| This phenomenological case study explored four elementary teachers' perceptions of their abilities to mediate instruction within the context of No Child Left Behind. Scholarship identified overall struggles and concerns of teachers within this environment, however, detailed descriptions were lacking of how judgments and adaptations were impacted by accountability. It was this personal, living insight that focused my study which blended both the outward environment with inner processing.;Data for the current study were obtained through three interviews per teacher, and contextual data were obtained through interviews with site principals, anecdotal data, and research within the state and district websites. External data revealed a district transformed in curricula, pedagogy, professional development, and assessment. Participants described themselves as having had to find a new sense of their identities as teachers due to the increased prescription and time lines of teaching and assessment. They supported the changes and saw themselves in a process of ongoing evolution as professionals which included lesson evolution.;All participants supported the idea of accountability but had significant concerns of NCLB assumptions. Participants described pressures of this environment as keeping up with the pace of constant change and expectation of continual student progress. Losses identified were the teacher-student relationship, vertical trust between teachers and higher administrators, and individual teacher-differences that had defined them in the past. Implications are: (a) more public and overt partnering by the district with teachers in the process of evaluating student achievement, (b) confronting the reality of change with professional development opportunities, (c) promoting an inquiry as stance with directed professional development, and (d) exploring the losses cited by the participants with further research. |
