Considering "Best Practice": The Social Construction of Teacher Activity and Pupil Learning as Performance

Autor/in	Adams, Paul
Titel	Considering "Best Practice": The Social Construction of Teacher Activity and Pupil Learning as Performance
Quelle	In: Cambridge Journal of Education, 38 (2008) 3, S.375-392 (18 Seiten)Infoseite zur Zeitschrift PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	0305-764X
Schlagwörter	Educational Change; Educational Policy; Teacher Effectiveness; Best Practices; Learning; Politics of Education; Educational Trends; Testing; Educational Indicators; Educational Research; Foreign Countries; United Kingdom + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Bildungsreform; Politics of education; Bildungspolitik; Effectiveness of teaching; Instructional effectiveness; Lehrerleistung; Unterrichtserfolg; Lernen; Educational policy; Bildungsentwicklung; Testdurchführung; Testen; Educational indicato; Bildungsindikator; Bildungsforschung; Pädagogische Forschung; Ausland; Großbritannien
Abstract	Since the 1997 election of the Labour Party to political power in the UK the foci for educational change have been widespread. One area that has received particularly intense scrutiny is that of teacher activity. In particular, the profession has seen a marked rise in the identification of "best practice". As a term "best practice" has entered the parlance of English educational policy to describe that which seemingly has "official" approval. This paper uses a social constructionist perspective to consider how increases in pupil attainment on national tests are currently used to demonstrate better pupil learning. Specifically, it identifies that the use of such data to describe the plausibility, veracity and legitimacy of teaching before the test as "best practice" is questionable. In so doing, the critique argues that "best practice" confers and retains legitimacy due to its self-perpetuation within the discourse of performance. The paper concludes by offering three areas for further research and debate. (Contains 1 note.) (As Provided).
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Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2017/4/10