Lévi‐Strauss's Bricolage and Theorizing Teachers' Work

Abstract

The concept of bricolage, as it is developed by Lévi‐Strauss, is useful in characterizing the form of teachers' work. It subsumes extensive research concerning teachers' work and provides a heuristic device for developing causal explanations of teachers' work. This article begins with an account of bricolage on the technical plane and bricolage on the plane of speculation. The latter is distinguished from abstract science. Those features of teachers' work that should be seen as bricolage are discussed. These include conservatism, limited creativity, repertoire enlargement, teachers' use of theory, the use of devious means, and ad hocism. Some causal explanations of these features are then suggested. These include anticipatory socialization, preservice experiences reinforcing anticipatory socialization, failures and omissions in teacher education programs, and constraints in the work situation. The article concludes with an account of how the concept of bricolage functions to refine causal explanations of the form of teachers' work.