ABSTRACT
Recent reviews (Feiman-Nemser and Floden, 1984; Clark and Peterson, 1984) of teacher thinking and teacher knowledge have drawn attention to a small set of interesting studies named by the reviewers ‘teacher theories and beliefs.’ What is especially interesting about these studies is that, one way or another, they purport to study the personal, that is, the what, why and wherefore of individual pedagogical action. As Clark and Peterson (1984) say, the purpose of this cluster of studies is ‘to make explicit and visible the frames of reference through which individual teachers perceive and process information’ (p. 19); and Feiman-Nemser and Floden (1984) say the intent of these studies is to ‘get inside teachers’ heads to describe their knowledge, attitudes, beliefs and values’ (p. 4-5). Thus, in contrast to studies focused on group action, and to
others focused on generalized patterns of behavior in populations, this research, if the reviewers’ assessment is correct, is focused on individuals’ thought.
