ABSTRACT
This paper describes conceptions of the teacher, of students, of subject matter, of context, and of the research process that characterized the field of research on teaching in 1975 and contrasts these with contemporary views. Concerns are raised about the meaning of these conceptual developments with regard to multi-disciplinarity, competition for research funding, absence of attention to populations of teachers and students who are most at risk, focus on thinking processes to the exclusion of content, and insufficient attention to unintended side effects of research on teacher thinking.
