Theories of Bernstein and Shulman: their relevance to teacher training courses in England using adult numeracy courses as an example

Abstract

Since 2002, adult numeracy specifications have been introduced for the first time in England. This article investigates the relevance of Bernstein and Shulman's theoretical frameworks to teacher training using the new Level 4 adult numeracy teacher training programmes as an example. The article discusses Bernstein's theories relating to pedagogic methods of acquisition and transmission. It investigates the recontextualization process in which subject content and teaching standards may be translated into teaching approaches, which can be used by trainee teachers. It also investigates Shulman's model of pedagogical reasoning and action in relation to teacher training. The article bases its evidence on a research project, which evaluates teacher training courses in adult numeracy and literacy, and English for speakers of other languages in England. The article suggests that the two educationists' theories have significant relevance to the design and implementation of teacher training courses. It also suggests that they can be used alongside each other with each educationist's theories having their particular strengths. Bernstein's theories emphasize a rigorous approach to course structuring; Shulman's theories offer an insightful approach to how a trainee transforms subject and teaching standards knowledge and skills into possible teaching methods to help her learners understand the subject.

Acknowledgement

I am grateful to Professor Michael Young for introducing me to the practical possibilities of Bernstein's theories.

Notes

1. The Department for Education and Skills, a Government body, was formed to create opportunity, release potential and achieve excellence for those wanting to be educated in England. It is responsible for issuing policy documents relating to education.

2. FENTO, a Government body, was responsible for teaching and training standards in the post‐compulsory education sector. It has now been superseded by Lifelong Learning UK (LLUK), which ‘is responsible for the professional development of all those working in libraries, archives and information services, work‐based learning, higher education, further education and community learning and development’ (LLUK homepage: www.lifelonglearninguk.org).

3. The team comprised of Norman Lucas, Helen Casey, Sai Loo, Jeremy McDonald, Olivia Sagan and Maria Koutsoubou. The report ‘Towards a professional workforce: adult literacy, ESOL and numeracy teacher education 2003–2005’ is due to be published in 2006 and is funded by the National Research and Development Centre for adult literacy and numeracy (NRDC).

4. FE colleges are post‐compulsory teaching institutions offering vocational and academic courses to those learners from the age of 16 years old. About half of the learners are over 21 years old.

5. The first stage of Bernstein's (2000) pedagogic practices—acquisition/curriculum—deals with types of knowledge, both horizontal and vertical, and the make up of vertical knowledge to form a curriculum. Horizontal knowledge is knowledge that is everyday and verbal and has features such as context, tacit nature, and locality. It is acquired in embedded forms like in peer groups and work places and is usually not easily translated. Turning to vertical knowledge, it has the following characteristics: explicit, coherent and systematically structured with rules of acquisition and transmission and is mediated through recontextualization. From the context of adult numeracy teacher training courses, it is usually the vertical knowledge that is learnt and as such constitutes the curriculum, and with it used in classes by teacher trainees as it can be made explicit and put into text. The vertical knowledge in the case of this article is subject specifications and generic teaching and supporting learning standards or generic teaching standards for short.

6. The seven categories of knowledge base, according to him, that are required by a teacher are: content knowledge, curriculum knowledge, general pedagogical knowledge, pedagogical content knowledge, knowledge of learners and their characteristics, knowledge of educational contexts, and knowledge of educational values.

7. The article by S. Loo, ‘Adult numeracy teacher training programmes in England: a suggested typology’, International Journal of Lifelong Education (2006), gives a more detailed account of curriculum implementation and course structuring. It also offers a classification of teacher training courses.