| The current educational environment promotes externally generated and programmatic professional development, in lieu of emphasizing opportunities for self-directed teacher learning. Instead of being perceived as knowers and knowledge generators, teachers are expected to adopt programs and curricula that have been developed off-site. These programs are often not context-specific and do not reflect the ethos or culture of the schools that they propose to serve.;This qualitative study is practitioner inquiry at two levels. As a middle school leader, I carried out the study on-site and with eight middle school teachers. I investigated their perceptions of a school-based program for ethical and spiritual education, entitled The Examined Life, as well as ways in which they integrated it into their pedagogy and curricula. In addition, the study explores how these teachers developed self-directed professional learning opportunities within the context of their engagement with the program. Their perceptions of The Examined Life program and its place in their work served as the catalyst for individual inquiries. Data sources for this research study include teachers' written observations and reflections, interviews, focus groups and field notes. The data suggest that there are at least three ways, or modes, of characterizing the teachers' engagement with the program: a growing awareness of the program and its components within their curriculum or pedagogy, a deliberate integration of the program into aspects of their work, and the use of the program as a catalyst for further teacher learning.;The study illustrates possibilities for developing self-directed and site-based professional development that support teachers' roles as knowledge-generators and school leaders. It suggests creating opportunities for teachers themselves to design ways to further school-based programs that meet the particular needs of a school community. Most importantly, the study also suggests possibilities for future research into the ways that school-based character education programs can serve as catalysts for teachers' individual growth, as well as collective learning opportunities. |
