ERIC Number: ED587923
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2016-Apr-12
Pages: 24
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-
EISSN: N/A
Using Contested and Ambiguous Spaces: Teacher Agency, Inclusion, and Discursive Activism
Gourd, Tina Y.
AERA Online Paper Repository, Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association (Washington, DC, Apr 8-12, 2016)
The study seeks to provide insight into how "contested and ambiguous spaces" provide opportunities for "teacher agency." Data was drawn from a grounded theory study of teacher agency conducted with 17 public school teachers and one administrator in a co-taught inclusion program in a large middle school. Discourse theory, sociological theory, and empirical data contribute to demonstrating that teachers employ "discursive activism" to push against macro- and micro-structures within "contested and ambiguous spaces." These findings offer important insights into the experience of teachers in practical contexts, highlighting the importance of teacher voice as an avenue of agency available to teachers.
Descriptors: Public School Teachers, Individual Power, Middle School Teachers, Administrators, Activism, Inclusion, Team Teaching, Teacher Attitudes
AERA Online Paper Repository. Available from: American Educational Research Association. 1430 K Street NW Suite 1200, Washington, DC 20005. Tel: 202-238-3200; Fax: 202-238-3250; e-mail: subscriptions@aera.net; Web site: http://www.aera.net
Publication Type: Speeches/Meeting Papers; Reports - Research
Education Level: Middle Schools
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Washington (Seattle)
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A