Introduction

This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book explores three perspectives on teacher education: platonic rationalism; the social market philosophy; and the hermeneutic. It explains the current debate in a detailed account of ‘the social market’ assumptions which underpin the New Right’s attack on teacher education, and of ‘the platonic rationalist assumptions’ which underpin the position attacked. The book explores an exposition and critique of David Hargreaves’ detailed and radical proposals for reform in teacher education and training. It provides a detailed elaboration of the ‘practical science’ paradigm of educational inquiry and spells out its implications for a coherent and continuous process of teacher education aimed at the development of capacities for situational understanding. The book explores the relevance of Dreyfus’ five-stage model of the development of situational understanding for describing phases of teacher development and curriculum design.