Abstract
In recent years, significant attention has been paid to the relationship between different knowledge domains in professional education, based on the assumption that achieving coherence between domains is important for student learning and educational quality. In particular, much research has addressed questions of knowledge integration across different sites of learning. However, less attention has been paid to the epistemic diversity of the campus-based programme context and to how relationships between knowledge domains are constructed within epistemically diverse professional programmes. This article addresses this gap by examining how program leaders discursively position disciplinary knowledge in relation to the mandate of teacher education. The data consist of interviews and logs from 20 program leaders at four higher education institutions. The analysis identifies four accounts of the role of disciplinary knowledge in teacher education. The article concludes by discussing implications for efforts to achieve coherence and knowledge integration in professional education.
Highlights
Epistemic logics in professional educationMuch research has highlighted the need for stronger integration between knowledge domains and sites of learning in teacher education (e.g., Buchmann & Floden, 1992; Grossman, Hammerness, & McDonald, 2009; Hammerness, 2006; Smeby & Heggen, 2014; Zeichner, 2010)
In recent years, significant attention has been paid to the relationship between different knowledge domains in professional education, based on the assumption that achieving coherence between domains is important for student learning and educational quality
The position adopted here is that tensions and contradictions are an inherent part of human activity (Engeström, 2007), and that coherence should rather be understood as a form of alignment which, in the case of teacher education, is conducive for supporting student learning
Summary
Much research has highlighted the need for stronger integration between knowledge domains and sites of learning in teacher education (e.g., Buchmann & Floden, 1992; Grossman, Hammerness, & McDonald, 2009; Hammerness, 2006; Smeby & Heggen, 2014; Zeichner, 2010). “professional” knowledge domains tend to be organised around the conventions of professional practice Such differences in knowledge domains can be described through the terms conceptual and contextual coherence (Muller, 2009). The creation of relationships between knowledge domains will depend on how educators conceptualise their purpose in professional education It is of empirical and analytical interest to examine how such relationships are constructed by educators, since they are likely to inform practical efforts toward programme coherence. With its combination of courses with disciplinary and professional orientations, this programme represents an interesting site for examining questions of knowledge integration in professional education. The objective of the analysis is two-fold: to generate empirical knowledge about how the relationship between different knowledge domains can be manifested, and to contribute to our conceptual understanding of knowledge integration in professional education. The final section addresses implications for efforts aimed at knowledge integration and programme coherence
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