Inquiry project or inquiry stance? A continuum of teacher candidate perceptions of knowledge construction during practitioner inquiry-based clinical practice

Abstract

ABSTRACT Previous scholarship has signaled the potential of practitioner inquiry for fostering an inquiry stance among teacher candidates during preservice teacher education. Little is known, however, about the relationships teacher candidates assume vis-à-vis knowledge construction – a core dimension of inquiry stance – as they inquire. The study reported in this article investigated the perceptions of the relationship between inquiry and knowledge construction exhibited by teacher candidates engaged in practitioner inquiry during yearlong internships in a clinically based teacher education program. Semi-structured interviews served as the study’s primary data source and were analyzed through theory-led thematic analysis. The analysis yielded a six-point continuum of perceptions ranging from viewing inquiry as a required project to viewing inquiry as a way to assert ownership over generating worthwhile knowledge of teaching. The findings suggest that having a deeper understanding of how teacher candidates experience their own knowledge generation as they inquire could assist teacher educators in cultivating their inquiry stances.