Introduction

This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this section of this book. The section considers certain fundamental strategies and conditions which constitute and structure the activity ‘teaching’, or, more succinctly, through an examination of models of teacher action. It first demonstrates the ways in which the assumptions and perceptions of the analyst can so deeply penetrate description and analysis of the world under investigation as to jeopardize the chances these analysts have of presenting a ‘truthful’ account. The detailed examination which has been developed in micro‐sociological research of teachers’ daily activities has led those researchers promoting this approach to take a very critical stance indeed towards all explanations of educational affairs based on descriptions or concepts which lack reference to the significance of human agency.