Doing professional development school work: a tale of heroes, allies and dragons at the door

In this paper, the author describes her experience as a university research liaison in the Standards for Professional Development Schools project conducted in the USA by the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE, 1999–2001). The author presents a ‘behind the scenes’ discussion of how one teacher educator has attempted to facilitate a school‐university partnership driven by standards and high expectations while at the same time remaining balanced in her approach for self‐fulfillment and continuous learning. She uses the metaphor of the ‘Hero's Journey’ to frame and reflect on her story as she passes through stages of transformation in her work. Excerpts from a dialogue journal with a research colleague provide additional insights as she passes through the six stages of loss of innocence and the call to action, the vision quest, facing chaos and complexity, staying the course through trials and tests, wisdom figures who help along the way, and gaining insight through personal and pr...