This qualitative inquiry into Critical Friends Groups (CFGs) at Lower Canada College (LCC), a coeducational, bilingual, K-12, private, day school in suburban Montreal, focusses on the impact of CFGs on teachers' professional growth and classroom practices. Using interviews, focus groups, participant observations and a questionnaire, I examined the recursive cycle of professional growth and transformation, and rooted the inquiry within the theoretical frameworks of reflective practice, the dialogic imagination, social constructivist learning and critical theory. I conceptualize teachers' professional growth as the transformation of professional practices through the deepening knowledge and expertise that arises out of collaborative inquiry and collegial dialogue. The major assumption supported by this study is that teachers learn from one another through engaging in ongoing and site-based critical dialogue focussed on classroom practices. This inquiry has implications for professional development programmes, school leadership and teacher empowerment.

No description available.