Studying Personal Practical Knowledge

Abstract

The key terms in research on teacher thinking are research perspective, role of the agent, view of the teacher, teacher’s experience and teacher’s personal practical knowledge. The research draws on work which adopts the perspective of the teacher practitioner. Teachers are assumed to hold, use and develop personal practical knowledge. The intent is to understand the personal practical knowledge of two teachers from their perspectives and, in consequence, to elaborate a teacher-based conception of image. Communication in the interview situation is seen as an expression of a teacher’s personal practical knowledge and is one of the situations in which personal practical knowledge is expressed and is therefore subject to enquiry. In order to be able to offer an understanding of the teacher’s personal practical knowledge, an understanding of how the teacher works in her classroom milieu is necessary.