ABSTRACT
This chapter considers the anticipatory nature of theory building with a particular focus on teacher thinking research. It suggests a number of directions that teacher thinking research could take in terms of methodology and areas of focus. A current core assumption is that teacher thinking researchers are trying to understand and interpret ways in which teachers make sense of and adjust to and create the educational environment within their schools and classrooms. Whilst sharing a focus and ideological commitment to viewing teachers as active agents in development of educative events, field of teacher thinking is diverse in terms of theoretical and methodological approaches. Adopting a Lakatosian perspective it is possible, within a teacher thinking research programme, for there to be differing aims and methods used, provided these are compatible with the hard core of negative heuristic. The community of teacher thinking scholars embraces a wide range including psychologists, sociologists, curriculum specialists, anthropologists, philosophers, linguists and a variety of ‘subject specialists’.
