Lessons on Reform: A Story of Teaching as Lived Practice *

Abstract

A focal theme in global education reform movements is the critical role of teachers in schools and classrooms. In Singapore, efforts to improve the recruitment, remuneration, certification and continuing professional development of teachers have continued apace alongside a number of education reform initiatives over the last decade (Deng 2004). Underlying these systemic changes is Michael Fullan’s (2001, p.117) succinct assertion: “educational change depends on what teachers do and think – it’s as simple and as complex as that”. Yet, understanding the complex demands of teacher professionalisation entails an equally complex understanding of the demands of the profession – one that, I would argue, demands an empathic engagement with the lives of teachers. Arguably, attempts to sponsor teachers’ agentive voices in making sense of their own experiences have featured marginally in the high-stakes agendas of policymakers and state-funded researchers. At issue is the view that teachers’ “bald” testimonies and stories, so often freighted with emotion and subjective opinion, scarcely qualify as scientifically based evidence on which policy and practice can be built