ABSTRACT
This chapter will focus on the embryonic development of a theory of teaching amongst leading teacher trainers during the period 1900-20. It will argue that during this period of innovation, serious attempts were made to empower teachers with a theory of teaching which was rooted in, not removed from, the realities of classroom life. The basis for this development was a growing interest amongst teacher trainers, many of whom were based in the new university departments of education, in seeking common pedagogical principles which could form a professional consensus on good teaching practice. Moving away earlier conceptions of teaching as a mere common-sensical art and critical of inaccessible theories of education which were too removed from actual experience, professional debates between teacher trainers who were networked through the TCA sought a more research-led and scientific engagement with practical pedagogy. The chapter reflects upon recent educational interest in the power of pedagogy to improve school and teacher effectiveness and seeks to bring a historical perspective on a highly complex and contested subject which for many years has remained relatively obscure, even amongst educational historians.
