ABSTRACT
Part I of this book outlines the theoretical and conceptual foundations for this study. The interrelationship between improvisation and expertise provides a rationale for the value and significance of the improvising teacher. Accepting the validity and viability of the improvising teacher signals a cultural shift in the way that we understand professionalism.
This chapter explores the different ways in which improvisation as a concept is understood, acknowledging it as a global and universal phenomenon that is dependent on culture and context for its meaning. Improvisation is considered to be a complex and contested term that embraces a whole range of meanings and practices, many of which are conflicting or contradictory. Starting with references to improvisation from the Classical world (Aristotle and Quintilian), this overview explores changes of meaning from Enlightenment, Romantic, Modern and Post-Modern/ecological perspectives.
This field of meanings is used to construct a synoptic working definition of improvisation that informs this study. The chapter concludes with a summary of the philosophical assumptions that lie behind the working definition and outlines three theoretical perspectives, informed by the synoptic definition, that have been selected to provide a conceptual framework with which to critically engage with the study of improvisation within the context teaching.
