ABSTRACT
Teacher knowledge is a central concern in general teacher education research, where it encompasses a range of constructs such as ‘practical knowledge,’ ‘pedagogical content knowledge,’ ‘decision-making,’ ‘metaphors’ and ‘beliefs,’ and it overlaps with ‘teacher thinking’ or ‘cognition'. In the 1980s, qualitative approaches that focused on documenting teachers’ experiences and knowledge were upending the process–product research paradigm. Unlike disciplinary knowledge, in mathematics or the sciences for example, language as content knowledge combines discipline-related elements with the know-how of using it. More finely grained, qualitative work concentrates on documenting specific instances and uses of the knowledge through case studies and cross-case analyses. Studying how policyscapes play out generally requires a comprehensive theory that connects the macro and classroom levels. Most educational systems depend on professional development programming to improve what they do, reasoning that these programs will improve teaching that will then improve student outcomes.
