Section archive - Theories & Approaches

This historical study looks back at the early years of the social foundations of education program that originated at Teachers College, Columbia University, in the 1930s–1940s, and focuses on the sociopolitical, intellectual, and educational currents that helped bring it about. The study suggests that many of the same rationales that undergirded social studies were applied to social foundations, with the belief that future citizens should be endowed with the capacity to solve contemporary social problems based on the wisdom of the ages, the realities of present-day circumstances, and the tools of critical analysis. In the end, social foundations was essentially a program of social studies for educators: the education school phase of social education writ large.

This paper presents a schema-based framework for analyzing teachers’ video-aided reflection on their own teaching. Results emphasized the importance of participants’ prior knowledge as a major influence on their ability to reflect.

This article is based on a comparative teacher education policy analysis in two countries: Sweden and England. The authors were interested to compare recent changes in two particular systems. In particular the authors are concerned with what may be termed education theory and professional scientific knowledge, which they define as content from the scientific study of the field of education practice in the education disciplinary core or in supporting disciplines within this policy development. The authors suggest that higher education teacher educators would have become trainers and mediators of Government policy, who understand their role as supporting professional work by offering principled guidance on classroom practice that is, at best, pre-digested theory.

The main purpose of this research was to investigate students’ views of using published research and their attitudes towards the research activities of their lecturers. A secondary aim was to examine the feasibility of developing a journal for the college partnership which would enable staff and students to submit manuscripts. Lecturers and students showed strong support for the proposal. Students indicated that lecturers who had published would be seen as more credible and would link their research activity to the learning experience more effectively. Students believed that the possibility of publishing their work in such a journal would be a wonderful opportunity which would make them work harder.