in [this state]. I really dont know what she did, but her offspring all did something in education. So I thought that was interesting. At one point I said, How dare I think that I could do something else other than what my family has been doing forever! So I just think it is just a part of us. I cant explain it. Mrs. Martins uncertainty in explaining why she went into teaching can be described as the discourse of teaching as womens true profession which situates women to enter teaching because of womens propensity towards nurturing (Walkerdine, 1990). In Mrs. Martins case, she has several female relatives as examples to support that it is natural for women to go into teaching. According to Patricia Carter (1992) teaching was considered to be womens true profession as a natural extension of womens nurturing capacities. Even though Mrs. Martin had a long family history of teaching, she still was not sure if teaching was something that she really wanted to do. Age, Class, Family, and Professional Development Having suffered many life-altering events in her family, Mrs. Martin graduated from college later than she planned. She was discouraged because she could not find a job immediately after graduation. She attempted to find a job in different areas but could

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not secure one. In her explanation of her experiences leading to a career in education, race, class, age, and family issues were described. I came into teaching at a time where I was older. I went to school to be a pharmacist, and in my senior year several things didnt work. So I found myself just crazy. I had extra things going on; my parents were divorcing; my dad had just had brain tumor surgery; later my parents were divorcing after twenty-two years of marriage. There were a lot of things throughout my college career, even though I went straight into pharmacy [school] that culminated and resulted in me not graduating. So I came out of college instead of being twenty-four, I was twenty-seven, twenty-eight, with a child who was one or two. So that meant I had to find a job, which was difficult. I thought that I would get a job as a drug representative; that didnt happen. I felt that I could come into teaching in my county; that didnt happen. Then I said, let me go back and finish pharmacy school, and that didnt happen. That added three more years on. So I found myself being thirty and not really having a job. By being older when she entered into teaching, Mrs. Martin took her career in education seriously. Still additional factors such as family and economics played a key role in her decision to become a teacher. Being an older person and without a stable job, Mrs. Martin developed a serious attitude toward her career. The adjustment of attitude and change in behavior were necessary in order to stay motivated and to secure a teaching position in Carver County School District. Her professional development efforts focused on doing what she had to do in order to maintain her teaching position. So when I came into teaching, my attitude was different. I had to work in survival mode if I were going to survive. So whatever my superiors said that I needed to do to get this job, that was what I did. And that was my approach, okay. I needed a job. I needed to pay my student loans back. So as a result, I dont have time to poke and cry, and say I dont like this and that. So early on in my career I had to make the decision [that] if I want to keep this job, I need to do whatever the state said to do to keep this job, and to comply with what the district says to do to keep this job. Not that my children were impoverished or anything, but you know, you have to do certain things. Now that I had a family, I had to do certain things. I

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did not have a lot of options to say, I am not going to this workshop, or I am not doing this professional development workshop. I made the decision early on that whatever it took I would do it in order to be self-sufficient. So thats where a lot of my drive originated. Prior to getting tenure in the school district, Mrs. Martin adopted a survival type mode toward her professional development. In order to survive and to care for her family as a single mother, she did whatever the state and Carver County School District required of her to do. By having few options, she decided that being self-sufficient was a priority, and if that meant abiding by state and district requirements to become tenured, then she did it. Since Mrs. Martin has secured a tenured position in Carver County School District, she feels more at ease and sure that teaching is a career that she wants. Her approach to teaching and professional development is centered on becoming a professional and being seen as a professional in the sight of students, parents, and administration. The way she views her career and professional development are associated with presenting herself as a professional. The approach to my profession took a change because now that I have secured a position my attitude or approach to teaching changed. I went from okay I dont need this professional development workshop or learning opportunity to keep a job. I have a job. This is the meat of it. I am just thinking of it myself. I need to be in position where I am taken serious, where students take me serious, and the parents take me serious, and where my administration takes me serious. I made the decision to do certain things where I would not be viewed as some fly-bynight teacher that would be here today and gone tomorrow. But initially it was based on some personal things like the car note, the mortgage. I was very motivated for family reasons, just to secure my position. Mrs. Martin initially entered teaching based on some very personal reasons. Her professional development as a teacher concentrated on attending workshops and sessions in order to keep her position in the district. After receiving tenure, her focus was not on doing whatever it took to keep her job but rather options opened up for her to engage in

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professional development opportunities that would enhance her career. She wants to be seen as a professional. Mrs. Nelson Entering Teaching It was expected that students from Carver County who attended college and graduated would either return home or move elsewhere and start working. Mrs. Nelson was born and raised in Carver County and attended King University. She stated, You just didnt go to school. You went to school; you got out; you started working. After graduating from college, she taught for one year as a Home Economics teacher at Carver Middle School. However, in order to secure her teaching job for the next year, she agreed to take certification courses to teach science. My certification is in Vocational Home Economics and Middle School Sciences, 6-9 grades. The first year I taught I taught Home Economics, all the teachers in Carver County School District [were] funded, and I taught at the Middle School and every home economics teacher was white. And the next year in order to keep a job I had to certify in science because there was no opening in Home Economics, so I got certified in middle grade sciences which was the area I needed the least number of classes. That was twenty years ago. Mrs. Nelson was the only African American Home Economics teacher in Carver County School District in the early 1980s. Her position was faded out after her first year. In order to keep a position with the school district, she had to teach science. Science was an area she needed the least number of certification credits. With changes in school placement and student enrollment, and not having sufficient number of science teachers, Mrs. Nelson eventually started teaching science and developed an interest in the subject. Once I started working in the science field, I was happy with just a certification in the middle school sciences. So the first couple of years I worked I taught middle school, 6th and 7th grade sciences. The next year the state incorporated a class called Life Management Skills for graduation. I was moved to Carver Middle School to teach the 9th grade Life Management Skills. And then two years later, the 9th grade moved to Carver High School, and when I came here at Carver High, I was maintaining the Life Management Skills class and teaching Home

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Economics, and then I started picking up science classes because of increased 9th grade enrollment here. And over the years I have [developed] interests full scale. Science teachers have come and gone and have not been in place and now I am to a point where I like science. Becoming a science teacher was not Mrs. Nelsons initial plan. Due to funding and changes in school enrollment, she taught Earth Science and eventually developed a strong interest in teaching it. Over the years Mrs. Nelson was assigned more science classes. At the same time she taught Home Economics and Life Skills. She developed deeper interests in science teaching as opportunities to teach additional Earth Science classes occurred. She taught one Home Economics class last year (2001-02) along with six classes of Earth Science. This year (2002-03) she has only Earth Science classes. Age, Class, Family, and Professional Development For professional development, Mrs. Nelson is considering returning to school. First she has to consider how returning to school will impact her family, and the timing has to be right. The delay too is connected to the age of her daughter and the financial burden it may cost her family if she decided to return to school. Well, Felicia, I sat down one day last week [November 22, 2002 interview] and said, No, I cant continue [to teach]. I have eight years left before 30 years, actually seven. I am working on year 22 now. Seven years left before Ive taught school 30 years. In seven years my daughter will only be 13 years old. So I dont think I will be able to go out in retirement and afford our lifestyle, like I know our lifestyle should be. (Laughing) So I am looking at maybe teaching at least four more years until Britney reaches high school, and then at that point, I still cant retire on what I am making for teachers. Mrs. Nelson has taught for more than twenty years and feels that her time in the classroom is drawing to an end. She is thinking about going back to school to get a Masters Degree in Educational Leadership, but she considers the financial strain it may have on her family. While thinking about returning to school, she has friends, whom she considers to be older role models and examples in administration, to help her think about her options.

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I need to go back to school and get a Masters degree so that I can become an administrator, not a guidance counselor, something completely different from that. Miss Owens, my principal, and I have had an assistant principal that I worked with three or four years ago, and she is a friend of mine, and we are in contact with each other almost every week, and shes my role model, and shes an older lady, a straight edge, and when she asks you for a report, she knows just what and how she want it, and you follow her guidelines. She is cool. She retired in 1997, and Ive not had anybody like that since then, except Miss Owens, my present principal. When I had my interview with Miss Owens I was telling her that this lady was my role model, and she knows this lady also, and shes worked with this lady too, and I tease the other lady that Miss Owens is trying to out do you, but my goal is to be as super as she is, as Miss Owens is too. Both of these women are dynamic women. Both are very organized and timely. They are organized and really sharp with it. They are statistical nuts and can ramble off stats like it aint nothing to it, and thats where I see myself. Mrs. Nelson has admiration for her present principal and a former administrator. She envisions a future in administration, and her plans are to become just as proficient, organized, and super as her two mentors. Mrs. Nelsons sees her past administrator and current principal as good examples of exemplary leadership. She respects these women and can see herself in an administrative role. She is considering leaving the classroom to become an administrator. As she discussed more of her professional development plans, Mrs. Nelson admitted that her daughters age and her role models were not the only reasons for her desire to leave the classroom. She confessed that her age is a major factor. She realized this at a cheerleaders party that was held after school. One of the cheerleaders discovered Mrs. Nelsons age. Yesterday we had a little party for cheerleaders in my home ec[onomics] room. One little girl was looking at a trophy that we had gotten the very first year I coached cheerleaders. I was so happy as cheerleading coach, and I had the kids who won spirit sticks at camp, and it was a little trophy that they get for keeping spirit throughout camp for three to four days. So I came back with my spirit

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sticks for my varsity and junior varsity squads. I had them put on a plaque and identified the year. But the little girl was looking at it yesterday, and she said, 1988! I said, Yeah, Ive been coaching cheerleaders since 1988, about 15 years. Well, I knew 15 years; you say the years, but you dont go back and say, Well, since 19 so-and-so [that Ive been coaching cheerleaders]. She said, I was born July something, 1988! I was going, God, I have been coaching cheerleaders that long! This child wasnt even born when I started coaching cheerleaders, and it seems since yesterday [when I started coaching]. Its scary, but I will probably be cheerleading coach until I die. When students ask her about her plans to retire, Mrs. Nelson is not certain when that will happen. Her age and thinking about the number of years she has taught weighs on her mind. They say do you want to retire. I dont know. Sometimes I feel old; sometimes I dont feel old. Most of the time I dont feel old though. In my mind something tells me that I shouldnt be teaching these children, but I think I relate to them pretty good. I really do because I dont use words like I taught your mother. I dont paint myself like that, and I dont date my expectations of them as to what their parents were like, or their brother or sister, or cousins were like. In that aspect I think that I can hang. Though she loves her job and responsibilitiesteaching science and working with the cheerleadersMrs. Nelson sometimes feels that because of her age and the number of years she has taught, it may be time to think about her options. She is thinking about retirement from classroom teaching and going back to school to become an administrator. Sometimes she feels the strain of being an older teacher, and after two decades of teaching, this is sufficient time to think about leaving the classroom. As I said I am getting too old to teach these children. I taught their mothers. I got to get out of this classroom. I got to get out of the classroom because these kids are going to drive me bonkers, and after three or four generations of children you should not be in the classroom because you are not able to reach the children. You know the little boy said this morning he appreciated the ancient history lesson, okay.

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Though she takes the teasing from her students concerning her age in stride, Mrs. Nelson plays with ideas of leaving the classroom and going back to school. Her desire to return to school is also connected to personal goals and achievement. Going back to school and earning an advanced degree brings with it a certain amount of power and prestige. Obtaining a graduate degree will give her a certain amount of self-confidence. There is a certain factor that makes you want to have every kind of titles, and you want to prove that you are, I dont want to say as good as, [but] that you can do it. I mean, I am a very competitive person, and I like to do whatever somebody else is doing. I dont want to think that I cannot do that; that I cannot succeed. It is a personal goal of mine. It looks good. It looks good to say that you are a professional and you have as many professional degrees as you want to have. The BS [Bachelors of Science degree] is good, very good. I am lucky to have those, but my father had a Masters. He had a Masters at a time when black men didnt go to school, so it is like a personal goal of mine. Mrs. Nelson feels the strain of being a veteran teacher of more than twenty years in the classroom. Students joke lovingly with her about her age. One student said that her examples were like ancient history lessons. Most of the time, she loves the interactions with the students, especially her cheerleaders, then at other times she thinks about the number of years she has dedicated to teaching and thinks of options of leaving the classroom and entering into administration. Her age, the age of her daughter, her financial situation, and deciding when it is an appropriate time to return to school are issues she contends with as she thinks about leaving the classroom. Her father, who aspired to higher education at a time when it was not usual for a Black man to hold a Masters degree, and her dynamic African American female administrators serve as strong examples who have overcome challenges in order to obtain professional status. Race and Learning In reference to the five epistemological ways of knowing13 described by Belenky, et al. (1986), and Tarule, et al. (1996), Bing and Reid (1996) stated that, It remains important to deconstruct these ways of knowing by examining the differences that occur across racial and class lines, and understanding how the different types of knowing may appear when placed in culturally dissimilar context in that women and people of

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color have had to create a different voiceones that are contextually determined (p. 192). In other words, we deconstruct ways that we know based upon race and class, while recognizing that the different ways of knowing change as our context changes. For her senior year in college, Mrs. Nelson had to leave King University to attend the State University. Being thrown into an environment where she did not feel nurtured, and not having African American teachers there to encourage her, had a profound effect on her. She was resistant to any kind of opportunities that the State University could offer. My entire senior year we are talking about three to four teachers per semester, and three quarters, so about nine teachers. I did not have one black teacher, not even one. When I came to the State University in the home economics department, it was the time they were trying to merge King University and the State University, so I actually transferred to the State University my senior year, and it was a lot of resentment at the time. I was at King and didnt want to go to State. I wanted King, and we felt like we were being forced to attend a school we had not chosen. So going to State with white teachers and white classmates wasnt something that I was ready for back in 1980. The resentment of having to attend a predominantly white university was something that Mrs. Nelson and some of her classmates felt. By having to leave King University, she left a nurturing and supportive environment where she had all African American instructors. By resisting the move to State, Mrs. Nelson could not appreciate or take advantage of what the program or the university had to offer her. She was not receptive to the change, or the teaching that was going on over there. She felt overwhelmed at times. I dont know if the knowledge was as different as my mindset was. My mind was so wharped then, I dont know if I could see any knowledge specifically at State. I saw that the department was structured. King University was also structured, but there were some humanistic qualities about those structures at King even among those as structured as structured could get. The classes at State seemed to be thrown at me. It seemed to be a lot of knowledge thrown at me a lot of times. As she reflected more about her situation at State University, Mrs. Nelson views the situation as a missed opportunity. Being an African American student at a

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predominantly white university could have afforded her certain privileges. Now Mrs. Nelson is more conscious of privilege that comes from being an African American student at the State University. I felt so uncomfortable. I was only there for one week in the dorm. I transferred back to King and was taking my senior courses still at State. So I commuted back and forth for one year. I think now if I had to do it [attend State], it would be different. I know that there is a great heritage at King University, and that was not what we felt at the State University. At the time I think it was that more than anything the department wanted to do well. And now I can understand I can get some money from the State University. I can fill a quota. I would look at it a whole lot differently now. Thinking more about what she was giving up by leaving King University, Mrs. Nelson did not realize that as an African American woman at State University that she was in a position to receive financial assistance and other benefits. She did not take advantage of her race and class in this new context of being at the predominantly white State University. Some women derive benefits from their race and class position, yet their relatively privileged positions within hierarchies of race, class, and the global political economy intersect to create for them an expanded range of opportunities, choices, and ways of living (Zinn, Hondagneu-Sotelo, & Messner, 2000, p. 6). The expanded range of choices and opportunities however were not realized for Mrs. Nelson until years later. Now as she reflects on her senior year and that experience, she sees the privilege and possibilities in attending the State University as a minority student. Mr. ONeal (Re)Entering Teaching Mr. ONeal was fired from his first teaching job. A former student who knew he needed a job introduced him to her brother. This connection initiated a career for Mr. ONeal in selling insurance. The prospect of making more money in insurance than in teaching was an appealing proposal that he could not afford to dismiss. A student knew that I was looking for a job, and her brother sold insurance with Prudential. They were looking for prospects. He came and interviewed me. I went [to the corporate office] and interviewed with people and got a job. At the

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time they told me I could make more money than teaching. And I did. I made $11,800 my second year teaching. I made $15,400 and something my first year selling insurance. So that made sense. Mr. ONeal returned to teaching after spending sixteen years in the insurance business. (He still sells insurance.) His decision to return to teaching was a decision based on personal reasons, such as a divorce and his physical health. A divorce, financial issues, it was just more advantageous for me to sale my business and pay bills off and do what the courts demanded me to do without stressing myself out. My blood pressure was 195/105. I needed to make a choice. It was a lot of stress, and to relieve my stress, I sold my business, paid my bills off, and then got into another career. Mr. ONeal (re)entered teaching after working in insurance for many years. Because of his divorce and other personal reasons, returning to education was a comfortable fit for him because he had taught previously, and teaching was [his] first major job. Making a choice to return to the classroom was also a matter of finding a less stressful job after his divorce. He needed to restructure his life and support his family. Age, Race, Gender and Teaching Mr. ONeal experiences age from a different perspective than from Mrs. Nelson or Mrs. Martin. While teaching at the Community College, he sees that his age influences how students see him and how he interacts with them. I teach black and white kids, and I have to be able to see both sides of the coin. They may be looking at me some of them thrilled, because it is not easy for them to accept the fact that here I am a black teacher, and I guess my youthfulness confuses them about my age because they do not know what I have experienced, how long I have been here on earth, so they have no idea that I am 46 years old, so the experiences that I share with them sometimes they feel like, Where did you get that kind of thing from?I have to deal with that and I have to be conscious of the jokes I may crack or the statements I may make. And at the same time, I see it is still somewhat prejudice.

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Because of his youthful appearance, Mr. ONeal has to contend with students not expecting or believing that he is a competent Black man with experiences from which they can learn. By being the only African American male instructor at a predominantly White community college his credibility as a science teacher is often questioned. They will ask me but they will not believe what is on page 47. Read it for yourself, because they dont think that I have read it either, I guess or whatever. It is obvious that they havent. Brown, Cervero, & Johnson-Bailey (2000) stated that society is inundated with power relationships based on gender, ethnic, and racial differences (p. 275). In their study of female African American mathematics teachers of adult education classrooms, they found that the teachers positionality affected their experiences in the classroom, and how students perceived them as teachers. Positionality raises issues of credibility and competence for male and female teachers of color. Educational Obituary In the final taped conversation teachers were asked one question that I felt would get at the heart of their teaching. The question was, If you could write your educational obituary, how would you want students to remember you? I was not sure what the teachers would say, but I was curious to know what they thought of themselves, their practices, and what legacy they wanted to leave behind. Following are their responses: Mrs. Martin: Oh. (Thinking) I would say that I left my flowers at this school that I taught, literally. The courtyard is full of flowers that my classes have planted. I would say that students come in one way and leave out better science-wise. And they generally enjoyed my classes. She was an innovative, creative teacher. Thats what I would say. Mrs. Nelson: If I had to write an educational obituary, [long pause] I think I would want to be remembered as a person whom everybody knew. I would just leave it at that, and I would let people fill in what they knew, okay. The reason I say that is that I do bump into kids in the area that Ive taught and havent taught. The young man at the filling station where I get my gas from, he was speaking to me the other day, and I said when did I teach you? And he called me Miss Grant, and when he does that I try to age him. You wouldnt have known that Ive been

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married eight years. He said, you didnt teach me, but I finished school back in 1974 and everybody knew Miss Grant. So I would like to be remembered as the person that everybody knows, and I will let them fill in that part of the obituary. I think I would have that written on my obituary, Ann LaFaye Grant Nelson, the Teacher That Everybody Knew. What do you want to remember knowing about Mrs. Nelson? Mr. ONeal: Someone who loved students, who really enjoyed doing what Im doing. I really like teaching. Someone who cared, regardless of how a student acted, I always gave him a second chance. I would like to be considered knowledgeable in my field, who knows what he is doing, and able to relate to others really well, always doing that extra something to help someone along the way. Difference Discussion The three African American science teachers in this study support the idea that, There are no universal teachers but, rather, there are teachers whose experiences are affected positively or negatively by their positionality in society (Brown, Cervero, & Johnson-Bailey, 2000, p. 286). The idea that there is no universal teacher or no generic teacher (Tisdell, 1998) is what feminist poststructural theory attempts to highlight in an understanding of difference and diversity. Magda Gere Lewis (1993) explained that it is difficult to think of one common experience that many share, but rather by looking at both individual and collective aspects we begin to understand individuals better. Lewis further acknowledged that: While it is important not to reduce every particular individual to the collective of which they happen to be a part, at the same time, however, we cannot shrink away from uncovering those forms of social relations that mark and brutalize, forms that continue to perpetuate oppressive and hurtful experiences. (p. 13) As we understand the individual and the collective aspects of experience, we understand how power, knowledge, language, and difference affect, construct, deconstruct, and make clearer power relations and their effects on individual and collective development. For example, Audre Lorde (2000) stated that,

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Those of us who stand outside that power often identify one way in which we are different, and we assume that to be the primary cause of all oppression, forgetting all other distortions around difference, some of which we ourselves may be practicing. (p. 4) In other words, individuals are not the construction of just gender, or just race, but have multiple positions that intersect and create for them their perception of the world and their individual subjectivities. Poststructural approaches propose that differences are constructed by complex and continual interactions that occur between languages, knowledges, and power constructions of diverse groups (Ropers-Huilman, 1998, p. 118). In feminist poststructural understanding of difference, attempts are made to understand how the individual as a product and social actor within existing systems of power and social hierarchies is constructed. At the same time, consciousness of both convergences and divergences requires resisting either / or categories that exaggerate group differences (Rogers & Garrett, 2002, p. 83). The differences in the three teachers of this study reveal how diverse they are and at the same time how akin they are in their life experiences, teaching, and professional development. For example, Race affects all women and men, although in different ways (Zinn & Dill, 2000, p. 25). As an African American male, Mr. ONeals race and gender constructed a man who had to contend with power relations at a predominantly White community college on a daily basis. This was confounded by age in that students questioned his authority in the classroom because he looked younger than 47 years of age. Age for Mrs. Nelson becomes an issue as she thinks about her future in education. After twenty-two years in the classroom, her age and the age of her daughter (6 years) together create a situation where Mrs. Nelson is thinking about her options for a career in administration. The skills she has acquired by being science department chair have given her a foundation for leadership. Mrs. Martin in beginning her career in teaching initially did what was required of her because of her age. Considering herself an older teacher, she developed a serious attitude toward teaching so that she could support her family. Age in this sense was an additional motivator for her to be a successful teacher. Race became an issue for Mrs. Nelson, who attended the State University not on her own will but due to university policies and restructuring, she was forced to leave the

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nurturing environment of the predominantly Black King University, to go across the tracks to take classes at the State University. By being at State, she did not feel that she had any power or choices. Thus the focus on race from these three teachers stories stresses the social construction of differently situated social groups and their varying degrees of advantage and power (Zinn & Dill, 2000, p. 25). Weedon (1997) remarked, Although the subject in poststructuralism is socially constructed in discursive practices, she none the less exists as a thinking, feeling subject and social agent, capable of resistance and innovations. She is also a subject able to reflect upon the discursive relations which constitute her and the society in which she lives, and able to choose from the option available (p. 121). Thus race, gender, and age affect women and men in different ways. The three teachers offer different descriptions of the legacy they would leave. The educational obituary highlights some major differences in the way they see themselves as teachers and how they imagine students and others viewing them. For example, Mrs. Martin wants to leave behind a physical presence at Carver High School, literally, leaving flowers and plants around the school. Her Environmental Science classes are partly responsible for upkeep of the school grounds. She and her students have planted flowers, trees, and bushes around campus. She was correct in describing herself as an innovative teacher. She tried to offer students different opportunities to engage in science inside and outside the classroom. Mrs. Nelson, taking on many of the qualities of her father, whom I did not know but could imagine by working with his daughter, was a busy teacher. She was always doing something, such as organizing, planning, and overseeing. People knew her on campus and around the community. In the classroom, she has excellent classroom management skills. Her students entered the classroom orderly and were expected to be in their seats before the tardy bell. She taught cousins, mothers and daughters, fathers and sons. Although not specifically saying how she wanted to be remembered, she left it up to individuals to remember her in their own way. I think this comes from being involved in so many aspects of the school and community that it was hard to be pinpoint one or two aspects to remember from her twenty-two year teaching career.

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And finally, Mr. ONeal wanted to be remembered as a compassionate and knowledgeable teacher. Mr. ONeal always had some new knowledge that he heard from the radio or read somewhere to share with his students and me. He just completed a Masters degree at King University. He is thinking about returning to school to get a Ph.D. in Biology and to continue his research on bacteria and water contamination. I suppose if I ever needed to know something about science, I could go to him for an answer and explanation. Most of our conversations concentrated on science content, improving practices, and doing research. Therefore, the teachers in describing their educational obituaries revealed aspects of themselves, their teaching, and professional goals. The three teachers are examples of difference and diversity of life experiences, teaching, and professional development. Regarding positionality, no one aspect stands out, but all intersect to construct the individual teacher as social, historical beings. Thus gender alone does not determine superordinate or subordinate position in society (Hurtado, 1994), but race/ethnicity, class, gender, and age work simultaneously to determine privilege and oppression through difference. Feminist poststructuralism is an interesting framework to analyze individual experience as difference. Within this frame the socio-historical, the contextual, and emotional aspects of the person are inescapable. It reveals how varied and complex human experience is. Also this framework invites a re-interpretation of the notion of the universal (Brown, Cervero, & Johnson-Bailey, 200) or generic teacher (Tisdell, 1998). For this reason, professional development opportunities should focus on individual development, while addressing specific needs of teachers, while encouraging collective development between teachers that connects to student development and achievement. Minnich (1990) campaigned for looking beyond universal, totalizing conceptions of subjectivity. In this view it eliminates the universal and embraces difference. It sets the stage to think about teachers and their professional development in more specific ways. At every turn we need to resist totalizing conceptions; we need to demand more than two categories of [teachers]; we need to highlight the socially constructed, historical character of the names we call ourselves and others; we need to explore

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how those names serve elite interests at the expense of our own. We need to learn to particularize whatever and whomever we study, and then to contextualize, to historicizeto hold whatever abstractions we draw from the material of our study close to that material. (p. 71) Three teachers had very different needs based upon their past experiences and present teaching experiences as science teachers in Carver County School District. A short summary of the teachers backgrounds, their predominant professional development activities, and their future professional development goals are listed (See Table 10.1).

Table 10.1 Summary of Teachers Professional Development Plans Degree Certification, Teaching Responsibilities Mrs. Martin: Masters Education; Certification Secondary Science, grade 9-12 Mrs. Nelson: Bachelors Home Economics; Certification Middle Grade Science, grade 6-9 Mr. ONeal: Masters Biology; Certification Secondary, grade 9-12; Community College Instructor, Biology Professional Development Activities Adjunct at King University, Professional Memberships, Attends district workshops, Past Candidate for National Boards, Science Club sponsor Attends district workshops, Science department chair, Science fair coordinator Adjunct at King University, Professional Memberships, Attends state AP workshops, Past Candidate for National Boards Professional Development Goals Administration, Ph. D.

Administration

Ph. D. Science

Teachers are different, and they bring to the teaching environment various experiences that can be very beneficial for their professional development and for their students. They have different needs based again on their experiences and the teaching environment in which they work. Planning professional development activities for practicing teachers consists of knowing teachers needs, their teaching context, their

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experiences, and their goals. It is advantageous to learn more about teachers on a personal leveltheir learning experiences in science, their teaching experiences, and their teaching contexts. Knowing these aspects of teachers in Carver County and their students, professional development opportunities for science teachers can be catered to fit their particular needs and interests as science teachers and as adult learners. Difference and professional development are further explored by considering teachers as adult learners. Teachers as Adult Learners in Professional Development The essential elements of adult learningandragogy, the art and science of teaching adults or helping adults learnwas set forth in a model by Malcolm Knowles (1968, p. 351). Knowles model is critiqued by some as not a proven theory (Brookfield, 1996, p. 98), or a model that fits very comfortably with traditional educational practices (Tennant, 1992, p. 121). It is also criticized as a model that focuses on the individual learner and does not consider the sociohistorical context in which learning takes place (Grace, 1996). Nevertheless, the Knowles model of andragogy is cited quite frequently in adult learning literature. The characteristics of the model are a good starting point for discussion of science teachers as adult learners with needs that are addressed in terms of their development, teaching experiences, and teaching context. Following is a discussion of four characteristics of the Knowles model, which is supplemented with discussion and findings of the three teachers from this study. The principals are also analyzed within a feminist poststructural application of power, knowledge, language, and difference. The four principles or characteristics of adult learners in the Knowles model are: self-concept, experience, readiness to learn, and orientation to learn (Terehoff, 2002). First, self-concept is described as self-directedness to learning (Terehoff, 2002; Tennant, 1992). This involves a sense of personal freedom to learn, choice of learning, and the relevance of experience during learning (Terehoff, 2002). For example, science teachers who are independent and motivated elected to find professional development opportunities that connected to their personal interests and goals. Particularly, Mrs. Martin and Mr. ONeal would be considered self-directed learners in this sense. They

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described themselves as being motivated. Mrs. Martin stated that, I am very selfdirected, and I am motivated intrinsically, and Mr. ONeal said, When you have someone who is self motivated you should just not bother them. These teachers often initiated their own professional development plans and worked to achieve them. Being self-directed also means that adults can participate in the diagnosis of their learning needs, the planning and implementing of the learning experiences, and the evaluation of those experiences (Merriam & Caffarella, 1999, p. 273). Professional development often meant making sacrifices in time. Science teachers in Carver County School District were constrained to teach testing strategies and to prepare students for The State Comprehensive Assessment Test. Practice tests, pre- and post- assessments, and teacher-generated tests with the SCAT format were strategies teachers used. Additionally, teachers were required to complete paperwork documenting that they had completed particular activities, policies, standards and objectives. Teachers found it difficult to get time off to attend workshops. Rather than miss opportunities to learn, teachers took sick-leave time so that they could attend professional development workshops. Having a purpose in bringing back knowledge they acquired at workshops and conferences, the teachers used their new knowledge in their teaching, and enhanced, exposed, and encouraged students in learning science content and skills in different ways. At the same time, teachers increased their own knowledge of science and of themselves. As self-directed learners, teachers take the initiative and act on behalf of their own perceived needs as learners for their professional development as teachers even at the expense of taking personal time and strategically taking advance of opportunities outside of the district. Second, experience provides a rich resource for adult learning (Terehoff, 2002). Sharing and reflecting of experience between teachers or groups of teachers encourages their growth and knowledge of science and as learners. For example, the district sponsored a summer professional development field trip open to all teachers in the district, as well as education students from King University and State University. I accompanied teachers for the five-day trip to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Space Academy for Educators Camp in Huntsville, Alabama (Summer 2002). During the week we participated in astronaut simulations, group/team

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workshops, and attended a mini course at Alabama University on crystallization techniques. The local television stations have done stories with teachers and students about their continual learning and collaboration with State University scientists, NASA, and Carver County teachers. Scientists, teachers, and students are preparing crystal experiments that will eventually go into space. These crystal experiments connect real experiences with cutting edge technology in protein synthesis and space exploration. As a knowledge building, hands-on professional development opportunity, teachers gained knowledge, skills, and experiences from Space Camp. They shared knowledge and their experiences with their colleagues in the fall. Mrs. Nelson did not attend Space Camp but attended a sharing and learning session at the district office a few months after camp. State and local officials were invited to the meeting, and teachers who attended Space Camp wore their spacesuits. Mrs. Nelson attended the meeting and commented, It was good watching our peers come back and share their knowledge. They were so happy. They were so successful with going. We were happy, maybe because we got something that we could really use and do it. It made some sense to us. Being able to share knowledge with each other is recommended as it balances power relations by allowing teachers to share what they learned and to teach other teachers who did not have the privilege to attend to Space Camp. Mrs. Nelson is planning to attend Space Camp if the district has funding for another trip and if she can make arrangements with her family. She is enthusiastic about the possibility of attending Space Camp. We [teachers] are hoping that if [the district] offer[s] it early enough next year, I know that I have to arrange for a baby sitter, or maybe my husband and child can travel with me and make a vacation out of it because I would love to go to Space Camp. Powell (1996) stated that, when teachers combine diverse work experiences with related content, they develop personally constructed beliefs about how knowledge is generated and about how it is personally acquired by learners in and out of school classrooms (p. 366). Professional development opportunities that encourage this type of knowledge building are accomplished through collaboration, professional networks

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inside schools and across school boundaries, and in partnerships with scientists. These opportunities build a professional culture that focuses collective energy on student and teacher learning (Loucks-Horsley & Matsumoto, 1999). Professional development in this way helps teachers to generate knowledge and use it within their own classrooms. Thus capitalizing on teachers experiences and knowledge provides a rich source for adult learning. Third, the readiness to learn characteristic is based upon developmental level (Terehoff, 2002). Mr. ONeal spoke specifically about being receptive to learn and having a desire to improve his science teaching and self. Readiness implies an internal state of psychological readiness to undertake self-directed learning (Merriam & Caffarella, 1999, p. 307). Additionally Knowles (1980) described readiness as a teachable moment (p. 51). The teachable moment is centered on developmental tasks that a teacher is ready to experience depending upon the individual needs and interests of the adult learner during a particular developmental stage (Terehoff, 2002; Knowles, 1980). Professional development that allows science teachers to receive feedback from each other on ideas, to share diverse perspectives, knowledge, and expertise, and to communicate their knowledge is suggested. These methods help teachers to fulfill their needs and further develop their interests as science teachers. These types of professional development opportunities are community-centered in which teachers work together and provide each other with feedback (Loucks-Horsley & Matsumoto, 1999). Lieberman (1995) remarked that teachers need opportunities to talk publicly about their work and to participate in decisions about their practices. The language of power, discourses and discursive practices of science, and ways to increase knowledge, teaching and learning of science more effectively are recommended as areas to pursue in science teacher professional development. The teachers in the study would benefit greatly from professional development activities that permit them to share their knowledge, experiences, and expertise especially for communicating strategies that addresses their particular student body in Carver County School District. This can be accomplished through team teaching and team meetings between departments or academic subjects. The goal of this sort of communication is to empower teachers through a professional community (Loughran & Gunstone, 1997) that

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supports one another and creates a shared sense of community for teacher and student development. A shared sense of community produces a language and knowledge base that emerges from the teachers in Carver County School District. The fourth principle is of Knowles model of adult learning is orientation to learning. Adult learners view education as a process for improving life skills so that they can cope with lifes problems (Knowles, 1980, p. 53). A problem-centered approach to learning is connected to the reflective nature of teaching and learning. A number of studies in education (Brookfield, 2002; Edwards & Miller, 2000; Rust, 1999; Schwarz, 2001; Wood, 2000) and science education (Feldman, 2002; Loughran & Gunstone, 1997; van Zee & Roberts, 2001) address the issue of reflective teaching. Reflective teachers look at things they might not have noticed before: some of their own values and commitments, collegial relationships, the ways that evaluation and other teaching practices favour some students over others, and so on (Elbaz-Luwisch, 1997, p. 75). Providing opportunities for reflective practice allows teachers to examine the effects of power and marginalization on their teaching practices (Nee-Benham & Dudley, 1997, p. 80). A reflective teacher with an orientation to learn will be willing to focus on power relations within her teaching practices that hinder or promote student learning and will be willing to make critical changes for teacher and student development. Mrs. Martin declared that the teachers have to do a lot of work especially with having this cloud of F over them as a low performing school. Teachers have to document to make sure that the kids come from out of this F. In Carver County School District, the context within which adults learn is an essential component in the learning process (Caffarella & Merriam, 2000). Reflective teaching is extended not only to prepare for state tests but also to think about ways to critically reflect on teaching methods, how science is taught, and how to engage all students more effectively in learning science. In the midst of all the state mandates and accountability policies that have been implemented in the schools, science teaching and learning and science teacher professional development cannot be overlooked. Tennant and Pogson (1995) stated that learning should be an active process where adult learners (teachers) are continually trying to understand and to make sense of their experiences. As they make sense of their experiences, adults often find themselves in

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situations where others around them determine what is worth knowing and how that knowledge should be used. In the case of Carver County School District this is precisely what is occurring. Teachers have few opportunities to teach what they think students should know and learn. They have few opportunities to impart their teacher knowledge gained from past experiences in teaching and learning science because they must adhere to state and district mandates that monopolize a great deal of planning and instructional time. Teachers have few opportunities to make decisions for themselves that impact school policy, student learning, and science teaching. What is challenging for the teachers in Carver County is to break free of the structures that bind and constrain them, such as state and district enforcement of policies for passing the State Comprehensive Assessment Test. Documentation of activities and completion of teaching and student portfolios are deemed as necessary measures for pulling Parks and Carver High Schools out of their F status. Still breaking through structures does not have to be as difficult as some might be envision. A look at how to incorporate poststructural frames of reference into teacher development for teacher empowerment, teacher education, and teacher professional development are encouraged. Poststructuralism in Teacher Education and Teacher Professional Development Kevin Kumashiro (2001) advocated for anti-oppressive educational research and theory, which he called posts perspectives (such as postmodernist, poststructuralist, and postcolonialist), in education. He discussed an application of the posts perspectives in three areas of teacher education, i.e. instruction in academic areas, preparation for lesson planning, and supervision of student teaching experiences. Many of his arguments for posts perspectives in teacher education are applicable for science teacher professional development. For example, by assisting teachers to look beyond the official knowledge that is required of them to teach by state and district mandates, teachers learn to critically analyze what this knowledge is and how it became knowledge. In other words, this involves teachers not only to think [scientifically], but also to think about [science] differently (p. 10). It involves teachers thinking about how science marginalizes students and how to create ways to engage them in learning science differently.

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Second, professional development should look at ways of assisting teachers to think about lesson planning as a reflective process that recognizes the individualities of their students. In this way lessons are tailored to their students interests, cultural backgrounds, and experiences. Third, supervision involves focusing on what is said/visible and what is not said/visible in the classroom (p. 10). This moves beyond looking at obvious classroom behaviors, such as subject matter knowledge and student responses. For those working with teachers in their classrooms as in my case, discussions along the lines of what was not included in the curriculum or state standards, what happened in the classroom that was unintentional, or how does the science curriculum bias some perspectives and marginalizes others are explored. The supervisor or researcher asks questions about how the lesson or particular classroom practices marginalizes or privileges different students, or how different groups of students were marginalized or privileged in invisible, unobservable ways. Supervision is much more than looking; it is seeing. A more critical eye is developed for teachers and supervisors. The posts perspectives offer very viable alternatives for looking at science teacher education in Carver County School District. Posts perspectives connect adequately with teacher professional development for science teachers in Carver County: In what ways are the state and district requirements marginalizing science teachers? What unintentional effects are all the requirements having on teachers and their abilities to teach science? In what ways can these effects be minimized for science teachers? In what ways are teachers enacting similar marginalized practices of the status quo onto their students through their teaching of science? The posts perspectives, and especially poststructuralism, address these questions and coincide with Popkewitz and Brennans application of power as deployment, or power as it affects individual and collective subjectivity. A post perspective in essence focuses on certain practices through which power circulates. In Carver County it is through policies and through teachers particular teaching style and methods. Power also in this sense disrupts knowledge/power relationships through making more visible systems of ideas, policies, and behaviors (Popkewitz & Brennan, 1998). Using a post perspective such as poststructuralism in science teacher education

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and science teacher professional development is one way to facilitate teacher empowerment through opportunities that promote knowledge building and critical reflection of teaching practices, science curriculum, and the teaching environment. These areas emphasize power relations and the effects of power in science teaching and learning. Teachers are not universal or generic teachers as previously discussed. The particular context in which teachers work, the issues they contend with on a daily basis, and the students that make up a school such as Parks and Carver High Schools, all contribute to a need to look for alternative strategies and curriculum for teaching students science and alternative methods for professional development of science teachers. Teachers and students need activities and opportunities that actively engage them in the learning process more effectively and critically, and which also meet the needs of the schools, teachers, and students. Professional development should also aim to improve methods and approaches to science teaching that empowers students and professional development that requires teachers to instruct students differently (Atwater, 1995). Professional development and teaching that focuses on difference is offered in the form of multicultural education, feminist pedagogy, and culturally relevant pedagogy. These approaches to teaching are excellent avenues to consider for teacher professional development, particularly for teachers in Carver County School District. Together the three offer ways for considering power relations, knowledge/meaning, language, and difference in a context that focuses on teacher and student empowerment. A common dynamic of all three methods is to recognize the important influence that culture has on learning and that teachers must make teaching processes compatible with the sociocultural contexts and frames of reference of ethnically diverse students (Gay, 2000, p. 43). Multiculturalism in Professional Development and Teaching In a multicultural society, there are various cultures and differing ways of doing and thinking, as well as different value systems. In schools, given the differences in school organization, student body population, cultures, ways of thinking, ideas, and curriculum, a focus on groups within schools is indeed an area of interest.

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In multicultural education, the emphasis is on accepting, teaching, and learning patterns, rules, and behaviors of ones own culture. Multicultural education is defined as a field of study designed to increase educational equity for all students that incorporates, for this purpose, content, concepts, principles, theories, and paradigms from history, the social and behavioral sciences, and particularly from ethnic studies and women studies (Banks, 2000. p. viii). Banks (1995) described five dimensions of multicultural education in the Handbook of Research on Multicultural Education. These five dimensions are content integration, the knowledge construction process, prejudice reduction, an equity pedagogy, and empowerment of school culture and social structure. Banks advocates that in order to have an effective multicultural education program, teachers and administration must attend to all five dimensions. Specifically, Banks stresses that content from diverse groups is used for teaching content and skills, that students understand how knowledge is constructed in various disciplines, that students develop positive intergroup behaviors and attitudes, and that teachers modify their teaching strategies so that students from different racial, cultural, language, and social-class groups will experience equal educational opportunities (Banks, 2000, p. viii). Mary Atwater (1995) defined multicultural science education as covering the same core areas espoused by Banks, yet she applied them to the teaching and learning of science. Science with a multicultural focus highlights: science content integration, the knowledge construction process for learning science, an equity pedagogy for science, prejudice reduction in science classrooms, and empowerment of school culture and social structures. Feminist Pedagogy Feminist pedagogy is a method for teaching that can be used in science teacher professional development. Feminist pedagogy is linked to both theoretical and practical concerns involved in feminist theory and works to uncover, understand, and transform gender, race, and class oppression and domination while at the same it is committed to the development of a critical consciousness (Agha-Jaffar, 1997, p. 22). It addresses the way knowledge is transmitted in classrooms by shifting the locus of attention from the teacher to the students so that all become members of a community of learners (Agha-

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Jaffar, 1997). Agha-Jaffar further described the active role that students take in the learning process under feminist pedagogy. Feminist pedagogy encourages students to take control of the material and to relate it to their every day experiences. As much as possible, discussion of the reading material is given precedence over the traditional lecture/delivery method. The subject matter is thereby rendered more immediate and meaningful. Furthermore, students participate in collaborative, connective learning: we learn from each other and are exposed to a diversity of mutually illuminating perspectives. (p. 24) In feminist pedagogy, the role of the science teacher is changed and questioned in terms of how knowledge is constructed. The knowledge base of teachers is both the foundation on which they are able to teach and also a vehicle through which they are able to learn; through teaching, teachers come to question their knowledge (CalabreseBarton, 1998, p. 17). Furthermore, teachers need to help students create new and different representations of science that are inclusive of students entire lives, and they need to help them interrogate and politicize the intersections of and contradictions between their lives and traditional representations of science (p. 18). Feminist pedagogy accomplishes these goals. Likewise, professional development that seeks to enhance this shifting role of teachers where their students become active and engaged learners in the learning process would not only empower students but also teachers (Calabrese-Barton, 1998; hooks, 1994). Calabrese-Barton (1998) argued for teaching science in a way that values lived experience. She questioned and challenged how power and knowledge relationships position teachers, students, and science with and against each other in the classroom. The situated nature of science, described as positionality is the knowers specific position in any context as defined by gender, race, class, and other socially significant dimensions (p.28). It is an understanding of how knowledge, students, and teaching practice interact (p. 29). Calabrese-Barton, in understanding her students as raced, classed, and gendered people, came to understand too that these social markers influenced their engagement in science and the way that she taught science. The lens of positionality helps to uncover assumptions that are used uncritically or unknowingly in

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teachingassumptions about what science is, who can do science, what it means to teach and learn across race, class, and gender (p. 30). Higgins (1996) viewed feminist pedagogy as an integration of both critical and feminist approaches to teaching science in a number of ways. It provides a pedagogy that de-emphasizes the teacher as the agent of empowerment, and considers student's experiences and perceptions as legitimate knowledge; there are other ways of knowing beyond reason and rationalist thought; there is encouragement of student self-reflection as well as critical teacher self-reflection of teaching practices; power relationships, gender bias, giving voice, and experimenting with other forms of dialogue are recognized in classroom interactions and discourse; and there is consideration of contexts within the creation of pedagogies. In a feminist science classroom, pedagogical techniques are used to enhance informal classroom relationships where students construct knowledge interdependently. Pedagogies that change conventional hierarchies between teachers, students, and subject matter (p. 283) are changed. Some specific techniques in a feminist science classroom would be collaborative learning (Hollingsworth, 1994), oral histories (Calabrese-Barton, 1998), dialogue (hooks, 1993), and sense making (Higgins, 1996). Teachers construct a classroom culture where students feel safe to participate in the learning process. Thus, there is great emphasis on the social context of learning. In Feminist Science Education, Angela Calabrese-Barton (1998) discussed her teaching of chemistry and writing of personal oral histories in order for students to understand the nature of science. This technique was beneficial in providing students a critical look at the human element in science as connecting feelings, frustrations and everyday struggles of people to science; the elitism of Western science as having a community of insiders versus outsiders; and the political nature of science as constituted by power relations in science. The oral history projects made it difficult to view science as an objective, detached, impersonal, and unemotional endeavor (p. 50). In fact, students critiqued and questioned science toward a better understanding of the race, class, and gender dynamics that influence teaching, learning, and doing science. The students made public nontraditional science ideas in order to decenter the traditional power

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relationships in science and education (p. 57) by sharing their own experiences and identities. Additionally Sue V. Rosser wrote books that introduce and put into practice feminist pedagogy in teaching science. For example, in Female Friendly Science: Applying Women's Studies Methods and Theories to Attract Students, Rosser (1991) explored the potential of feminist pedagogical methods and theories used in women's studies to attract women and minorities to science, math, and engineering. In Teaching the Majority: Breaking the Gender Barrier in Science, Mathematics and Engineering, Rosser (1995) highlighted the exploratory work of teachers in the sciences, mathematics and engineering. These teachers succeeded in transforming their courses to appeal to women while retaining their appeal for male students. Rosser also provided tips on changing teaching techniques, course content, syllabi, laboratory exercises and problem sets in order to attract and retain women through using feminist pedagogy in science. Feminist pedagogy is socially transformative for students and teachers. It invites students and teachers to critically analyze the power relations and knowledge construction processes in learning science (Calabrese-Barton & Yang, 2000). Science education is re-created so that teachers and students can collaboratively create and analyze science and its role in their lives (Calabrese-Barton, 1998, p. 18). By using techniques that allow teachers and students to communicate within safe learning environments, by negotiating how power is recognized in the classroom, and by empowering students and teachers to become critical thinkers in the construction of knowledge, a teacher that utilizes a feminist perspective or a feminist pedagogy in teaching and learning science encourages alternative ways of constructing knowledge and student participation in science classrooms. Culturally Relevant Pedagogy Like feminist pedagogy, culturally relevant (or culturally responsive) pedagogy centers on power issues in the classroom and active student participation in the learning process. Geneva Gay (2000) defined culturally responsive teaching as using the cultural knowledge, prior experiences, frames of reference, and performance styles of ethnically diverse students to make learning encounters more relevant and effective for them It is

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culturally validating and affirming (p. 29). She also provided several characteristics of culturally responsive teaching: It acknowledges the legitimacy of the cultural heritages of different ethnic groups, and approaches to learning as worthy content to be taught in the formal curriculum. It builds meaningful bridges between home and school experiences and between academic abstractions and lived sociocultural realities. It uses a wide variety of instructional strategies that are connected to students different learning styles. It teaches students to know and praise their own and each others cultural heritages. It incorporates multicultural information, resources, and materials in all subjects and skills routinely taught in schools. (p. 29) Gloria Ladson-Billings (1994) in her book Dreamkeepers: Successful Teachers of African American Students described culturally relevant teaching as using students cultures in order to maintain and transcend the negative effects of the dominant culture. Thus, the primary aim of culturally relevant teaching is to assist in the development of a relevant black personality that allows African American students to choose academic excellence yet still identify with African and African American culture (p. 17). She further defined culturally relevant teaching or pedagogy as a means to empower students intellectually, socially, emotionally, and politically by using cultural referents to impart knowledge, skills, and attitudes (p. 18). Ladson-Billings (1994) also discussed several aspects of culturally relevant teaching, or culturally relevant pedagogy, that focuses on the qualities of the classroom teacher, who creates an environment that promotes student learning. These qualities include how teachers see themselves and others, how teachers structure social interactions, and how teachers conceive of knowledge. Ladson-Billings introduced exemplary teachers who had certain classroom practices, beliefs, and attitudes that engaged students in learning. Some of the beliefs and attitudes that teachers held were seeing themselves as artists, believing that all students can learn, encouraging students to learn collaboratively, and demonstrating a connectedness with all students. Teachers viewed knowledge critically and were able to re-create knowledge in their classrooms.

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The focus of multicultural education, feminist pedagogy, and culturally relevant pedagogy is to promote equity and inclusion of all students, irregardless of gender, racial, ethnic, economic, sexual, political orientations, or any other socially constructed category. The major concern of these pedagogical methods is to incorporate the cultural orientations and experiences of all students in the learning process, to encourage student participation in the learning process, and to allow students and teachers opportunities to become empowered for social and personal change. The three approaches are connected to race, class, and gender dynamics and are issues that can be addressed in the teaching and learning of science and in the professional development of science teachers. The ideas I set forth in this discussion of difference concentrate on both teachers and students as unique and diverse people. The intersections of race, class, gender, and age, and even developmental level of teachers constitute a different or alternative view of professional development that addresses diversity and is inclusive of culture and experience. Alternative methods for teacher professional development that provide openness to novel ways of seeing and thinking about teaching, schooling, and society (Beyer, 2001, p. 151) are recommended for Carver County School District and their science teachers. As these new ways of looking at teaching, learning, and teacher development, Mary Alfred reminds us that teachers cannot transform their practice unless they have transformed themselves (2002b, p. 89). In this chapter difference are discussed as a backdrop to emphasize that there is diversity in experiences, teaching, learning, and development. Difference makes a difference in the process of transforming practices and self. As one method may be empowering to one teacher and then not another, the one size fit all model does not address difference. It does not consider differences in lived experience, how teachers construct knowledge and meaning, and difference in context. The expectation for teacher professional development within difference is for teachers to critically view their own practices and to make changes that assist them in growing professionally, which potentially aids their students in their learning and development. Linking the personal and social begins with critical analysis for improved self and teaching practices in a process of continuous transformation (Alfred, 2002b). The process should be entered into critically and with much assistance from others. At the same time, offering

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alternative frames of reference to excite change and reflective practice begins with addressing difference contextually.

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CHAPTER 11 FINAL THOUGHTS AND CONCLUSION Introduction I, too, share a concern for situating myself as researcherwho I am, what I believe, what experiences I have had all impact what, how, and why I research. What may make these research revelations more problematic for me is my own membership in a marginalized racial/cultural group. (Gloria Ladson-Billings, 1995, p. 470). My intent for this study was to look more deeply at the life stories of three African American science teachers from a predominantly African American, small rural school district, which I called Carver County School District. I was very interested in looking at the teachers past histories through telling and re-telling of stories, past experiences in learning and teaching science, and knowledge/meaning from professional development activities. Another motivation in doing this study was to learn about feminist poststructuralism as a theoretical framework. I was introduced to feminist poststructural through reading Elizabeth J. Tisdells article, Poststructural feminist pedagogies: The possibilities and limitations of a feminist emancipatory adult learning theory and practice, from a course in Adult Learning (1998). This article then leads me to Becky Ropers-Huilmans book, Feminist Teaching in Theory & Practice: Situating Power & Knowledge in Poststructural Classrooms (1998). Since having read these two sources, I have immersed myself in other poststructural books and articles, trying desperately to inform myself and to include as much of my understanding of the framework into this study. Though no means an expert or even close to learning all that I want to learn about feminist poststructuralism, I analyzed the conversations from the teachers using themes of power, knowledge and meaning, language, and difference. Since haven read these initial pieces of feminist poststructural theory, I have learned a great deal and have come

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across other themes in poststructural feminist thinking. Specifically they are rationality; power, resistance and freedom; discourse; and the subject/subjectivity (St. Pierre, 2000); voice, authority, and positionality (Tisdell, 1998); and feminist poststructuralism and psychoanalysis; language and subjectivity; language as discourse; discourse, power, and resistance; biology and sexual difference; and deconstruction (Weedon, 1997). I thought that by looking at life stories and analyzing them from a feminist poststructural framework, I would learn about the three teachers and expand my understanding of science teachers, their teaching practices, and their professional development needs. I indeed felt I have. Yet, I still have questions about the nature of professional development in the form that most of us have been exposed to and that I have learned about in the literature. For example, professional development opportunities that were primarily in the form of workshops served the professional development needs of teachers little or not at all (Herr, 1988; Sunal, Hodges, & Sunal, 2001). Collaborative partnerships seem to be more advantageous (Sheerer, 2000; Goodnough, 2001; Haas, 2000), still researchers report that many professional development programs are not effective (Thair & Treagust, 2002). Why are professional development programs seemingly so unproductive? What opportunities can be provided for teachers to assist them in growing not only as science professionals, but also as individuals who impact society, their communities, schools, and students in positive and meaningful ways? Because I worked with the three teachers for nearly two years (August 2001March 2003), I had a privileged position in getting to know them and their professional development plans and the contexts in which they taught. They shared with me personal stories of their past and present lives, and visions for the future. I could not have gotten these responses as someone coming to speak with them after one month of interaction. I could not have understood the power relations at work within the district had I not spent that time in Carver County School District with them. And I could not have gained particular kinds of insights into planning, analyzing, and implementing ideas focused specifically on students of color. Therefore, as educators we have to develop long-term relationships with teachers and schools. We have to get to know our participants so that we can assist them in making changes to practice based upon their personal needs.

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Changes do not happen overnight, and I still wonder why change is so slow despite good intentions to change. As a participant observer, I developed relationships with the teachers whereby I could introduce something new for them to try or for their students to experience. I shared with them literature and stories from my life experiences. The on-going dialogue served an essential role in my conducting this line of research and helping teachers to think about their practice in different ways and discussing with them ways to improve their science teaching. They were extremely receptive, but of course over a short time. I know that my positionality helped the situation, and I am certain that they would not have been as receptive had I not allowed them an opportunity to get to know me as I got the privilege to get to know them. I believe educators should try to understand the needs of teachers in the context of their teaching situation. The best way to know is to be in the context with them. I saw what the teachers and students of Carver County had to contend with on a daily basis. During the time in the district, on average I spent 1-2 days per week observing and interacting with students and teachers, and reflecting on my experiences. Freire says that through reflection we discover that we are in a situation, one that is an enveloping reality or a tormenting blind alley (2000, p. 109). I would consider my time at Parks and Carver High Schools as in a situation with teachers and students. At times I felt the effects of what teachers and students experienced as members in a low-performing school district. Efforts should be made to help teachers to build strategies in teaching in difficult situations, such as accommodating the increasing number of minority students in schools, decreased financial resources, decreased student motivations, intense demands from high stakes testing and accountability measures. Especially for teachers and students in Carver County School District, living under the dark shadow of low expectations, underfunding, and negative perceptions from others affected the overall success of teachers and students in the district. By understanding these conditions, educators start to understand the needs of teachers within the context and classrooms that they teach. Then professional development has to address these issues critically and responsibly.

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Conclusion It became apparent from the teachers past stories as marginalized learners that they developed a teaching philosophy that attempted to be inclusive and sensitive to their students who were also members of disenfranchised groups (Brown, Cervero, & JohnsonBailey, 2000, p. 278). Stories revealed individual and collective meanings of personal experiences from their early lives and concerns from teaching in a low-performing school district. Stories revealed a teaching philosophy that came primarily from negative experiences of prejudice and discouragement from former science teachers who impacted the way teachers approached learning and teaching science (Mrs. Martin); stories revealed powers relations in language and writing in school and college and in not passing the National Board process (Mr. ONeal); and stories revealed teachers on-going tensions with leaving or staying in classroom teaching, as well as working with a population of students where language presented barriers and obstacles to teaching and learning science (Mrs. Nelson). All of these experiences were extensions of the three teachers positionalityrace, gender, class, and age. The stories revealed power working through and within particular social contexts. They stories revealed particular knowledge they acquired as learners and teachers, and meanings they attached to their experiences. Stories also implicated language as a gatekeeper to success both in their teaching and professional development as science teachers. In understanding of a feminist poststructural framework for this study, power relations, traditionally and poststructurally conceptualized, effect how science teachers teach and what students learn in science classrooms. Power was understood as a possession in one instance and as an effect in another, meaning power was shifting, moving around and between social environments. Then power was enacted through certain practices such as accountability practices that eventually affected teacher development and classroom practices. Power relations were shown to constrain or free teachers. Power has ill effects as teachers were held to strict guidelines for teaching and in some instances provided positive avenues for resistance thus creating new ways for view teachers to enact their institutionally granted power, and for analysis, presenting alternative ways to view teachers experiences.

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In understanding power as ownership/possession and effect/processes, power relations create opportunities to resist dominant discourses, as power also creates resistance (Weedon, 1997, p. 174). Teachers chose to resist in their own ways by choosing not to play games or waiting to find a way to resist the rules from the district or administration that were inscribed for them to follow. The notion of the universal teacher and concepts such as the personal, individual nature, and experience, cannot be taken for granted without producing dominant assumptions about subjectivity, language and meaning, assumptions which have important political implications (p. 71). In other words individually and collectively power creates different identities, realities, or views of the world for Mrs. Martin, Mrs. Nelson, and Mr. ONeal. At the same time, power relations are played out within political arenas that are not necessarily fixed and bounded. To a great extent, power is linked to language and knowledge. As power relations are enacted, language and knowledge work simultaneously to construct reality. Understanding power in discourse, discursive practices, and systems are associated with how language is used and knowledge is created/re-created. Thus, power/language and power/knowledge either reinforce existing structures of privilege and oppression or they provide an alternative context for negotiation, deconstruction, or reconfiguration of meaning. Basically it is the way power is perceived and how it is connected to knowledge and language that determines to some extent meanings placed on individual and collective experiences. Finally, my original intention for doing this study of African American science teachers was to know more about teachers and professional development, yet I found myself wanting to know more about feminist poststructuralism. In the course of conducting this research, the mixing of theory and practice became intertwined. I feel that I have accomplished bothunderstanding teachers and feminist poststructuralism, and understanding its impact or relationship to science teaching and learning. There is still more research needed for learning how to enhance science teacher professional development which addresses both lived experience and current classroom practices in critical and reflective ways. An interactive and collaborative approach between teachers and researchers is one way to address the many contextual and social factors in science

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teacher education and professional development toward continuous improvement of practice and self. The context being key to understanding lived experience and development is a vital aspect that should not be neglected in research and practice. Feminist poststructuralism aims to keep this notion alive. Chris Weedon (1997) remarked, poststructuralist feminists have sought to deconstruct existing metanarratives and to develop new theoretical approaches which insist on historical and geographical specificity and no longer claim universal status (p. 172). Feminist poststructuralist theory of power, knowledge and meaning, language, and difference is an exciting way to look at science teacher professional development as it expands understanding of experience culturally and personally. It invites an additional perspective to expand thinking and knowledge for transforming science education research.

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NOTES 1. The literature that I gave the teachers and the assistant principal were: Brown, Cervero, & Johnson-Bailey (2000); Johnson-Bailey (2002); Guskey (1997); Haar, Hall, Schoepp (2002); Haberman (1991); Ladson-Billings (1995); Loughran & Gunstone (1997); Norman (1998); Oshel (1996); Sparks (1997); and Terehoff (2002). Informed consent was sought from the participants at the end of the Spring 2002 semester. I discussed with them my intent and the participants signed a (pre) consent form (See Appendix) in order to participate in some journal writing activities over the summer. The teachers did not do the summer assignments, and questions on the pre-consent form were modified for this study. Student Membership: The total number of students in school as measured during the fall survey period in October; also known as fall membership. Data is compiled according to school type. Finance/Operating Costs: Per-student cost for school operations, shown in dollar amount. Data is not compiled according to school type. Data is available for 1997-98, 1998-99, and 1999-2000 only. Graduation Rate: The percentage of students who have graduated within four years of entering ninth grade for the first time. Students who transfer out of the school or district to attend school elsewhere or to enroll in an adult-education program are removed from the group of students (cohort) tracked. Incoming transfer students, at the time of their enrollment, are included in the count of the class with which they are scheduled to graduate and are tracked accordingly. A graduate is defined as a student who receives a standard diploma, a special diploma, or a diploma awarded after successful completion of the GED examination. Certificate recipients are not included. Although the school-level rate is shown only for regular high schools, district and state rates cover all schools with graduates, which may include schools other than regular high schools (e.g., alternative education centers). Data is available for 1998-99 and 1999-2000 only. School Grade: A letter grade, A through F, assigned to each school based on student performance on The State Comprehensive Assessment Test (SCAT) in reading, math, and writing; student attendance; out-of-school suspensions; and the dropout rate. School grading criteria also are affected by a school's demonstration of improvement from one year to the next. Grades are provided only at the school level (i.e., districts and the state are not assigned an overall grade). The science content area is tested for the first time March 2003. Data is available for 1998-1999, 1999-2000 and 2000-2001 only.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

215

7.

King University is a historically black college/university (HBCU). It has a strong reputation as a fine academic institution that traditionally served the black community. The State University is a predominantly white institution (PWI). It has a strong reputation of academic excellence and research. The National Board for Professional Teaching Standards/National Board Certification measures a teachers practice against high and rigorous standards for certification in particular subject areas. It is an extensive series of performance-based assessments that includes teaching Portfolios, student work samples, videotapes and thorough analyses of the candidates classroom teaching and student learning. Teachers also complete a series of written exercises that probe the depth of their subject-matter knowledge, as well as their understanding of how to teach those subjects to their students. The State Learn & Serve is a federally funded grant program that awards grants to schools and school districts to engage youth in service learning. Reports from past projects indicate that students who participated in service-learning especially students from poor backgroundshad better grades, attended school more often, and had fewer discipline referrals. Schools/teachers apply for funds for projects in which students learn and apply learning through serving their communities, helping other students, and/or serving the public good. Service opportunities must be integrated into the curriculum and The State Standards. This line comes from a poem by Adrienne Rich, The Burning of Paper Instead of Children. These words were quoted by bell hooks (1994, p. 167). There are five aspects of power: 1) Issues of power are enacted in classrooms; 2) There are codes or rules for participating in power; that is, there is a culture of power; 3) The rules of the culture of power are a reflection of the rules of the culture of those who have power; 4) If you are not already a participant in the culture of power, being told explicitly the rules of that culture makes acquiring power easier; and 5) Those with power are frequently least aware ofor least willing to acknowledgeits existence. Those with less power are often most aware of its existence (Delpit, 1995, p. 24). The five epistemological categories or ways of knowing are: 1) Silencenot knowing in which the person feels voiceless, powerless, and mindless; gets knowledge through concrete experience, not words; survives to obedience to power or authority: 2) Receivedknowledge and authority are located as outside of self and invested in powerful and knowing others who are the teachers; remembers and reproduces knowledge; seldom speaks or gives opinion; 3) Subjectiveknowing is personal, private, based on intuition or feeling, analysis may destroy knowledge, explores different views, speaks from

8. 9.

10.

11. 12.

13.

216

experience; 4) Proceduraltechnique and procedure for acquiring, validating, and evaluating knowledge, recognizes different frameworks, learning and applying objective procedures; with Separate proceduralreasoning against, impartial, distanced self, precision; and Connected proceduralreasoning with, able to enter into the other person, collaboration, careful listening; and 5)Constructedtruth is understood to be contextual, tentative, known in part, multiple approaches to knowledge, integrates previous positions, balanced dialogue (Belenky, et al., 1986; Tarule, et al., 1996).

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APPENDIX
Human Subjects Approval

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BIOIGRAPHICAL SKETCH Felicia Michelle Moore is originally from Selma, North Carolina. She is the second of five siblings born to Phil and Lillian Moore. Felicia is a first generation college graduate and will be the first person in her family to earn a doctoral degree. She received her Bachelors of Science degree in Biology from The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and her Masters of Science degree in Biology and Secondary Education from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University in Greensboro, North Carolina. Felicia has membership in several professional organizations, such as the Inclusive Science Education Sub-Committee of the Association for the Education of Teachers in Science (AETS), National Association of Biology Teachers (NABT), and National Science Teachers Association (NSTA). Felicias research interests are teacher education, teacher professional development, and the intersection of race, gender, and class in these areas. She spends time in local schools assisting teachers with curriculum planning, science activities, and motivating students interests in learning science. Her educational experiences include three years of high school science teaching in North Carolina, teaching of undergraduate science methods classes at FSU, and presenting research papers at local, regional, and international conferences. She presented her first research paper at the 41st World Education Fellowship International Conference in South Africa, April 2001. Felicias future plans are to teach science education at the university level and continue doing research that is inclusive of multiple and critical perspectives.

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