Teachers of action: when teachers take care of their own professional development

Abstract

ABSTRACT This narrative inquiry explores the identities of five teachers from Turkey who engage in volunteering and activism besides their everyday teaching. In a teaching environment where the continuing professional development of teachers is neglected and teachers’ autonomy is limited, alongside several structural issues, some of which are a century old, it would be quite normal for teachers to feel restricted. In Turkey, performance pressures due to the nationwide, high-stakes tests limit the participant teachers’ autonomy, while the educational bodies do not provide opportunities for them to become active agents of transformative change. Nevertheless, the participants in this study manifest with their narratives that they take action against the odds that would normally hinder taking action or as a coping mechanism against adversaries in the workplace. Their unique engagements are performed in various forms, taken up early in their lives or later in their careers, and not limited to educational activities or the sphere of the school. Hence, they become examples of informal continuing professional development, which are more likely to create transformative learning opportunities, bringing authentic and long-lasting benefits.