Reclaiming the Ontological Over the Epistemological: A Case Study Into a New Zealand Primary School Disclosing an Embodied Culture of Teacher Inquiry

This article presents case study research into a New Zealand primary school enacting a very sophisticated whole school inquiry approach to enhance teacher classroom professionalism and practice. A culture of inquiry manifests as an ontological ‘way of being’ in this school community, in the daily p...

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Main Authors: Andrew Bills, Bev Rogers, David Giles
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Tuwhera Open Access Publisher 2023-12-01
Series:New Zealand Journal of Teachers' Work
Online Access:https://ojs.aut.ac.nz/teachers-work/article/view/611
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author Andrew Bills
Bev Rogers
David Giles
author_facet Andrew Bills
Bev Rogers
David Giles
author_sort Andrew Bills
collection DOAJ
description This article presents case study research into a New Zealand primary school enacting a very sophisticated whole school inquiry approach to enhance teacher classroom professionalism and practice. A culture of inquiry manifests as an ontological ‘way of being’ in this school community, in the daily professional interactions between the teachers and leaders. This ‘way of being’ is evident in the way teachers and leaders work together in espousing professional expertise, trust, care and support to enable teacher inquiry for improved classroom practice to flourish. In this article we present evidence in relation to three questions: (1) What does inquiry look like within this school community? (2) How was collaboration and support implicated in teacher inquiry? (3) How was teacher and leader engagement in inquiry related to meaningful shifts in teachers’ practice and learning? The research contributes to new understandings about the ontological nature of teacher inquiry by uncovering important links between school culture, teacher and leader inquiry, and embodied professional learning and practice.
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series New Zealand Journal of Teachers' Work
spelling doaj-art-6345ccbdda8f413daf7d5dee084e3eac2025-08-20T02:32:11ZengTuwhera Open Access PublisherNew Zealand Journal of Teachers' Work1176-66622023-12-0120210.24135/teacherswork.v20i2.611Reclaiming the Ontological Over the Epistemological: A Case Study Into a New Zealand Primary School Disclosing an Embodied Culture of Teacher InquiryAndrew Bills0Bev Rogers1David Giles2Flinders UniversityFlinders UniversityFlinders University This article presents case study research into a New Zealand primary school enacting a very sophisticated whole school inquiry approach to enhance teacher classroom professionalism and practice. A culture of inquiry manifests as an ontological ‘way of being’ in this school community, in the daily professional interactions between the teachers and leaders. This ‘way of being’ is evident in the way teachers and leaders work together in espousing professional expertise, trust, care and support to enable teacher inquiry for improved classroom practice to flourish. In this article we present evidence in relation to three questions: (1) What does inquiry look like within this school community? (2) How was collaboration and support implicated in teacher inquiry? (3) How was teacher and leader engagement in inquiry related to meaningful shifts in teachers’ practice and learning? The research contributes to new understandings about the ontological nature of teacher inquiry by uncovering important links between school culture, teacher and leader inquiry, and embodied professional learning and practice. https://ojs.aut.ac.nz/teachers-work/article/view/611
spellingShingle Andrew Bills
Bev Rogers
David Giles
Reclaiming the Ontological Over the Epistemological: A Case Study Into a New Zealand Primary School Disclosing an Embodied Culture of Teacher Inquiry
New Zealand Journal of Teachers' Work
title Reclaiming the Ontological Over the Epistemological: A Case Study Into a New Zealand Primary School Disclosing an Embodied Culture of Teacher Inquiry
title_full Reclaiming the Ontological Over the Epistemological: A Case Study Into a New Zealand Primary School Disclosing an Embodied Culture of Teacher Inquiry
title_fullStr Reclaiming the Ontological Over the Epistemological: A Case Study Into a New Zealand Primary School Disclosing an Embodied Culture of Teacher Inquiry
title_full_unstemmed Reclaiming the Ontological Over the Epistemological: A Case Study Into a New Zealand Primary School Disclosing an Embodied Culture of Teacher Inquiry
title_short Reclaiming the Ontological Over the Epistemological: A Case Study Into a New Zealand Primary School Disclosing an Embodied Culture of Teacher Inquiry
title_sort reclaiming the ontological over the epistemological a case study into a new zealand primary school disclosing an embodied culture of teacher inquiry
url https://ojs.aut.ac.nz/teachers-work/article/view/611
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