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Valuing practice over theory: How beginning teachers re-orient their practice in the transition from the university to the workplace
Citation
Allen, JM, Valuing practice over theory: How beginning teachers re-orient their practice in the transition from the university to the workplace, Teaching and Teacher Education: An International Journal of Research and Studies, 25, (5) pp. 647-654. ISSN 0742-051X (2009) [Refereed Article]
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The definitive version is available at http://www.sciencedirect.com
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DOI: doi:10.1016/j.tate.2008.11.011
Abstract
This paper is about the experiences of beginning teachers in turning theory learned in universities into practice in the workplace. The research is situated in the context of a pre-service teacher education programme that explicitly and deliberately seeks to bridge the theory-practice gap in teacher education. The paper argues that, despite long-standing awareness of the theory-practice gap as a central issue faced by beginning teachers, attempts by teacher educators to address this issue remain thwarted. The argument draws on interview and focus group data collected via a study of 1st year graduate teachers of an Australian pre-service teacher education programme. The theoretical perspective of symbolic interactionism is used to focus on the meanings that graduates have of their experiences of turning theory into practice. The data suggest that prospective teachers during pre-service training value both the theory that they learn on campus and the practice that they observe in schools. However, once they become practitioners, they privilege the latter. Upon entry to the workplace, graduates come to associate good practice with that of the veteran teacher, whose practice and cache of resources they seek to emulate.
Item Details
Item Type: | Refereed Article |
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Keywords: | Valuing practice over theory: How beginning teachers re-orient their practice in the transition from the university to the workplace |
Research Division: | Education |
Research Group: | Curriculum and pedagogy |
Research Field: | Curriculum and pedagogy theory and development |
Objective Division: | Education and Training |
Objective Group: | Teaching and curriculum |
Objective Field: | Pedagogy |
UTAS Author: | Allen, JM (Dr Jeanne Allen) |
ID Code: | 65728 |
Year Published: | 2009 |
Web of Science® Times Cited: | 104 |
Deposited By: | Education |
Deposited On: | 2010-12-01 |
Last Modified: | 2011-04-06 |
Downloads: | 8 View Download Statistics |
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