Images of Teaching and Proposals for Reform: A Comparison of Ideas from Cognitive and Organizational Research

1996/04/01 by William A. Firestone
Arts and Humanities · Social Sciences · #Diverse Music Education Insights #Education and Technology Integration #Teacher Education and Leadership Studies

paper · doi:10.1177/0013161x96032002003

crossref issued 1996/04/01 · crossref published 1996/04/01 · crossref published-online 1996/04/01 · crossref published-print 1996/04/01 · openalex publication_date 1996/04/01 · crossref created 2007/03/10 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · crossref deposited 2026/04/28 · crossref indexed 2026/07/27 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28

Abstract

Organizational analysis and studies of teacher thinking both contribute to discussion about how to professionalize teaching, but these two bodies of research have not been well synchronized. Teacher-thinking research examines teachers' thought processes and makes recommendations for training. Organizational analysis emphasizes the importance of teacher commitment and the redesign of existing schools to increase teacher collegiality and participation. This article juxtaposes these two literatures to clarify and suggest ways to combine divergent images of the good teacher. It also suggests that recommendations for reform are incomplete and argues that these ideas need to be put into a wider frameworke.

Citations

• Teacher Commitment, Working Conditions, and Differential Incentive Policies
• Knowledge and Teaching:Foundations of the New Reform

Related

• A Critical Analysis of the Research on Learning to Teach: Making the Case for an Ecological Perspective on Inquiry
• Linking Theory and Practice: Changing the Pedagogy of Teacher Education
• Redesign in teacher education: the roles of teacher educators
• The Work of Teaching and the Challenge for Teacher Education
• Knowledge and Teaching:Foundations of the New Reform