Supporting teacher and school development: learning and teaching policies, shared living theories and teacher-researcher partnerships

Abstract

A practitioner's living theory can make valid contributions to educational knowledge (Whitehead, 1989). However, in Whitehead's original conception living theories are largely individual products. A contribution is made to the debate on facilitating teaching-research partnerships by suggesting that the staff and pupils in a school can share a living theory as a form of learning and teaching policy. How a school staff came to develop such a policy is described. The policy is compared with features of living theories to substantiate this claim. The testing of the shared living theory takes place through the normal development processes of the school. A model is also presented showing how this may facilitate closer, two-way relations between academic theory and practitioner theory. Using this model facilitates cooperation between teachers and researchers in working together to support teacher and school development while also sharing the task of increasing educational knowledge.