UCLA

In an attempt to identify ways to develop effective urban teachers, this study examined a grassroots form of teacher development. This year‑long study examined the efforts of a grassroots community based organization creating teachers‑led professional development for teachers. Teachers'ʹ perceptions were explored to understand how this approach to professional development impacted their pedagogy and the ways they believed they were able to more effectively serve their students. Utilizing critical pedagogy and postcolonial theory as analytic frames, this study deconstructed the complex process of teacher development in bi-�weekly inquiry group meetings. The findings from this research suggest that this teacher-�led inquiry group supported participants in developing the critical capacity to make sense of hegemonic discourses as they engaged in humanizing spaces for learning. Findings also reveal that participants leverage this teacher-�led space for learning to build their network of support and create curriculum that honored the lives and communities of Black and Latino students. The participants were a convenience sample of seven educators that voluntarily attended a bi-�monthly teacher-�led inquiry group during the 2012‑2013 school year, worked in public and charter schools in South Los Angeles, and taught across academic disciplines. This qualitative case study drew from ethnographic approaches relying on traditional data collection strategies such as field notes, a review of teachers' curriculum and other artifacts, and teacher interviews.