The Staircase of teacher development: a perspective on the process and consequences of the unity and integration of self

Abstract

The article is a theoretical conversation that addresses a new perspective on an often omitted or unrecognized process that is related to current issues in teacher education. Identified and explored is a sequence of forms in a teacher's professional, pedagogic life, and it is argued that these forms are synchronous with R. G. Collingwood's description of the journey traveled by individuals through the forms of consciousness in the quest for gaining knowledge of a phenomenon. An understanding of the rapprochement that exists between these two sequences offers a possible philosophical foundation for helping teachers understand, construct and generally make sense of experiences at various discrete moments of their career. Such theoretical understanding guides teachers to develop a personal way of knowing, a personal philosophy and to construct a unified and integrated consciousness of self as person and self as teacher. Covertly, the article identifies a number of issues inherent in teacher education programs.

Acknowledgement

This work was supported (in part) by a grant from the City University of New York PSC‐CUNY Research Award Program.