Date of Graduation

1989

Document Type

Thesis

Abstract

This research was an exploratory investigation of stance in teacher learning. The concept of stance is suggested by the work of Bruner and Schon and is rooted in a constructivist perspective on knowledge. When applied to teaching, stance can be defined as a teacher's position toward the world of teaching, discernible in the verbal and behavioral language of practice. A teacher's stance is negotiated through experiencing various elements of teaching, constructing cognitive representations of these experiences, and taking a stand toward them. The researcher employed a naturalistic design to study stance in the context of one secondary Social Studies student teaching placement. Data collection methods included observation, interview, and reflective journal keeping. Data were analyzed by the constant comparative method of Glaser and Strauss. Findings reveal the student teacher held discernible stances toward various aspects of teaching. Her initial stances on the elements of teaching tended to focus on major themes and were derived primarily from her past experiences as a student. They were comprised of the meanings and explanations which she derived from her cognitive representations of teaching. They were a personal, normative, sometimes emotion-laden extension of what she knew about teaching and how she defined herself as teacher. During the practicum semester, the student teacher's initial stances were challenged and eventually adjusted to accommodate her new understandings. Particularly interesting findings relate to the interaction of the student teacher's and cooperating teacher's stances. The student teacher and cooperating teacher failed to fully understand one another's stances, which contributed to the fact that the student teacher encountered learning binds: times when problems of practice were difficult to solve. The researcher concluded that the concept of stance may help us gain understanding of the ways that teaching knowledge is held and used. Student teaching may encompass an intense period of stance negotiation and might be better arranged, along with other spects of teacher preparation, to facilitate teacher learning. Considerable additional research is needed on concepts such as stance in order for us to aid novice teachers in making sense of the complex world of teaching.

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