ABSTRACT
To theorise teaching as a spatial practice is to view teaching as inherently spatial and temporal. That is, in thinking about teaching as a spatial practice, we are viewing the social relationships of teaching as existing in space and time. The ways in which space and time are conceptualised in teaching include the physical working spaces in a classroom and school: spaces constructed within relationships, for example, in the teacher-student relationship, and the virtual teaching spaces in e-learning. These are all spaces (and times) which enable, shape and constrain teaching. For example, classrooms don’t enable the teaching of dance, and dance rooms don’t enable students to do research using information and communication technology (Ovens, 2008). As teachers, spatial metaphors permeate much of our thinking (Hirst and Cooper, 2008). For example, in previous chapters we have discussed the notion of space in discussing Vygotsky’s zone of proximal development, emotional distance in relationships, and social distances in relationships. This chapter explores teaching as a spatial practice.
