1. Kjersti Lea, Bergen University College, Norway. Kjersti.Lea@hib.no
Kjersti Lea, PhD-student at Bergen University College, Norway.
Mother tongue teachers need wisdom
Summary
The project is a case study which discusses the professional self-concept and knowledge of L1 teachers in an Aristotelian view.
The project’s point of departure is a study of seven Icelandic L1 upper secondary school teachers, based on interviews and the teachers’ written reports from their classes.
The project is a work in progress. It is based on the presumption that the position of the L1-subject is a particularly complex one, given that it has not only an academic agenda, but also is is connected to the pupils’ development both as individuals and citizens. In addition, the L1 subject is closely related to cultural and ethnic traditions and values. This does not least apply to Iceland, where the medieval Icelandic literature, such as the sagas and the Edda verses, actually is regarded the most important part of the nation’s cultural heritage and hence is an important part of the curriculum in the L1 subject. Having read and actually knowing the classic national literature is an inevitable part of any Icelander’s bildung, as is a good command of the often very literary written language and formal usage of oral Icelandic, which is in many cases very different from everyday language.
The working hypothesis is that in addition to academic and didactic skills, teachers’ knowledge must include morality and ethical sensitivity. Consequently the study aims to analyze and discuss the concept of knowledge in the teachers’ professional self-perception, in which the Aristotelian concept of knowledge seems to be a fruitful approach. The study raises questions such as: What kind of knowledge do the teachers actually possess and value? Does their knowledge cover the needs of their profession? What are these needs, anyway, and how should they be imparted to teachers?
Objective and method
The project’s focus is on L1 teachers and their practice. Furthermore it is a double-barreled study, dealing both with philosophical questions and with interpretation of the case at hand.
The project is framed within educational philosophy, but also relates to studies within L1 didactics. The motivation for this combination of disciplines is the belief that well qualified and competent teachers really are of great importance to pupils and their learning. Accordingly the concept of ”L1 teachers’ practice” must be explored both on a normative and an empirical level.
Firstly, we need to discuss the notion of ”competent teachers” and clearify its meaning. This discussion is by nature normative.
Secondly this discussion must be seen in relation to what really goes on in schools. What constitutes teachers’ competence and professional knowledge? This question calls for an empirical study. In this project all the empiri-cal information is provided by the teachers themselves through interviews and written reports from their classes.
Hypothesis and implications
The procject’s hypothesis is founded on several presumtions:
P1 The L1 subject is a complex subject which is essentially concerned with meaningfulness. It deals with language, texts and contexts in a broad sense and with the interpretation of these. An openness to and encouraging of reflection is part of the interpreting activity.
P2 Given P1, the L1 subject accordingly relates to the pupils’ development and understanding both academically and as individual and social selves. So the subject deals with bildung as well as with academic knowledge and practical skills (related to literacy).
P3 Especially in their written exercises pupils are often very personal. Hence their vulnerability is more at stake in the L1 subject than in most subjects.
P4 All human interaction involves morality. This is not least the case in non-symmetrical relationships as those between teachers and pupils.
The hypothesis follows from this: Given P1, P2, P3 and P4, L1 teachers have a challenging task. Academic skills are not sufficient to meet its demands, so the L1 teacher should have broadly founded knowledge and skills. These must include didactic skills, but also a moral consciousness and a sensible power of judgement; practical wisdom sensu Aristotle, combined with a socio-contextual awareness. As for the less measurable of these qualities, it does not suffice to count on teachers’ rationality and good intentions. It is necessary that teachers have a social and phronetic consciousness and this consciousness must come to the fore in their professional practice. Practical wisdom and power of judgement are therefore intimately intertwined with the subject’s didactics.
If this is correct, L1 teachers should be offered the chance and be encouraged to develop their professional self in order to raise their consciousness and cultivate their professional skills to the benefit of their pupils.
Phronesis, practical wisdom, is the capacity to act in accordance with what is good of humanity.
A broad notion of
mother tongue teachers' knowledge
Contextual and social awareness and skills
Critical moral wisdom, judgemental power and care (phronesis)
Didactic and pedagogical skills
(techné)
Academic knowledge, knowing the subject
(episteme)
A model of L1 teachers’ knowledge
Analysis and aim
The aim of the philosophical analysis is to develop a normative notion of L1 teachers’ professional knowledge.
The overriding objective of the empirical analysis is to explore in how far the professional self-perception of Icelandic L1 teachers’ in upper secondary
school corresponds to this notion. The material is therefore being analyzed with a particular view to
the teachers’ understanding of a competent teacher,
the teachers’ self-perception and how it relates to their expressed attitudes toward professionality, the subject and the pupils and
how they actually teach according to their own reports.