Beyond the development of teachers’ professional knowledge: Tapping into our practical wisdom
Written by: Camila Devis-Rozental
8 min read
Dr Camila Devis-Rozental, Principal Academic, Bournemouth University, UK
Introduction
Teachers’ professional knowledge is an important aspect of effective practice. Indeed, teachers who are experts in their subjects and those who have an in-depth understanding of pedagogical strategies, behaviour management and students’ needs are likely to have better outcomes (Barendsen and Henze, 2017). For this reason, it is important for teacher training programmes to emphasise professional development. Still, if applied without nuance, teachers’ professional knowledge that does not account for our lived experiences, values, principles and purpose can be detrimental to our practice (Devis-Rozental and Clarke, 2020). Professional knowledge can lose its impact if applied only as a means with which to standardise teaching and evaluation or homogenise students’ experiences and learning. In this article, I argue that professional knowledge must be practised with what Aristotle (ca 350BC; Schw
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About the Author
I am an academic leader with over 20 years’ experience in education. I began my career in Early Years and then went on to work in Higher Education supporting teachers in developing their practice. Currently I work at Bournemouth as a principal academic embedding a positive organisational culture based on my research on humanising practice. I am passionate about the role that teachers have to support, engage and inspire students to learn and thrive.
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