Suchergebnisse

Theoretically based conversations are not sufficient to closing the elusive performance gap between different education environments, but we believe they are a necessary part, and our hope is that the content of this book can contribute to worthwhile dialogues. A conclusion from this study is that the encounter between the teaching content, the social learning environment and the student is central to a student's opportunity to develop new knowledge, develop a sense of citizenship and develop individual potential. The teacher's democratic stance in the authoring of teaching content in the classroom makes a difference for what the student gets the opportunity to co-author and learn. We argue that the much-debated concept of powerful in connection with knowledge might be misleading as a basis for curricula and teaching and suggest a shift from matters of facts to matters of concern, as well as a shift from powerful knowledge to meaningful knowledge, if we really want different groups of students to direct their interest towards the teaching content and become involved in their own education.

The aims and meaning of education and teaching are contested. This article empirically explores the aims that dominate present research about teaching as reflected in high-impact reviews of research about teaching (n = 75). Four types of aims are discerned: knowledge/cognitive aims, social aims, aims encompassing the development of personal characteristics and democratic aims. With some exceptions, the reviews analyse teaching with regard to knowledge and cognitive aims only and do not explicitly attend to the aims of schooling or guiding documents. The implications of these empirical findings are discussed in light of the educational philosophies of Dewey and Thorndike.