Educational Theory and the Professional Learning of Teachers: an overview

One way of looking at the relationship between educational theory and the professional knowledge of teachers is to see the former as a set of ideas about some aspect of education which has been constructed within a specialised academic discipline by experts who have mastered its particular standards of inquiry. The knowledge and understanding conveyed by such a theory can then be applied by teachers in learning to teach effectively. Professional knowledge, on this view of educational theory, consists of a theoretical understanding of ideas about various aspects of education drawn from disciplines such as philosophy, psychology, sociology and history, plus ‘knowing how’ to apply them in particular practical situations.