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TheGoodTeacherTheGoodTeacherwillhelpteachers,studentteachers,teachertrainersandothersinterestedinthesociologyandpsychologyofeducationtoexploreandmakebettersenseofprofessionalpracticebyexaminingthatpracticeinthecontextofpopularviewsastowhatconstitutesgoodteaching.Thebookidentiesandelaboratesthreedominantdiscoursesofgoodteaching:.thecompetentcraftsperson,currentlyfavouredbycentralgovernments.thereectivepractitioner,whocontinuestogetwidespreadsupportamongteachertrainersandeducators.thecharismaticsubject,whosepopularappealisevidencedinlmicandothermediarepresentationsofteaching.Allofthesediscoursesarecritiquedonthebasisoftheircapacitybothtohelpandtohinderimprovedpracticeandunderstandingsofpractice.Inparticular,itisarguedthatthediscoursesallhaveatendency,ifnotchecked,toover-emphasisetheindividualteachersorstudentteachersresponsibilityforsuccessfulandunsuccessfulclassroomencounters,andtounderstatetheroleofthewidersocietyandeducationsystemsinsuchsuccessesandfailures.TheGoodTeacherwillbeofinteresttoallthoseintheteachingprofes-sionandthoseconsideringteachingasacareer.Itoffersadviceandsupport,anddirectsteacherstowardsabetterunderstandingoftheself-as-practitioner.AlexMooreiscurrentlyaSeniorLecturerinCurriculumStudiesattheInsti-tuteofEducation,UniversityofLondon. TheGoodTeacherDominantdiscoursesinteachingandteachereducationAlexMoore Firstpublished2004byRoutledgeFalmer11NewFetterLane,LondonEC4P4EESimultaneouslypublishedintheUSAandCanadabyRoutledgeFalmer29West35thStreet,NewYork,NY10001RoutledgeFalmerisanimprintoftheTaylor&FrancisGroup&2004AlexMooreAllrightsreserved.Nopartofthisbookmaybereprintedorreproducedorutilisedinanyformorbyanyelectronic,mechanical,orothermeans,nowknownorhereafterinvented,includingphotocopyingandrecording,orinanyinformationstorageorretrievalsystem,withoutpermissioninwritingfromthepublishers.BritishLibraryCataloguinginPublicationDataAcataloguerecordforthisbookisavailablefromtheBritishLibraryLibraryofCongressCataloginginPublicationDataAcatalogrecordforthisbookhasbeenrequestedISBN0415335647(hbk)ISBN0415335655(pbk)This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2005.ISBN 0-203-42027-6 Master e-book ISBN ISBN 0-203-47792-8 (Adobe eReader Format) “To purchase your own copy of this or any of Taylor & Francis or Routledgescollection of thousands of eBooks please go to www.eBookstore.tandf.co.uk.” ForAnna ContentsAcknowledgementsixPARTIThegoodteacher:themesandissues11Beingagoodteacherinuencesandcalls32Identifyingthegoodteacherashiftingconcept27PARTIIDominantdiscourses493Madeinheavencharismaticsubjects514Thetrainingdiscoursecompetentcraftspersons755Theappealofreasonreectivepractitioners100PARTIIIPositionings1216Thepragmaticturncoping,survivingand(re-)positioning1237Thereexiveturnexploringprivateandprofessionalselves141Afterword:reclaimingteaching168References173Index183 AcknowledgementsMydeepestthankstoallthosefriends,colleaguesandlovedoneswhohavesupportedmeinvariouswaysthroughthepainfulbusinessofattemptingtotransfersomeofmyideasfromtheirsecurehaveninthemindtotheturbu-lentwatersofthepublicdomainatransferenceIhaveneverfoundeasy.Inparticular,toDennisAtkinsonforhisunendinglyinterestingandstimulat-ingcommentariesonlifeeducational;toAndyAsh,myco-researcherontheLondonUniversity-fundedstudyDevelopingReectivePracticeinBeginningTeachers,forhiswisdom,friendshipandsupportthroughdif-culttimesandforhisgenerosityinallowingmetomakeuseofshareddataformyownends;tomylong-sufferingwifeandchildrenforputtingupwiththegrumpinessandabsenteeismthatinvariablyaccompanythissortofactivity;toAnnaClarksonatRoutledgeFalmerforaskingmetowritethebookintherstplace,forencouragingme,withhabitualgoodhumourandreasonableness,tostickatitwhenthegoinggottough,andforhelpingtoturnmyinitial,confusedattemptsintoamorereadabletext;totheteachersandstudentteacherswithoutwhosearticulatetestimoniesthisbookwouldneverhavebeenwritten;totheESRCandtheUniversityofLondon,whosegrantsmadepossibletwoofthethreeresearchprojectsonwhichIhavedrawninsupportofmyargument;toDavidHalpin,GwynEdwardsandRosalynGeorgeforbeingcriticalfriendsandforallowingmetousedatacollectedandanalysedasateamontheProfessionalIdenti-tiesProject;andtoallmyotherwonderfulcolleaguesandstudentsattheInstituteofEducationandatGoldsmithsCollegefortheirsupport,inspira-tion,toleranceandwisdomovertheyears.Someofthematerialinthisbookhasappearedelsewhereinotherguises,andIamadditionallygratefultovariouseditorsforapprovingreproductionofthis,albeitinmodiedform.Specically,someofmysuggestionsregard-ingcharisma,competence,reectivepracticeandreexivityappearinacondensedforminChapter8ofM.Hammersley(ed.)ResearchingSchoolExperience(FalmerPress,1999)andinChapter5ofA.Moore,TeachingandLearning:Pedagogy,CurriculumandCulture(RoutledgeFalmer,2000);someofthematerialandexamplesIhaveusedinrelationtoteachereffectivenessandpedagogicalpragmatismrstappearedintheco-authored articleA.Moore,G.Edwards,D.HalpinandR.George,Compliance,ResistanceandPragmatism:The(Re)constructionofSchoolteacherIdenti-tiesinaPeriodofIntensiveEducationalReform,BritishEducationalResearchJournal28(4)(2002)55165;andtheideasconcerningreexivityandtheO/otherhadtheirrstpublicairingintheco-authoredarticleA.MooreandD.Atkinson,Charisma,CompetenceandTeacherEduca-tion,Discourse19(2)(1998)17182,subsequentlytoberevisedinthepaperA.MooreandA.Ash,DevelopingReectivePracticeinBeginningTeachers:Helps,HindrancesandtheRoleoftheCriticalo/Other,BritishEducationalResearchAssociationAnnualConference,UniversityofExeter,2002;Education-line,BEI).xAcknowledgements PartIThegoodteacherThemesandissues 1BeingagoodteacherinuencesandcallsThequestionWhatmakesagoodteacher?isjustaboutthemostimportantineducation.Wedoknowsomeoftheanswerstothequestion.andourmosturgentobjectiveshouldbetoestablishtheconditionsunderwhichthebestexistingpracticecanbespreadmorewidely.(LordBoyle,IntroductiontoKemble1971,pp.9,11)Revealed:theidealteacher.(HeadlineintheTimesEducationalSupplement,16June2000,p.5,announcingthepublicationofHayMcBer2000)Beingagoodteacher:competentandreectivepractitionersThelastthreedecadeshaveseenaplethoraofpublicationsabouthowtoteachandabouthowtoteachteachers.Whilemanyofthesehaveconcen-tratedontheorganisationandbroadcontentofcoursesofteachereduca-tion(NUT1976;DES1981;Alexanderetal.1984),othershavefallenintothecategoryoftheteachingguide,offeringtipsandadvicetoinexperiencedteachersonsuchmattersasmanagingpupilslearningandbehaviour,mark-ingandassessingpupilswork,andlong-andshort-termlessonplanning(e.g.CohenandManion1977;StephensandCrawley1994).Suchpublica-tionsmaybesaidtosupportaparticularmodelofteachingandofinitialandcontinuingteachereducationthatprioritisesthenotionoftheteacherastrainedcraftsperson(Marland1975).ThesepublicationssitnotuncomfortablywithanothermodelofteachingandteachereducationthathasrecentlyenjoyedaresurgenceofpopularitywithgovernmentagenciesinBritainandelsewhere:thatofthecompetentteacher(CouncilfortheAccreditationofTeacherEducation1992;Depart-mentforEducationandEmployment1997a,1997b;TeacherTrainingAgency1998).Accordingtothismodel,teachersaretrainedintheacquisi-tionofcertaincompetencesrelatedtoaspectsofclassroommanagement,long-term,medium-termandshort-termplanning,developingandsharingsubjectknowledge,andassessing,recordingandreportingstudentswork leadingtotheachievementofprescribed,assessableand(presumably)acquired-for-lifestandards.Together,thesemodelshavecometorepresentwhatIshallcallthecompetentcraftspersondiscourseofteachingandteachereducation,whereintheteacherisconguredandunderstoodasonewhoworksupontherawmaterialoftheirstudents,improvingtheextentandqualityoflearningandskillsthroughtheapplicationanddevelopmentofidentiedskillsoftheirown.(IusethetermdiscoursemoreofwhichlaterintheFoucauldiansense,todenotetheconstructedlinguistic,conceptualandethicalparam-eterswithinwhichourperceptionsofthesocialworldandouractionswithinitareframed:parametersessentiallyintroducedandsustainedbylanguageandknowledge,andcontrolledandpatrolledbyideologiesthattendtoservespecicinterestsattheexpenseofothers.)Otherpublicationshavemovedbeyondwhatmightbecalledtheskills-basedapproachtoteaching,toofferadviceaboutunderlyingperceptions,proceduresandapproachesinwhatisrecognisedasahighlycomplexsetofactivitiesandinterrelations.Suchpublications,eschewingthenotionthatteachingisreducibletodiscreteandnitelistsofskillsandpractices,havefocusedontheimportanceofinformedreectiononwhatonedoesintheclassroom.Thisnotionofreectivepractice,whichplacesasmuchemphasisonteachersownevaluationsoftheirpractice(inspeciccontexts)asontheplanningandmanagementskillsintowhichsuchevaluationsfeed,thoughalreadycurrentunderdifferentnamesintheearly1970s(see,forinstance,Combs1972;Wragg1974),reallycametotheforeinthe1980sandearly1990sinBritainthroughtheworkofsuchwritersasSchon(1983,1987),Valli(1992)andElliott(1993a,1993b).Today,whathasevolvedintoareectivepractitionerdiscoursecontinuestoshowitspopularappealonbookshopshelves(e.g.Loughran1996;LoughranandRussell1997;MitchellandWeber1996;Pollard2002a,2002b),evenasitbecomesincreasinglymarginalisedbygovernment-sponsoredpublicationsfavour-ingthecompetentcraftspersondiscourse(Ofsted/TTA1996;DfEE1997a,1997b)adiscoursewithwhichitmight,atrstglance,appeartobeatodds.Popularconceptualisationsofgoodteachers:charismaticandcaringsubjectsInadditiontothesetwoofcialdiscoursesofgoodteaching(ofcial,thatis,intermsoftheirrepresentationandvalidationinpolicydocumentationandinbooksaimedatteachersandteachereducators)thereexistsathirddiscoursethathasgreatpopularappeal:thatoftheteacherascharismaticsubject.Withinthetermsofthisdiscoursethekeytogoodteachingisconceivedashavinglesstodowitheducationandtraining,andmoretodowiththeinherentorintrinsicqualitiesofcharacterorpersonalityofthe4Thegoodteacher:themesandissues teacher,typicallycoupledwithadeeplycaringorientationaimedveryspecicallyatmakingadifferencetopupilslives.Withinthisdiscourse,successfulteachersareperceivednotashavingbeenmade(not,atleast,throughprocessesofteachertrainingandeducation),butassimplypossess-ingtherightstuffthecapacitytocommandenthusiasm,respectandevenlovethroughthesheerforceoftheirclassroompresence.Iftherearefewerpublishedmaterialsonbeingcharismaticthanonbeingcompetentorreective,itispreciselybecauseofthisunderpinningprincipleofthecharismaticsubjectdiscoursethatcharismacannotbeacquired:thatistosay,noamountoftrainingoreducationcanturnadull,uncharis-maticteacherintoalively,charismaticone,anymorethanonecantrain,teachorcompelsomeonetobeenthusiasticorcaring.Theconceptofthecharismaticteacherwhichcontinuestohauntlargenumbersofteachersandstudentteachersis,however,continuallypopularisedandhege-monisedinlmicandotherctiverepresentationsofsuccessfulteaching,whereitcanhavetheeffectnotsomuchofcomplementingasofunder-miningboththecompetentcraftspersonandthereectivepractitionerdis-courses.AsweshallseeinChapter3,thesuccessful,charismaticteachersportrayedin(forexample)featurelmstendtohavehadlittleornoteachereducationortraining,toknownothingabouttheoriesofteachingandlearning,andtoeschewreectiononpracticeinfavourofinstinctiveoropportunisticresponsesandreactionstoclassroomevents.Thecharismaticsubjectdiscourse,despiteitssomewhatperipheralstatusintheofcialdiscoursesofgoodteaching,remainsaverypowerfulone,notleastbecauseitisitselffoundedonandsupportedbyaseriesofwhatBritzman(1991)referstoasculturalmythsandwhatBruner(1996)callsfolkpedagogy:thatistosay,particularcommon-senseconvictionsandsuppositionsaboutteachingandlearningthatactassupportersandper-petuatorsofthediscourse.ForBritzman,culturalmythsincludesucheverydayplatitudesaseverythingdependsontheteacher,theteacherasexpertandtheteacherasself-made(Britzman1991,pp.68,22237)platitudeswhichprovideasetofidealimages,denitions,justications,andmeasuresforthought,feeling,andagencythatworktorenderasunitaryandcertaintherealitytheyseektoproduce.ForBruner,folkpedagogiesare,inessence,alsoculturalmyths,thistimesupportingconvic-tionsthat,forexample,childrenareemptyvesselstobelledwithknowl-edgethatonlyadultscanprovideandpupilsshouldbepresentedwithfacts,principlesandrulesofactiontoberemembered,andthenapplied(Bruner1996,pp.49,55:seealsoWatkinsandMortimore1999,p.15).Britzmanssuggestionthatculturalmythscontributetotheconstructionofsomethingcalledrealitythroughtheover-simplicationanduniversalisa-tionofsociallifeandexperiencepointsuptheattractionbothofmythsandofthediscoursestheyshapeandsupport.Myths,afterall,provideasemblanceoforder,control,andcertaintyinthefaceoftheuncertaintyBeingagoodteacher5 andvulnerabilityoftheteachersworld(ibid.).However,theuniversalisingdiscoursestheyhelptoconstruct,Britzmanargues,havetheeffectofheap-ingtoomuchattentionontheactionsoftheindividualandtoolittleonthesocialstructuresinwhichtheindividualsactionsaresituated,havingconsequentlyafundamentallyconservativefunction,encouragingasympto-maticratherthanacausalexplanationoffailure,andsupportingindividualattheexpenseofcollectiveresponsibility.AsBritzmansuggests:Inthecaseofstudentteachers,culturalmythsstructureaparticulardiscourseaboutpower,authority,andknowledgethatheightensindi-vidualeffortasittrivializesschoolstructureandtheagencyofstudents.Theproblemisthatwhenthepowerofindividualeffortbecomesabstractedfromthedynamicsofthesocial,studentteacherscannoteffectivelyinterveneinthecomplexconditionsthatpushthemtotakeupthenormativepracticesthatdiscouragetheirdesiresforchange.(1991,p.222,myitalics)Britzmanarguesthatteachereducationhastraditionallybeendoggedbyapersistentcommon-sensebeliefoften,inthepast,operationalisedinpolicyandpracticethat,ifnotnecessarilybornratherthanmade,teachersdomakethemselves.Thisparticularculturalmyth,shesuggests,functionstodevalueanymeaningfulattempttomakerelevantteachereducation,educationaltheory,andthesocialprocessofacknowledgingthevaluesandinterestsonebringstoandconstructsbecauseoftheeducationalencounter.(1991,p.230)Inacuriousway(curious,sincetheconceptofgoodteachersbeingbornseemstostandindirectoppositiontotheconceptofgoodteachersbeingmade),thecharismaticdiscourseservesasimilarfunctioninrelationtoteachereducationandtrainingtothatidentiedbyBritzmanregardingteachersasself-madeprofessionals.Thatis,thediscoursenotonlyunder-minesthediscoursesofthecompetentcraftspersonandthereectiveprac-titioner,butitalsounderminestheveryprojectofteachereducationandtrainingitselfincludingthebeliefthatproductiveteachingcannotbeachievedintheabsenceofgenuineunderstanding(understanding,forexample,oftheoriesrelatedtoteachingandlearning;ofthepartplayedbytheteachersandpupilsownhistories,dispositions,perceptionsandexperi-encesintheteachingandlearningsituation;andofthewidersocialandcul-turalrelationswithinwhichallformsofclassroompracticeareinevitablylocated).Itispreciselythisemphasisonunderstandingwhichcanbepro-motedanddevelopedthroughconstructiveandinstructivedialoguesbothamongteachersandbetweenstudentteachersandtheirmoreexperienced6Thegoodteacher:themesandissues colleaguesthatliesattheheartofeverythingelsethatIwishtoargueandpromoteinthisbook.Dominantdiscourses:thedangersofreductionsimOneofthesuggestionsIshallmakeinthepagesthatfollowisthatthetwodiscoursesofthecompetentcraftspersonandthereectivepractitionernotonlyremainthedominantofcialdiscoursesinteachereducation,buthavethecapacityifnotalwaystheintentionbothtoweakenoneanotherandtomarginalisealternativeteacher-educationdiscourses,includ-ingdiscourseswhichseektoprioritisetheidiosyncratic,contingentaspectsofteachingandlearning(Maguire1995;Moore1996)asopposedtothosewhichmaybeperceivedandpresentedasuniversal.Ishallarguethatallthesediscourses,thoughtypicallyperceivedandpresentedinapparentoppositiontooneanother,areoftensimilarlycharacterisedbyandrootedinpsychologicalnotionsoftheideal,uniedself(Lacan1977,1979;Walkerdine1982,1990)andinamodernistorscienticviewofteachingandlearningthatiscircumscribedbyanotionofclosureandthenamingofparts(Hamilton1993;Reid1993).Thisisaviewwhich,Iamaware,willinitiallysurprise,disappointandperhapsangersomeproponentsofreec-tivepracticebutwhichwill,Ihope,becomemoreacceptableasIdeclaremyownallegiancenotonlytoreectivepracticeitselfbuttoaparticularformofreectivepracticewhichIshallrefertoasreexivity.Asforthecharismaticsubjectdiscourse,Ishallsuggestthatalthoughthisfeaturesfarlessprominentlyinthetaughtelementsofpre-service(andindeedearlyandcontinuingprofessionaldevelopment)coursesforschoolteachers,itisadiscoursethatstudentteachersbringwiththemintotheircourses,whereitoftenconictswiththetwootherdiscoursesoratbestsitsinastateofuneasytolerancewiththem.Furthermore,thecontinuingchampion-ingofthecharismaticdiscourseoutsidethetraining/developmentdis-courseinlmsandinnewspapers,certainly,butalsoonthestreetorinconversationswithfamilyandfriendscan,unlessitisdealtwithandcon-textualisedviathetaughtcourse,leadtoconsiderablediscomfortandevenself-imposedfailureonthestudentteacherspart(MooreandAtkinson1998).NoneofthismeansthatIbelievethecompetentcraftsperson,reectivepractitionerorcharismaticsubjectdiscoursestobewhollyorinevitablybadortobeavoided(infact,theyareunavoidable),orthatIshallbesuggestingthatteachersdonotneedtobecompetentorreective,orthattheyshouldnotbeperceivedattimesascharismaticoratalltimesascaring(though,aswillbecomeclear,Ishallbeusingtheselattertermsinveryparticularways).Indeed,Ihavespentagreatpartofthepastfteenyearsofmyprofessionallifetryingtohelpteachersandstudentteacherstobecomebothmorecompetentatandmoreconstructivelyreectiveaboutwhattheydo,aswellasforegroundingtheirownenthusiasmandpassionBeingagoodteacher7 intheclassroomencounterandIshallnodoubtcontinuetodoso.Thereismuchofmeritinthecompetentcraftspersonandreectivepractitionerdiscourses,notleastintheoppositionalstancetheymayhelptoprovideinrelationtosomeotherdominantdiscourses(likethecharismaticsubjectdis-course)whichunhelpfullymystifytheteachingprocessorwhichthreatentoexcludethemajorityofthepopulationfromthepossibilityofeversuccess-fullypursuingteachingasacareer.Conversely,thecharismaticsubjectdiscourseitselfcan,dependingonhowweaddressandinternaliseit,actasausefulcountertosomeofthemoremechanistic,technicisttendenciesofthecompetentpractitionerdiscourse(and,morerecently,ofthereectivepracticediscourse),remindingusthatteachingisanartaswellasascience,thatgoodcommunicationskillsareattheheartofgoodteaching,andthatwhatiscommunicat-edshouldnotrestrictitselftofacts,knowledgeorskillsalone.Theproblemwithallthesediscoursesoccurswhentheyareadoptednotinconcertwithoneanotherorwithother,equallyinstructivediscourses,butinawaywhichaffordsthemtoogreatadominance:wemightsay,whentheyevolvefrombeingmerelybeliefsorviewsaboutteachingtodis-coursesthroughwhichteachingisfundamentallyperceived,experienced,spokenaboutandunderstood.Whenthishappens,theyrevert,Ishallsuggest,totheirCartesianroots,becomingsuckeddownintothesameessentialistpositionsthatBritzmancorrectlyidentiesandchallengesintheteachers-make-themselvesdiscourseandthatmaybeseenasimplicitintheTimesEducationalSupplementquotationwithwhichthischapteropenedinthecaseofthecompetentcraftspersonandcharismaticsubjectdiscourses,inevitablysoifthediscourserefusestoopenitsborderstoothertrafc;inthecaseofthereectivepractitionerdiscourse,potentially(andtoooftenactually)soifitsparametersaretoocloselyconnedo
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