Supporting Teachers as Principled Innovators

This qualitative case study conducted in a higher education institution in Guyana aimed to address a need for more transformative approaches to professional learning and development given that accelerated transformation of the education system is required to meet the fast-paced national economic development. Through the lens of the Transformative Paradigm, Critical Pedagogy, and Transformative Learning Theory, this study explored four educators’ perceptions of Principled Innovation Educators (PIE) workshops and their influence on educators’ ability to (a) identify, (b) redefine problems in their educational practice, and (c) generate new ideas for problem-solving in their practice. Principled Innovation was used as a guiding framework for the workshops that were embedded in a research proposal course at the University of Guyana, a key provider of professional development for educators. In the four online PIE workshops, participants engaged with Principled Innovation. They used the generative and reflective questions on the Generative and Reflective Question Card Deck to work collaboratively, self-reflect, and make decisions related to identifying problems and generating ideas to address these problems during the problem identification stage of their research proposals. Triangulated data analysis from five data sets (pre-intervention focus group, field notes, journals, post-intervention individual interview, and final reports) indicated that participants’ perceptions aligned with mine as the researcher and facilitator in revealing that the PIE workshops were successful in creating an empowering professional learning environment that supported transformative learning for the study participants. Implications for practice and recommendations are discussed.