A portrait of becoming: Transformative teacher education through an offshore location in the Bahamas

Abstract

This study illustrates the professional learning that occurred among us as we came together to co-construct the curriculum for students enrolled in a master’s program in the Bahamas. In choosing to examine the phenomena under investigation through an action research/self-study lens, we hoped to elucidate the dynamics of our individual and collaborative living-educational-theory experiences. As such, our study sought to address the question: ‘How is my/our professional learning impacted as we collaboratively construct curricular experiences for fellow educators in an international context, which focused on the social, cultural, and historical context of our actions in this professional learning relationship?’ Our inquiry revealed the emergence of four primary themes: embracing culture; openness/academic freedom vs. control/authority; mentoring and collegial coaching; and becoming/transformation/self-actualization.

Keywords

• collaborative action research
• living educational theory
• living-educational-theory
• teacher education
• internationalization of higher education