ERIC Number: EJ897503
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2010-Nov
Pages: 10
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0742-051X
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
How Do Teachers Reason about Their Practice? Representing the Epistemic Nature of Teachers' Practical Knowledge
Gholami, Khalil; Husu, Jukka
Teaching and Teacher Education: An International Journal of Research and Studies, v26 n8 p1520-1529 Nov 2010
The present study focused on the epistemology of teachers' practical knowledge by addressing the following research question: how do teachers attempt to reason about their practices and their practical knowledge? The results indicated that teachers supported their practical knowledge claims using the "practical argument". Within this conceptual framework, they relied on contextual grounds that call for the fact that something should or should not be "done", rather than something is "true" or "false". Contextual grounds, then, were found to be backed up by two significant types of warrants: moral ethos, and "what works" notion. Depending on what kind warrants they used, teachers' practical knowledge was interpreted to be based on two different epistemic statuses: "practicable" knowledge and "praxial" knowledge. (Contains 2 figures and 1 table.)
Descriptors: Epistemology, Knowledge Base for Teaching, Teacher Attitudes, Teaching Methods, Moral Values
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A