What we talk about when we talk about education: the private and public educational talk of teachers in schools

Abstract

One of the central challenges for a school is the creation of a public discourse which expresses the shared purpose of the school community, without losing the multiple and different voices within the teaching staff. In this article we report on the generative potential of educational conversation, when it is structured around questions which allow teachers to reflect on their best teaching selves in past practice and to project those selves into future situations. We suggest that within the staff, the public relating of teaching narratives, and the reflective conversation to which they give rise, constitutes a public and collective form of enquiry into teaching and learning. We argue that reflective conversation is dependent upon critical listening, where the listener is open to what is being said, but is also prepared to ask questions that open up the topic of teaching and learning in ways that are revelatory for both speaker and listener.

Our thanks to the teachers who have worked with us, and to Mr. Jim Callan of the Education Department, NUI Maynooth and to Mr. Paul Fields of the SDPI for their support. Thanks also to Chris Iveson, whose work was influential in shaping our approach to the project, and to Kieran Golden, Lucy Frend, Pauline Kelly and Carmel McKeon, our colleagues in the Second Level Support Service.