ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the discourses of advanced professional practice in teaching and provides a critical analysis of the vocabulary used to describe ‘great’ teaching. The shortcomings of notions such as ‘best practice’, ‘excellent teachers’ and ‘outstanding’ are considered given that these terms are associated with the performativity agenda. This is the basis for arguing that a better way to consider advanced professional practice is to locate it within discourses of expertise and expert practice, as this is potentially accessible by all teachers. The ways in which experts and expertise can be understood are outlined along with the characteristics of expert performance. Key theories regularly cited as being important in the literature are explored and a view of teacher expertise is offered based on a prototype model in which experts have ‘family resemblances’ but are not all the same. The chapter concludes with a reconceptualisation of expertise that informs and supports the concept of the improvising teacher.
