Abstract
Counts (1939) encouraged educators to sustain our democracy through engaging in “new ventures” and the “launching of a bold and vigorous program of action” (p. 11). As a graduate student and social studies teacher I have questioned, and heard colleagues question, the relevance of education theory in the realities of classroom practice. Many authors suggested that linking theory to practice could be done through inquiry (Dewey, 1910; Marano, 1998; LaBoskey, 2004a; Russell, 2004). Through engaging in self-study, I have seen the power and witnessed the promise of self-study to connect these two aspects of my teaching and learning. As well as this, I have seen the ways in which collaborative self-study helps you frame and reframe (Schön, 1983; Hamilton & Pinnegar, 1998; Loughran & Northfield, 1998) experiences and bring out new themes and emerging lines of inquiry for continued self-study, essentially leading to sustained professional development (Feiman-Nemser, 2001).
The survival of democracy in America requires, above all else, launching of a bold and vigorous program of action. If democracy is to continue to live, it must show signs of life; if it is not to face the immediate prospect of senility and death, it must go forward to new ventures and conquests. It cannot preserve itself by standing still and clutching to its breast the achievements of the past.
(Counts, 1939, p. 11)
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Åkerlind, G. S. (2008). A phenomenographic approach to developing academics’ understanding of the nature of teaching and learning. Teaching in Higher Education, 13(6), 633–644.
Barton, K. C., & Levstik, L.S. (2004). Teaching History for the common good. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrance Erlbaum Associates.
Berry, A., & Crowe, A. R. (2006). Extending our boundaries through self-study: Framing a research agenda through beginning a critical friendship. In L. M. Fitzgerald, M. L. Heston, & D. L. Tidwell (Eds.), Collaboration and community: Pushing boundaries through self-study. Proceedings of the Sixth International Conference on Self-Study of Teacher Education Practices (pp. 31–35). Cedar Falls, IA: University of Northern Iowa.
Cochran-Smith, M. A. (2003). Learning and unlearning: The education of teacher educators. Teaching and Teacher Education, 19, 5–28.
Cochran-Smith, M., & Lytle, S. L. (2004). Practitioner inquiry, knowledge, and university culture. In J. J. Loughran, M. L. Hamilton, V. K. Laboskey, & T. Russell (Eds.), International handbook of self-study of teaching and teacher education practices (pp. 602–649). Dordrecht: Kluwer.
Cochran-Smith, M., & Lytle, S. L. (2009). Inquiry as stance: Practitioner research for the next generation. New York, NY: Teachers College Press.
Counts, G. S. (1939). The schools can teach democracy. New York: The John Day.
Crowe, A. R., & Whitlock, T. W. (1999, April). The education of teacher educators: A self-study of the professional development of two doctoral students in teacher education. Paper presented at the meeting of the American Educational Research Association, Montreal, Canada. (Eric Document, ED430942)
Darling-Hammond, L. (2006). Powerful teacher education: Lessons from exemplary programs. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Dewey, J. (1910). How we think. New York: Heath.
Dewey, J. (1937). Education and social change. The Social Frontier, 3(26), 235–238.
Dinkelman, T. (2003). Self-study in teacher education: A means and ends tool for promoting reflective teaching. Journal of Teacher Education, 54(1), 6–18.
Feiman-Nemser, S. (2001). From preparation to practice: Designing a continuum to strength and sustain teaching. Teaching College Record, 103(6), 1013–1055.
Hamilton, M. L., & Pinnegar, S. (1998). Conclusion: The value and the promise of self-study. In M. L. Hamilton (Ed.), Reconceptualizing teaching practice: Self-study in teacher education (pp. 235–246). London: Falmer.
Korthagen, F. A. J. (2004). In search of the essence of a good teacher: Towards a more holistic approach in teacher education. Teaching and Teacher Education, 20, 77–97.
LaBoskey, V. K. (2004a). The methodology of self-study and its theoretical underpinnings. In J. J. Loughran, M. L. Hamilton, V. K. LaBoskey, & T. Russell (Eds.), International handbook of self-study of teaching and teacher education practices (pp. 817–869). Dordrecht: Kluwer.
LaBoskey, V. K. (2004b). Afterword. Moving the methodology of self-study research and practice forward: Challenges and opportunities. In J. J. Loughran, M. L. Hamilton, V. K. LaBoskey, & T. Russell (Eds.), International handbook of self-study of teaching and teacher education practices (pp. 1169–1184). Dordrecht: Kluwer.
Lortie, D. C. (2002). Schoolteacher (2nd ed.). Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press. (Original work published 1975)
Loughran, J.J. (1999). Researching teaching: Methodologies and practices for understanding pedagogy. Philadelphia, PA: Falmer Press.
Loughran, J., & Northfield, J. (1998). A framework for the development of self-study practice. In M. L. Hamilton (Ed.), Reconceptualizing teacher practice: Self-study in teacher education (pp. 7–18). London: Falmer.
Marano, N. L. (1998). The teaching learning dialectic: Two cases of teachers in graduate school. Teaching and Teacher Education, 14(4), 429–443.
Myers, C. B. (2002). Can self-study challenge the belief that telling, showing, and guided practice constitute adequate teacher education? In J. J. Loughran & T. Russell (Eds.), Improving teacher education practices through self-study (pp. 130–142). London: RoutledgeFalmer.
National Council for the Social Studies. (2001, May). Position statement on creating effective citizens. Retrieved from http://www.socialstudies.org/positions/effectivecitizens, May 11, 2009.
Ritter, J. K., Powell, D., & Hawley T. S. (2007). Takin’ it to the streets: A collaborative self-study into social studies field instruction. Social Studies Research and Practice. 2(3), 341–357. Retrieved from http://www.socstrp.org/issues/PDF/2.3.3.pdf, May 23, 2009.
Russell, T. (2004). Tracing the development of self-study in teacher education research and practice. In J. J. Loughran, M. L. Hamilton, V. K. LaBoskey, & T. Russell (Eds.), International handbook of self-study of teaching and teacher education practices (pp. 1191–1210). Dordrecht: Kluwer.
Schommer, M. (1998). The influence of age and education on epistemological beliefs. The British Journal of Educational Psychology, 68(4), 551–562.
Schön, D. A. (1983). The reflective practitioner: How professionals think in action. New York: Basic Books.
Tidwell, D. (2002). A balancing act: Self-study in valuing the individual student. In J. J. Loughran & T. Russell (Eds.), Improving teacher education practices through self-study (pp. 30–42). London: RoutledgeFalmer.
Tyson, C. A., & Park, S. C. (2008). Civic education, social justice and critical race theory. In J. Arthur, I. Davies, & C. Hahn (Eds.), The Sage handbook of education for citizenship and democracy (pp. 355–366). Los Angeles, CA: Sage.
van Manen, M. (1999). The language of pedagogy and primacy of student experience. In J. J. Loughran (Ed.), Researching teaching: Methodologies and practice for understanding pedagogy (pp. 13–27). London: Falmer.
Zeichner, K. M. (1999). The new scholarship of teacher education. Educational Leadership, 28(9), 4–15.
Zeichner, K. M., & Tabachnick, B. R. (1981). Are the effects of university teacher education “washed out” by school experience? Journal of Teacher Education, 32(3), 7–11.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2010 Springer Netherlands
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Hostetler, A.L. (2010). Self-Study’s Influence on Graduate Studies and Social Studies Teaching: Bridging Intent and Action. In: Crowe, A. (eds) Advancing Social Studies Education through Self-Study Methodology. Self Study of Teaching and Teacher Education Practices, vol 10. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-3943-9_9
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-3943-9_9
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-90-481-3942-2
Online ISBN: 978-90-481-3943-9
eBook Packages: Humanities, Social Sciences and LawEducation (R0)