Theory and practice in initial teacher education : the British context

Abstract

The argument I lead towards in this paper, however, is that while there is indeed a theory-practice problem, conventional diagnoses and associated solutions, far from solving the problem may well have exacerbated it. I shall argue that we need a more comprehensive diagnosis, basic to which must be an understanding of the assumptions which course structures in teacher education institutions have embodied and an honesty on the part of all of us - teacher educators, teachers and administrators - about the extent to which our own assumptions, attitudes and practices might hinder rather than help our student-teachers to make that vital theory-practice synthesis. I write about the context I know best, that in Britain. I make no comparisons with or extrapolations to the Maltese context: that is for others to do.