Stories of teacher alienation

Stories of teacher alienation: a look at the unintended consequences of efforts to empower teachers

This article presents and analyzes the stories of three teachers/teacher teams who participated in a grant program
designed to empower teachers to integrate technology innovations in their classrooms. Instead of experiencing
actualized empowerment, these teachers/teacher teams ultimately experienced alienation. From these stories, two sources of alienation are identified: (1) resources obtained by teachers through grant acquisition can disrupt the egalitarian teacher culture, and (2) increased subjective empowerment and pressure afforded by grants can lead to an escalation of existing conflicts. Overall, the teachers experienced alienation when their initial, subjective sense of empowerment was undermined by the teacher culture and/or administrative decisions.