Researching Teacher Education Practices

TLDR

Self‑study in teacher education is often seen as a solitary practice, but it is most effective when enriched by multiple perspectives and reframing, which helps reveal deeper links between teaching about teaching and learning about teaching. The article argues that documenting self‑study in accessible, meaningful ways is necessary to develop deeper understandings that strengthen the articulation of a pedagogy of teacher education. It examines what self‑study is, how it can be conducted, and how it might be reported.

Abstract

This article explores the nature of self-study of teacher education practices by examining what self-study is and how it might be conducted and reported. In working through these ideas, the article makes an argument for the need for learning through self-study to be documented in ways that might not only be accessible to others but also meaningful for their practice in teaching about teaching. Although the term self-study suggests a singular and individual approach to researching practice, the reality is that self-studies are dramatically strengthened by drawing on alternative perspectives and reframing of situations, thus data, ideas, and input that necessitate moving beyond the self. Moving beyond the self also matters because a central purpose in self-study is uncovering deeper understandings of the relationship between teaching about teaching and learning about teaching. This article argues a need for these deeper understandings to be developed in ways that enhance an articulation of a pedagogy of teacher education.