From an Ethnographic Team to a Feminist Learning Community: A Reflective Tale

Drawing on data generated over a five-year period, this narrative chronicles the evolution of a four-woman ethnographic team created to conduct qualitative evaluation research for a Head Start to Public School Transition Demonstration Project in West Virginia. The team transformed itself from a loosely connected hierarchy of individuals to a close-knit group united personally and professionally, and finally to a more egalitarian community of learners. The first step of the transformation grew out of compatible diversity within the group as well as a felt need to band together against outside forces. The final step to what might be called a feminist learning community was facilitated by a leader committed to open, honest, and purposeful attention to feelings and the personal as key ingredients in developing authentic relationships, conducting meaningful research, and advocating for social justice.