Abstract
Professional development, teacher learning and effective classroom practice are issues that have, for many years, been on the educational and research agenda and are singled out as crucial factors for attention as the political media reports on the crisis of the teaching profession. This chapter brings these issues together in a discussion which centres on what teachers learn about their teaching, if the object of professional learning focuses on classroom interactions. The chapter rests on the conviction that the centre point for transforming pedagogy and understanding praxis is on the interactions that occur in classrooms. The moment-by-moment interchanges between teachers and students and the details of learning and teaching events reveal valuable insights about what it means to be a praxis-oriented teacher. The chapter is informed by the results of a twelve-month action research study focused on the interactive practices of teachers working in primary school classrooms with the aim of promoting teacher change. It presents one way a particular group of teachers worked to understand themselves as teaching professionals, their teaching context and their praxis development. The research study presented in this chapter go part way in offering a new direction for understanding and interpreting praxis in relation to fostering ongoing teacher learning and improving classroom practice.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Title of host publication | Enabling Praxis |
| Subtitle of host publication | Challenges for Education. Volume 1 of Pedagogy, education and praxis |
| Editors | Stephen Kemmis, Tracey J Smith |
| Place of Publication | Rotterdam, The Netherlands |
| Publisher | Sense Publishers |
| Pages | 127-148 |
| Number of pages | 22 |
| Volume | 1 |
| Edition | 7 |
| ISBN (Print) | 9789087902537 |
| Publication status | Published - 2008 |