Background/Purpose Lieberman (1992) suggests teacher communities are a setting for teachers to collaboratively examine and transform what happens in teaching and learning in schools. The Urban School Initiative was initiated to provide a group of urban physical education teachers with professional development to empower them addressing issues posed by their challenging work situations (e.g., low economic conditions, students with challenging behaviour).
Method Data collection included transcribed: 1) written workshop/meeting evaluations; 2) teacher discussions on CoP benefits; 3) two focus group interviews on impact of CoP; and 4) individual facilitator interviews on CoP development and teacher reactions.
Analysis/Results Analysis of transcriptions used constant comparative method of finding, highlighting and comparing themes from the various data sources. Content analysis (Reinharz, 1992) of participant responses, discussions and facilitator narratives was conducted employing thematic coding / categorizing (Gibbs 2007). By working in community these teachers formed new visions of how learning can take place in their challenging classrooms, how it supports recognition of self worth and the value these teachers placed on one another's ideas, teaching practice, and camaraderie. Facilitators noted that as teachers became comfortable with each other the community progressed, they took ownership and identified goals to achieve.
Conclusions Benefits of working in a CoP with a group of teachers who share common challenging teaching settings include providing support, sharing common concerns, and transforming teaching practice in difficult contexts. These outcomes have implications for working with professionals in other challenging physical activity settings.