J,,u ofcurium anod .gopevion1985. vol I. No 1, 27-55 27

AN EXPLORATION OF THE ROLE OF THEORIESIN COMMUNICATION FOR GUIDING

PRACTITIONERS

ILENE B. HARRIS, University of Minnesota Medical School

Communication for guiding practitioners is a fundamental problem inpreparing practitioners generally' and in implementing curricula. Walkerhighlighted the importance of communication for guiding practitioners, butnoted, "the amount written about the craft of writing curriculum documentsis quite small compared, say, with what has been written about the morespecific art of stating behavioral objectives."' These comments by Walker, andothers, suggest the need to address the problems inherent in the goal that awritten text guide practitioners.

Three modes of discourse are frequently used for guiding practitioners-persuasive writing, descriptions of practice, and theories or theory-basedprescriptions. Elsewhere, I explored the role of persuasive discourse anddescriptions of practice in communications for guiding practitioners In thispaper, the role of theories or theory-based prescriptions in communicationsfor guiding practitioners is explored. The education literature abounds withclaims for the value of theories in guiding practitioners.' Yet, many investi-

'Robert Dreeben, 7he Nature of Teaching (Glenview, III Scott, Foresman & C,. 19'70).Daniel C Lorne, School Teacher A Sociological Stuhr) (Chicago Umniversitv of Chicago Press,1975)

'Ilene B Harris. "Forms of Discourse and Their Possibilities for Guiding Practice Towardsan Effective Rhetoric.' Journal ofCtmculum Sntdies IS (Januar-March 1983) 2'-42, FrederickF Lighthall, "Multiple Realities and Organizational Non-solutions An Essay on Anatormy ofEducational Innotlwons," School Reiteu' 81 (Februar' 1973) 255-294, Louis L Smith and PatM Keith, Anatom), ofEducational Innotations An Organmzattonal Artal.sis of an ElementarmScdool (New York Wiley, 1971)

'Decker F Walker, "A Barnstorming Tour of Writing on Curriculum,'" in Considered Actionfor Curriculum Inprovrnent, ed Arthur W. Foshay (Alexandria, Va Association for Supervisionand Curriculum Development, 1980), pp 71-81

'Ilene B Harris,T 'he Role of Persuasive Discourse in Communication for Guiding Practice,"paper presented at the American Educational Research Association Annual Meeting, Montreal,April 1983; and "Uncovering the Hidden Dimensions of Meaning in Descriptions of EducationalPractice," paper presented at the American Educational Research Association Annual Meeting,New York, March 1982, ERIC document no. 220512

'Elliot W Eisner, 'The Arts of Knowing and the Tasks of Teaching," John Dewey Lecture.University of Chicago Laborator, School, May 1976 (mimeographed), D Bob Gowin, "CanEducational Theory Guide Practice," Educational 7neory' 13 (anuarn 1963) 6-12, Joseph JSchwab, 'The Practical Arts of Eclectic." In Sctence. Cularicidum and lberal Education Selected

28 An Exploratron of the Role of Theories in Communication for Guiding Practitioners

gators suggest that practitioners eschew theories in guiding practice and viewthem as irrelevant.

6Wherein li,es the gap?

In this paper, I address this problem. First, four different types of theoryare characterized in terms of their potential roles in communications forguiding practitioners. Then, I discuss two generic and fundamental characteristics of all theories-selectivity and generality it is suggested that the valueof theones for guiding practitioners depends in part on how they are expressed,and therefore strategies for their effective communication in guides for practice are formulated. The term "guide" refers to any written communicationthat is intended to help practitioners implement educational ideas and strategies or that is read with a view to obtaining such help Such communicationsmay be teachers' editions of textbooks, journal articles, methods books, tractsby popular education writers, such as Ashton Warner, Holt, Kohl, and Kozol,and so on. These analyses are intended to help authors (who may be practi-tioners) and practitioners better understand the role of theories in communications for guiding practice. It should be observed that the analyses pertainto teachers, as well as to a broad range of educational practitioners, such asschool principals and superintendents and curriculum specialists

CHARACTERIZATION OF FOUR TYPES OF THEORIES

What is meant by "theories"? Theories are general representations ofphenomena Here, I explore the role in guiding practitioners of four importanttypes of theory that I label. explanatory theory, doctrine, applied theory, andpracuce theory. Briefly, explanatory theories are conceptual frameworks intendedto provide persuasive explanations for puzzling aspects of phenomena, sucha Piaget's theory of cognitive development Doctrines are philosophicalassumptions about the means and ends of education, typically justified byeither sustained arguments or persuasive exhortations Applied theories areprincipled structures, frequently grounded in explanatory theories, that suggest strategies for attaining outcomes Such theories are typically buttressedwith research designed to demonstrate the effectiveness of the stategiesPractice theories are rationalized formulations of practitioners' educationalstrategies, recommended on the basis of practical wisdom, rather than experimental validation.

Theories can serve three basic functions in guiding practitioners First,theories can providepersuasive representations of reality, and thereby providethe impetus to try out new ideas. Second, theories can provideframneuorks

Essays, ed Ian Westbury and John Wilkof (Chicago Universirt of Chicago Press, 19'8), pp 322364, Elizabeth Vallance, "he Application of Aesthetic Criticism to Curriculum Materials Arguments and Issues," paper presented at the American Educational Research Associatilon AnnualMeeting, San Francisco, April 1976

6Robert Dreeben, The Nature of Teaching, (Glenview, Ill Scott, Foresman & Co. 19'0),Philip W Jackson, Life in Classooms (New York Holt, Rinehan., & Winston, 1968), Daniel CLotie, School Teacher A Sociological Study (Chicago Lniversit} of Chicago Press. 19-S)

Ilene B Harris

for understanding educational practices. Each sheds its special light on expe-rience. Schwab contends that each can give practitioners a distinct perspectivefor viewing reality.' Third, theories provideframeworksfor the major task ofpractitioners-thinking about and implementing educational intertvntions

Theories serve different roles for guiding practitioners in the preactiveand interacuve phases of a practice such as teaching.8 In the planning phase,practitioners can use theories to think about appropriate actions As Gowincomments.

The theory is not a guide to the action in the same sense that a musical score is aguide to the action of a performing musician It is a guide to the action of thinking, asit were, but not a guide to direct action.'

In the Implementation phase, practitioners eschew lengthy deliberations aboutinterventions but are inevitably guided by their beliefs and theories. Getzelsargues, "Our actions are inevitably founded in our motives and steered towardgoals by the relevant explicit or implicit theories that we hold."'0

In this section, each type of theory is characterized, with a focus on itsparticular role in guiding practitioners. The different types of theory areintertwined, conceptually and in relation to guiding practitioners; they areassessed separately for purposes of analysis.

Explanator, Theories

Explanatory theories are conceptualframeuorks designed to account forproblematic aspects of reality " They range from those that are limited inscope (such as a particular teacher's attempt to account for the problematicbehavior of a particular student) to those offering explanations of a wide-range of phenomena, such as Freud's theory of personality, Piaget's theory ofcognitive development, or Dewey's theory of the relationship between knowl-edge and experience

There is an extensive literature concerning how explanatory theories areor should be derived. Among the proposals are. "serendipity"' 2 ; intuitivepersonal knowledge, 3 and "discovery of grounded theory" through semisys-

Joseph J Schwab, "The Practical A Lanuage for Curriculum" in Sctence, Currtculum, andLiberal Educatton Selected Fpsair, ed lan Westburv and John Wilkof (Chicago Universiv, ofChicago Press.

19

6 8). p 287

'Philip W Jackson, LIfe in Classrooms (New York Hoh, Rinehart & Winston, 1968), Jonas FSoltis. An Introduction to the Analsts of Educational Concepts, 3rd ed (Reading, Mass Addison

-

Wesley, 1978)') Bob Gowin. Can Educational Theor Guide Practice," Educational 7heory 13 (Januar

1963) 10'Jacob W Geizels. "Images of the Classroom and Visions of the Learner," School Retieu, 82

(August 1974) 42"Abraham Kaplan, Thye Conduct of InqurI' Iertlhodolog for Behatioral Science (San Fran-

cisco Chandler Publishing Company. 1964)"Robert K Merton, Social Theonr andSocialStructra'e (Glencoe, I11 The Free Press, 1949)'Mlchael Polanvi, Personal Kilotledge Tounads a Postr-O'cal Plnlyosopy, (New York Harper

Torchbooks. Harper & Row Publishers, 1964). and T7e ractt Dimension (Garden Cinty, NYAnchor Books, Doubledav & Co, 1966)

29

30 An DEploraton of the Role of Theores in Communicaton for Guiding Practitioners

tematic observations. 4 Clearly, theories originate in some interaction betweenpersonal insight and the data of experience Some types of explanatory the-ones are distinguished here in terms of their origins and subject-matter, sincethe sources of theories can affect their expression and use by practitioners

Some explanatory theories, such as those by Freud and Piaget, originatein attempts to account generally for such matters as personality developmentor cognitive development, they are not developed or originally expressedwith a view toward educational applications Thus, they may be expressed interms alien to practitioners, and their implications for practice may not beimmediately apparent. Other explanatory theories originate closer to educa-tional practice in investigations of the character of teaching, of school subjectlearning, of socialization in schools, and so on, such theories are labeled hereas theories of schooling. For example, in Complexities ofan Urban Classroom,Smith and Geoffrey proposed a metatheory of teaching based on their obser-vatons of Geoffrey's interactions with his class " Theories of schooling tendto be phrased in terms that are familiar to practitioners The fact that theoriesof schooling originate close to educational practice does not, however, makethem immediately useful for guiding practitioners It is argued later that onlyapplied and practice theories are useful for communicating the decision-making parameters of a practice such as teaching.

Explanatory theories are designed to interpret experience, they must alsobe verified in experience. In everday activities, constructs are tested informallyby assessing their fit with further observations and reflection Within thevarious disciplines, rationalized schemas for verifying theories (for example,guidelines for research design) exist in custom and tradition' 6, they are explic-itly formulated in texts and treatises

Research schemas for verifying explanatory theories are frequently viewedwithin a paradigm drawn from the natural sciences Namely, theories arephrased in hypotheses that are tested, according to strictly defined procedures,to yield lawlike statements within an antecedent-consequent 'or predictiveframework." Explanatory theories can be viewed within a variety of otherparadigms, which relate to the subject-matter addressed, the type of resolu-tions that resolve initial puzzlements, and the guidelines for research designthat develop within particular disciplines For example, antipositivists such asDllthey, Von Wright, and Dray each argue that truth in human studies mightbe better approximated by statements rich in detail and the sense of complex

'Barnev G Glaser and Anselm L Strauss. The Dascotenr of Grounded Theorn 5trategiesforQualitatve Research (Chicago Aldine Publishing Company, 1967)

'Louis L Smith and William Geoffre. The Complex'ies of an (Urtan Classroom (New YorkHolt, Rinehan & Winston. 1968)

"6John MI Ziman, Public Knouwledge, An F¢ssa. Concerning the Social Dtnension of Science(Cambridge, England Cambridge L'niversiiv Press, 1968)

'-Carl G Hempel, Fundamentals of Concept Formulation in Empirical Science (ChicagoUniversity of Chicago Press, 1952). Fred N Kerhinger. Foundations of Behalioral Research, 2nded (New York Holt, Rinehart & Winston, 19'3)

__

Ilene B Harris

human encounter than by the propositional statements of lawlike relationshipsrecommended by positivists such as Hempel and Popper 's The researchstrategies used to validate theories are designed with one aim-to providepersuasive evidence in support of the theories.

Theories must be codified in appropriate terms. The terms that may bemost appropriate for communication of theories among researchers may notbe the most useful for practitioners. Two types of language are available tocommunicate theories. the language of everyday experience and technicalterminology. The language of ordinary eaperience includes both literal andfigurative language. Literal language identifies facets of reality in conventional,consensual terms that retain their primary meanings Figurative language is adiscourse of linguistic devices such as metaphor, simile, or personification,which is used to suggestively portray facets of reality that resist formulationm literal terms. Technical terminology can be viewed broadly as terms embed-ded within networks of characterization, explanation, or definition that acquireconventional meanings within those networks Such terms can be borrowedfrom ordinary language and redefined within a network of definitions, or theycan be invented.'

9

Initially, theories -are communicated in the language of everyday expe-rlence. Highly developed theories tend to be expressed in technical termi-nology, because they are characteristically proposed and investigated withincommunities of scholars who require a language suitable for precise com-munication. Hempel argues that ordinary language tends to be inadequate tothese requirements because it often lacks precision and uniformity of usage 0

Thus, considerable effort is expended toward developing languages tocommunicate emerging theories. Smith and Geoffrey's work provides aninteresting example. In their discussion of the dimensions of teaching in TheComplexities of an Urban Classroom, they comment, "Our interests lie indescripuon, model and theory building, aneL-interpretation As descriptionmoves beyond the rough categories and co6cepts of the laymen, the issue ofa language system appropriate to the classroom arises."

2' The terms of the

language system that they developed are presented in a glossary at the end oftheir report. Two types of technical terms are defined in this glossary Termsfrom ordinary languages-such as "teacher," "time," and "variety"-are con-

"William Dllthevy, The Construction of the Historical World of the Human Studies (DerAulbauder Welt den Geisteswissens Chaften), (Leipzig B G Teubner, 1910), George Von Wright.Exploration and Understanding (London Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1971), W H Drav, Lausand Explanation in History (Oxford Oxford Universel Press, 195'), Carl G Hempel. Funda-mentals of Concept Formation in Emprncal Science (Chicago Umnversilt of Chicago Press, 19i2¥iKarl Popper, The Pot ert of Histoncism (London Routledge and .Kegan Paul, 1957)

'I1srael Schemer, The Language of Education (Springfield, Ill Charles C Thomas, 1960)'"Carl G Hempel, Fundamentals of Concept Formulation in Emprncal Science (Chicago

University of Chicago Press, 1952), p 21'Louis L Smith and William Geoffrey, The Complexites of an Urban Classroom (New York

Holt, Rinehart & Winston, 1968). p 262

31

32 An Exploration of the Role of Theortes in Communication for Guiding Practitioners

verted intd technical terms through succinct definitions For instance, "teacher"is defined as "a role in the school in which an individual tries to change thelearning of another, the pupil."" Also, new terms are invented and defined toexpress their constructs, such as "preparation for contingencies," "the provi-sional try," and "ring mastership."

The theories that education borrows from the behavioral sciences tendto be expressed in technical terms, such as 'accommodation" and "assimila-tion" from Piagetian developmental psychology, "reinforcement," "operantconditioning," and "extinction" from behavioral learning theory, and "id,""ego," and "superego" from Freudian personality theory While technicalterms can facilitate communication among persons versed in the researchtradition, such terms may present barriers to understanding for practitionersAs Scheffler comments:

Scientific definitions are evaluated primarily in terms of their contributions totheoretical adequacy, irrespective of their degree of conformity to familiar usage, theirability to enlighten the layman, and their social and rhetorical effects :3

Yet, practitioners must be able to reference the constructs and technical termsof theories in familiar language and in their experience before the theoriesin which they are embedded can be accessible to them as guides

Explanatory theories can serve important functions in guiding practition-ers. First, they can persuade practitioners to reflect upon their experiencesand interventions in their terms. Smith and Geoffrey commented

Our many diagrams and figures are, in reality, miniature theories about teaching Wehope they are persuasive enough to challenge teachers to test them against their ownexperience and powerful enough to illuminate further that experience :

One source of their persuasive power Is their explanatory constructs, AsValiance comments, "Theory pertains to regularities, giving persuasive rep-resentations of phenomena, bringing sense out of chaos, showing common-alities and principles of order and explanation."

25What makes such represen-

tations persuasive? Schwab contends that theories are persuasive when theyresonate with and help to make sense of experience 2' Findings from empiricalinvestigations associated with theories add to their persuasive impact throughthe rhetorical power of the scientific method. As Ziman comments, "Experi-mental evidence is public knowledge, par excellence with the power of car-

2Ibid, p 268"2srael Schemer, Language of Education (Springfield, Ill Charles C Thomas, 1960). pp

12-13"Lous L Smith andWllham Geoffre', 7he Complexitles ofan Urban Clawroomn (New York

Holt, Rinehart, & Winston 1968), p vi"EEhizabeth Vallance, "The Application of Aesthetic Criticism to Curriculum Materials Argu

menrs and Issues," paper presented at AERA, April 1976. p 4'Joseph J Schwab, "The Practical Arts of Eclectic,' In sctence. Curriculum, and Liberal

Education Selected FEss, ed Ian Westhurv and lohn Wdlkof (Chicago t'niversit' of ChicagoPress, 1968). p 333

lene B Hamrts

rying complete conviction ... the familiar 'method' of Science . has tre-mendous rhetorical power. .. it has overwhelming persuasive force."2 '

Explanatory theories also provide practitioners with frameworks forunderstanding and interpreting reality, For example, a vignette froti theMurrows' book, Children Come First. The Inspired Work of English PrimarySchools, portrays a day in the classroom life of one child, Ann. They portrayher moving in and out of her school and classroom without attention to timeschedules She engages in a variety of activities, individually or with otherchildren, pursuing her own interests, working and playing with a variety ofmaterials, and asking and being asked questions by a teacher who is similarlyengaged, attending to the activities, interests, and questions of each child inher class--a typical open classroom scenario " Imagine a teacher observingsuch a scenario armed with Piaget's theories of cognitive development Indi-viduals proceed through stages of cognitive development, each at their ownpace. During the primary school years, children reach higher stages throughmanipulation of materials and interactions with peers and adults The teacherwill have therein one useful framework for interpreting this educationalreality By contrast, a teacher who observes this scenario armed with Skinner'stheories of behavior change will view it in a different, but useful, light.

Explanatory theories can suggest to inventive practitioners potentiallyfruitful educational strategies. The practitioner who uses Piaget's theories ofcognitive development as a framework for viewing educational practice mightbe enticed to provision a classroom with appropriate educational toys Onepoint, however, is critical, explanatory theories do not directly communicateoperational strategies.

Doctrines

Doctrines are rationalized systems of values-general frames of refer-ence, viewpoints, or philosophical assumptions-about the means and endsof education in relation to general orientations toward human life and cultureSuch systems of values are often labeled as "ideologies." Following the usageof Smith and Keith,2 9 I label them doctrines, to emphasize the conscious andcodified character of ideologies.

Doctrines vary in scope. Some present encompassing tiews about the natureof man, society, knowledge, and so on, in relation to the goals, content, andorganizauon of curriculums, for example, the five curricular orientations iden-tified by Eisner and Valiance. development of cognitive processes, curriculumas technology, self-actualization, social-reconsttuction relevance, and aca-

23ohn M Ziman, Public Knouledge An Esso,' Concerning the Social Dimension of Science(Cambridge England Cambridge University Press, 1968), pp 31-32

'Case Murrow and Lisa Murrow, Chbiren Come Frst The Inspired Wtork of English t'imar,Schools (New York McGraw.Hill, American Heritage Press, 1971)

9Louis L Smith and Pat M Keith, Anatomn), of Educational Innolumon An OrganizauonalAnalysts of an Elementar)' School (New York: Wiley, 1971), p 23

33

54 An Fiploration of the Role of Theories in Communication for Guiding Practitioners

demic rationalism. 3°Others are narrower in scope and focus on matters such

as the proper character of social studies in relation to views of society Oliverand Shaver, for example, present a conception of American society as plural-istic and proceed from this formulation to formulation of a curriculum cen-tered on analysis of public controversy through a "jurisprudential" approach 3'Other doctrines constitute particular beliefs that ground particular actionsBarth, for example, isolated specific beliefi that appear to underlie teachers'practices associated with open education, such as the belief that "children'sinnate curiosity leads to exploratory behavior that is self-perpetuating "I

2

Doctrines and explanatory theories differ in their sources and validationExponents of doctrines tend to defend their views by arguments (of varyingrigor), rather than by experimental validation. Travers, for example, distin-guishes what I have labeled "explanatory theories" from "doctrines," notingthat some theories of instruction are developed in the "scientific and pragmatictradition," while others, such as Froebel's concept of education, representand codify beliefs concerning the nature of man (in Froebel's case, deepreligious convictions concerning unity of the soul). 33

Doctrines, like explanatory theories, tend to be expressed in character-istic idioms. The idioms may be invented. Smith and Keith comment that, "AtKensington, little was called by a usual name. Teachers were not teachers;they were academic counselors and resource specialists. Classrooms werelaboratory suites, and the library was the perception core "'4 Alternatively, theidioms may be borrowed from well-developed forms of discourse, such astheology or aesthetics. Proponents of a "self-actualization" orientation, forinstance, such as Phenix, Greene, Maslow, and Newmann and Oliver contendthat the function of education is to "provide personally satisfying, consum-matory experiences aimed at personal integration "5 Their language is drawnfrom the characteristic discourse of humanism, existentialism, and existentialpsychology as illustrated in the following passage:

A curriculum of transcendence provides the context of engendering, gestating, expect-ing, and celebrating the moments of singular awareness and Inner illumination when

°Ehot W Eisner and Elizabeth Valiance, ed ,Conflicting Conceptions of Cmriculum (Berkeley, Calif McCutchan, 1974)

"'Donald W Oliver andJames P Shaver, Teaching Public Issues m the Hghb School (BostonHoughton Mifflin, 1966)

"Roland S Barth, "Open Education Assumptions About Leamrning, Educational Philosoph,and Theory 11 (November 1969) 29-39

"Robert M W Travers, 'l'owards Taking the Fun Out of Building a Theory of Instruction,"Teachers College Record 68 (October 1966) 49-59

"Louis L Smith and Pat M Keith, Anatomy of Educational Innoatitons (New York Wiley,1971),p 108

"Philip H Phenix, 'Transcendence and the Curriculum," in Elliot W Eisner and ElizabethValiance, ed, Conflicting Conceptions of Curriculum (Berkeley, Calif McCutchan, 19'4), pp117-132, Maxine Greene, "Curriculum and Consciouness, " Teachers College Record 3 (Decem-ber 1971). 253; Abraham H Maslow, Some Educational Implications of the Humanistic Psychol-ogies," Harvard Educational Retreuw 38 (Fall 1968) 685-696, Fred M Newmann and Donald WOliver, "Education and Communityv, Harvard Educational Retieu 3' (Winter 1967) 61-106

Iteme B Harris

each person comes into the consciousness of his inimitable personal being It is notcharacterized so much by the objective content of study as by the atmosphere createdby those who comprise the learning community Its opposite is the engineeringoutlookthat regards the learner as material to be formed by means of a variety of technicalprocedures s

These idioms, like the technical terms in which explanatory theories areexpressed, take on conventional meanings for those steeped in the doctrine,but the terms and the concepts they express may be alien to those not versedin the doctrine. Practitioners must be able to reference the idioms in whichdoctrines are expressed in familiar language and in their own experiencebefore the doctrines become accessible to them in guiding their practice

I distinguish doctrines, as just characterized, from a type of discoursethrough which they are often distorted, namely slogan language The valuesso expressed may be merely expressions of belief, without sustained argu-ments. Or, doctrines that were at first formulated in sustained argumentsbegin to be expressed in slogans. Elsewhere, I analyzed the role of sloganlanguage in guides for practitioners."' To reiterate.briefly, slogans functionemotively to evoke enthusiasm and support for educational ideas and prac-tices They provide rallying symbols and organizing labels for educationalemphases. Yet slogans are vague as to implications for specific educationalpractices, they tend to distort the character of the doctrines they are frequentlyused to express. Practitioners who aspire to translate enthusiasm for educa-tional practices into school programs must recognize the limitations of slogansfor guiding practice.

Doctrines are fundamentally theoretical bases for educational practiceLike explanatory theories, doctrines can contribute to the persuasive impactof proposals for educational practice. Doctrines have two sources of persuasiveimpact-the power of supporting arguments and the evocative power of theidioms in which they are expressed.

Doctrines, like explanatory theories, can provide practitioners withframeworks for understanding educational reality. For example, Bennet andZaret use two different theoretical frameworks-cu'rriculum decision makingand humanist existential psychology-to analyze the same classroom instruc-tional dialogue They argue that each is useful for understanding the teaching-learning process represented in the particular dialogue, although each shedsa different perspective.

3

Doctrines also serve as screens for recommended educational practicesTravers argues:

"Phthilip H Phenix, 'Transcendence and the Cumculum," in Elliot W Eisner and ElizabethValiance, ed, Conflictng Conceptions of Curculum, (Berkeley, Calif McCutchan, 19'4), p 128

'Ilene B Harris, Role of Persuasive Discoveries in Communication for Guiding Practice,"paper presented at AERA, April 1983

'Robert V Bennet and Esther S Zaret, "Using Conceptual Frameworks to Improve Instruction," Educational Forum 40 (November 1975) 33-47

35

36 An Exploration of tbe Role of Teorie in Communicationfor Guiding Practitioners

A framework of values, . establishes the limits that must be recognized by those whowish to apply scientific knowledge to the solution of learning problems A scientificand comprehensive theory of educational phenomena might include statements con-cerning the conditions under which punishment is an effective modifier of behavior,but the values that provide the foundation for art educational program might excludethe use of punishment?

Doctrines can also suggest the character of recommended programs andprovide rationales for educational practices Joyce and Weil comment.

Educational procedures are generated from general views about human nature andthe kinds of goals and environments that enhance human beings Because of theirframes of reference educators are likely to focus on specific kinds of learning outcomesand to favor certain ways of creating educational environments.'

However, like explanatory theories, doctrines do not directly communicatethe character of educational strategies.

Applied Theories and Practice Theories

Explanatory theories and doctrines do not entail or directly formulatemethods of instruction. As William James argued with respect to explanatorytheories:

You make a great ... mistake, if you think that psychology, being the science of themind's laws, is something from which you can deduce definite programs and schemesand methods of instruction for immediate schoolroom use Psychology is a science,and teaching is an art, and sciences never generate arts directly out of themselves Anintermediary inventive mind must make the application, by using its originality "

In this section, two types of theories that do explicitly formulate methods forinstruction are characterized. applied theories and practice theories Practi-tloners confronted with the task of achieving some desired outcome, whethera cure, a piece of sculpture, or children's learning, will search for others'effective strategies and invent strategies There is an eternal quest amongpracutioners and researchers to invent and/or codify generalized principlesof practices that work-theories-so that practitioners can benefit from oth-ers' investigations and experiences.

One source of such theories is application of explanatory theories forexample, behavioral learning theory, an explanatory theory of learning,'

2has

spawned numerous applications, including programmed instruction and

nRobert M W Travers, "Some Further Reflections on the Nature of a Theory of Instruction,"in Research into Classroom Processes Recent Developments and Nerxt Steps, eds Ian Westburvand Arno A Bellack (New York Teachers College Press, 1971), p 24

'Bruce Joyce and Marsha Well, Models of Teaching (Englewood Cliffs, NJ Prentice Hall,1972), p 5.

"William James, Talks to Teachers on Psychoolog and to Students on Some of Life's Ideals(New York. W W Norton, 1958), pp. 23-24

"Albert Bandura, Princples of Behavior Mod fication (New York Holt, Rinehart & Winston1969), B F Skinner, Science and Human Beharvor (New York Macmillan, 1953)

Ilene B Harris

teaching machines,'3 behavior modification programs," and behavioral coun-seling." The intermediary inventive minds, to whom James refers, applyexplanatory theories to develop rationalized, validated technologies for effect-ing desired outcomes. This genre of theorizing and its outcomes is one typeof what I label applied theory, following the usage of Polanyi."4

Another source of theories for practice is the (presumably) successfulpractice of skilled practitioners. Analysts and practitioners may attempt tocodify expert practice in general principles of practice. This type of theorizingand its outcomes are labeled here as practaice theory. Practice theories, asdistinguished from applied theories, are rationalized formulations of practi-tioners' practices, recommended on the basis of faith, custom, and practicalwisdom, rather than experimental validation against appropriate outcomemeasures

Applied theories and practice theories are closely linked The criticalattribute of both is their focus on the invention and articulation of methodsfor achieving preferred conditions or outcomes. In this respect, Dewey'scharacterization of "applied" sciences is equally appropriate to both types

What is sometimes termed "applied" science is directly concerned with instru-mentalities at work in effecting modifications of existence in behalf of conclusions thatare reflectively preferred ... Engineering, medicine, social arts realize relationshipsthat were unrealized in actual existence."7

The two types are also closely linked in that practice theories can be subjectedto experimental validation against appropriate outcome measures Conversely,strategies suggested by explanatory theories-applications of explanatorytheories--can be recommended to practitioners and adopted by them, basedon faith and personal preference, rather than validation against outcomemeasures. Although the two types of theory are closely linked, there areimportant differences between them. their sources and their potential avail-ability for guiding practitioners.

Applied Theories

Applied theories, as just discussed, can be rapplications of explanatorytheones, they can also be strategies designed to achieve certain outcomes,

'3B F Skinner, The Technology of Teamng (New York Appleton-Century-Croft. 1968); MW Sullivan, Programmed English. A Modern Grammarfor High Scbool and College Students(New York Macmillan, 1963), J Starr, Programmed Modern Aritimetic Introducton to Sets(Boston. D C Heath, 1965)

*J iR Netsworth. S L Deno, and J R Jenkins, Student Motivaton and Clamorom Manage-ment A Bebavtoristic Approach (Newark, NJ. Behavior Technics, Inc. 1969)

'John D Krumboltz, ed, Revolution in Counseling. Implications of Behavioral Science(Boston Houghton Mifflin. 1966), Raymond E Hosford. "Behavioral Counseling-A Contempo-rary Overview," Counseling Ps)jhbologist 1, I (1969)- 1-33.

"Michael Polanyl, Personal Knouledge Touwards a Post-Crical Pblosopl), (New YorkHarper and Row, 1964)

'John Dewey, Experence and Nature (Chicago Open Court, 1925), pp 161-162

37

38 An Exploraton of the Role of Theories in Communicaton for Guiding Practimoner

Irrespective of any explanatory theory Many advances in medicine have resultedfrom a model in which inventions, such as drugs, are experimentally dem-onstrated (through controlled studies) to cure or meliorate patients' medicalproblems, although explanatory theories may be lacking.

In either case, applied theories have two critical attributes First, theyoffer rationalized designs for methods useful in human affairs, an attribute atthe core of Polanyl's distinction between pure and applied sciences 4 Second,as distinguished from practice theories, they have a characteristic experimentalor pragmatic cast.

However, validation of applied theories for educational practice is elusiveEducation takes place in a complex context, with significant variations amongsettiungs in the characteristics of teachers, students, organizational structures,social and political milieus, and so on. This complexity makes validation ofapplied theories elusive, in several respects.

First, to validate stategies against outcome measures, the strategies mustbe appropriately enacted and observable, the outcomes must be identifiable,and other presumably extraneous variables must be controlled Given thecomplexity of classroom situations, these conditions are difficult to attain and,some would argue, perhaps inappropriate Canons for validation of appliedtheories vary in relation to views of classroom phenomena For example,Flanders, Medley and Mitzel, and Travers share a laboratory orientation toresearch on classroom phenomena in which they seek to control extraneousvariables.'

4By contrast Smith, Gump, and Biddle argue that results of labora

tory research are unlikely to generalize to complex classroom situations, theyshare a naturalistic orientation to studies of teaching."

Second, the types of instructional strategies and outcomes that can bevahdated by experimental methods are likely to be relatively limited ones, interms of the complex instructional strategies and outcomes of concern ineducation. Glaser has made this point with respect to attempts to use "optimIzatlon methods" (developed in statistical decision theory, management sciences, and engineering design) in instructional design He argues that determmination of optimal instructional alternatives described by Atkinson and hisstudents for learning the vocabulary of a second language and for pairedassociate list learning, is relatively easy only for "trivial" cases st Third, it isincreasingly clear that educators are unlikely to validate generally applicable

-Roben Glaser, Components of a PsychologN of Instruction Toward a Science of Design.'Reveu, of Educational Research 46 (Winter 1976) 1-24

"Ned A. Flanders, Teacher Influence in the Classroom," in Theonr andResearch at Teachihg.ed Arno A Bellack (NewYork Teachers College Press, 1963). pp 3- 52. Donald M Medlev andHarold E Mltzel. 'The Scientific Study of Teacher Behavior." mn ellack. Theonrt and Researchpp 79-80; Robert M W Travers, "Some Further Reflections on the Nature of a Theory ofInStruction, in Researd, into Classroom Processes, eds Ian Westbury ard Arno A. Bellack (NewYork Teachers College Press, 1971). pp 23-40

'SbidSRobert Glaser, "Components of a Psychologs of Instruciomn To-ward a Science of Design"

Review of Educational Research 46 (Winter 1976) 7

Ileze B Han is

strategies, for the content in which strategies are implemented significantlyinfluences their usefulness and effectiveness. Good and Power note that despitecountless studies designed to identify process measures of teacher behaviorthat are consistently associated with student progress, no single teachingbehavior has ever been associated, categorically, with effective student behav-ior.5 2 They propose that the search for generally applicable instructionalstrategies be abandoned and recommend research on the interaction betweenteaching strategies and configurations of student characteristics, which theylabel typologies. Their argument implies that the value of any strategy variesin relauon to the specific characteristics of educational situations. The inter-action between instructional strategies, student characteristics, and desiredoutcomes must be specified for practitioners.

Finally, a complex configuration of characteristics that resist measure-ment or control affects the value of any applied theory and confounds vali-dation efforts. The Abt Associates evaluation of the Follow Through Programwas conducted as a planned variation design to assess the effectiveness ofdifferent models for teaching disadvantaged children Investigators cite flawsthat confound evaluation findings.5 3 However, to our knowledge, one findingof particular interest remains undisputed: that there is great variation fromsite to site in the results of each model. In fact, variation of the mean resultswithin each model, from site to site, is greater than the variation of meanresults among the models. House comments, "This finding is an importantconfirmation of contentions that the success of any educational innovation isdependent on contextual factors than can neither be implemented in the localscene nor controlled by outside parties. 5'

Practice Theories

Practitioners develop effective instructional strategies, which all too oftenremain in the realm of personal techniques, clearly, such strategies can benefitothers if codified in general principles for practice. Analyses of master prac-titioners' practices should offer a robust area for finding effective approachesto educational practice. I suggest that useful codifications of such practices

"Thomas L Good and C N Power, "Designating Successful Classroom Environments forDifferent Types of Students,"Journal of Culrrculum Studies 8 (May 1976) 46

"Ernest R House, Eugene V Glass, L D McLean, and Decker F Walker, "No Simple Answer-Critique of the Follow Through Evaluatio, Harvard Educational Revreu' 48 (May 1978) 128-160, Richard B Anderson, Robert G St Pierre, Elizabeth C Proper, and Linda B Stebbins, "PardonUs, But What Was the Question Again

3A Response to the Critique of the Follow Through

.valuation," Hamard Educarionql Reieu, 48 (May 1978) 161-170. C E Wisler. G P Bums; andD Iwamoto, "Follow Through Redux A Response to the Critique by House, Glass, McLean, andWalker," Harvard EducarionalRetseut 48 (May 1978) 171-185. Walter L Hodges, "The Worth ofthe Follow Through Experiences," Harvard Educational Review 48 (MaY 1978) 186-192. Mar'nM Kennedy, "Findings From the Follow Through Planned Varation Study," Educatonal Res ber7 (June 1978) 3-11

'EEmest R House and others, "No Single Answer Critique of the Follow Through Evaluation."Harvard Educational Revieu' 48 (May 1978) 154

39

40 An Exploration of the Role of Theones in Communication for Guiding Practitioners

would include practitioners'. (1) generalizable strategies, (2) rationales forthe strategies (their personal explanations and doctrines); and (3) decisionparameters for implementing strategies in actual classrooms Codifications ofpractice that incorporate these critical elements are rare, however, due todifficulties in identifying and formulating them.

Practice theories, as just defined, will be characterized by discussing sometypes of communications that might be taken as codifying practice theoriesand demonstrating that they are ini fact incomplete

Handbooks of specific teachihg methods, written by master-practitionersare available to teachers. Baratta-Lorton's Workjobs, for example, is intendedas a handbook to help parents and teachers facilitate activity.centered learn-ing.5 It contains detailed descriptions of 43 activities and for each it identifies(1)the skills toward which it is aimed, (2) specific questions for getting started,(3) specific ideas for follow-up discussion, and (4) specific materials In oneactivity the child arranges size-graduated cardboard tubes in a size-orderedrow. Among the skills toward which this activity is aimed is that of makingcomparisons Required materials include cardboard tubing cut into %/2-inchgraduated pieces, spray paint, a container for the cylinder, and a referencecard glued to the container that shows the gradations The handbook rec-ommends that the teacher start the activity as follows. "Pointing to the refer-ence card, you might say, 'Arrange the cylinders to look like this pattern'"For follow-up discussion, one of six suggested questions Is "Which cylinderis the tallest? Is it on the right or left side?"

Such detailed descriptions of practical strategies are no doubt useful toteachers, but without supplementation, they are fundamentally incompletefor guiding educational practice, because they tend to provide only sketchyrationales for recommended activities and teaching strategies In Workjobs,for instance, Baratta-Lorton presents the rationale for activity-centered education in just four brief paragraphs within the introductory materials Fromreadingjust this handbook, practitioners do not have access to rationalizedstrategies for developing activities and questions, other than the specific onesit suggests.

Other communications do attempt to formulate practitioners' rationalesfor educational practices associated with open education Barth has analyzedanecdotal and descriptive accounts of educational practices associated withopen education, to elicit practitioners' assumptions about learning I Theoutcome of his analysis is a set of ten assumptions about children's learning,for example, "Children's innate curiosity leads to exploratory behavior that isself-perpetuating." Barth links this assumption with an emphasis on intrinsicmotivation as a powerful impetus for learning.

"M Baratta-Lonon. Workjobs For Parents Actitity-Centered Learning in the Home (MenloPark, Calif Addison-Wesley, 1975)

'Roland 5 Barth, Open Education Assumptions About Learning," Educational Philosophyand Theory 11 (November 1969) 29-39

Itne B Ha-is

Formulations of such rationales, if accurate, can no doubt help practi-tioners obtain perspectives of educational practice. Nevertheless, withoutsupplementation, they are also incomplete as guides. Assumptions related topractice are a type of doctrine, and doctrines do not necessarily entail anyparticular educational strategies More fundamentally, the assumptions 'asstated, formulate partial views of children's learning with respect to viableteaching and educational practices. For instance, children's innate curiositydoes motivate learning, but as Barth comments. "One must have somethingto be motivated about. The source of motivation resides neither in the childnor in the external world, but in the interaction of one with the other." Headds, " It remains for open educators to clarify the place of the adult in releasingor activating the child's inner motivation and of differentiating the controlwhich is the child's from that which is the adult's "I7

Detailed exemplars of educational practice (such as those presented inWorkjobs) combined with associated rationales (such as those formulated byBarth) would effectively codify some critical aspects of educational practiceAs adequate practice theory must also formulate coping strategies for imple-menting conceptions of education in actual classrooms Master practitionersdo develop such strategies. The challenge for practitioners and analysts is tocodify them.

Berlak and her colleagues have codified doctrines for open education ina form that I view as a paradigm for adequate practice theory.' Based onextensive observation in open classrooms and interviews with teachers, Berlakand her colleagues conceptualize schooling in terms of a set of 15 persistenttheoretical and practical dilemmas that teachers do resolve in practice Thisconceptualization resulted from their efforts to account for apparent contra-dictions in teachers' meanings of practice, "for example, Mr Thomas lettingone student decide how much math to do while telling another exactly whatwas required. "'

In a provocative paper, they analyze teachers' patterns of resolutions todilemmas such as teachers making learning decisions for children vs childrenmaking learning decisions. With respect to this dilemma, they posited thatthere appeared to be a simultaneous pull in two directions-toward theteacher making learning decisions and toward the children making the deci-sions. They present a framework to order the complex ways in which thistype of dilemma can be manifested and resolved:

Decisions-not necessarily deliberated-are made about (1) whether or not a childwill study in a given area, (2) what specifically is to be .learned within that area, (3)when the task is to begin and when it is to be completed, and (4) how the learner isto proceed with the task In a given learning situation, the child, or the teacher, orboth jointly exercise one or more of these decisions a teacher can follow different

"'bidl, pp 30, 31WAnn C Berlak, Harold Berlak. N T Bagenstos, and E R Mikel, "Teaching and Learning in

English Primary Schools," Scbool Review 83 (February 1975) 215-242libid, p 233

41

42 An Exploration of the Role of Theories in Communicationfor Guiding Practitioners

patterns of resoluuon for different children, and at different times of the year, or fordifferent subjects or learning experiences 6o

Whether this decision matrix is adequate to account for the actual problemsthat confront teachers in open classrooms is not the issue here; it is presentedas a paradigm for the type of analysis and codification that should characterizedoctrines adequate to account for the complexity of educational practice

The potential value of practice theories for guiding practitioners makestheir formulation a task of critical importance. A growing body of literaturereports research that can contribute significantly to development of practicetheories. In general, this research is designed to elicit practitioners' concep-tons about education and teaching, typically in concrete situations 61 Morespecifically, this research addresses questions such as the following- Whatfactors do teachers consider in instructional planning?62 How do teachers usecurriculum plans and programs in planning and actual implementation'63

What qualities characterize teachers' thinking and decision making duringinteractive instruction?

6What is the nature of teachers' perspectives, 6 5 implicit

theories,66 or belief systems' about teaching and learning'6 The methods

61bid, pp 227-228"iChristopher M Clark and Robert J Yinger, "Research on Teacher Thinking, Curriculum

Inquiry 7 (Winter 1977) 279-304, Richard J Shavelson, "Research on Teachers' PedagogicalThoughts, Judgments, Decisions, and Behavior," Retzieu of Educational Research 51 (Winter1981) 455-498

'Penelope L Peterson, Ronald W Marx, and Christopher M Clark, "Teacher Planning,Teacher Behavior, and Student Achievement,"American Educational ResearchJournal 15 (Summer 1978) 417-432, Philip H Taylor,Hou TeachersPlan Their Courses (Slough, England NationalFoundation for Educational Research, 1970), Robert J Yinger, "A Study of Teacher PlanningDescription and Theory Development Using Ethnographic and Information Processing Models"(Ph D dissertation, Michigan State University, 1977),John A, Zahorik, 'Teacher Planning Models,'Educational Leadership 33 (November 1975) 134-139

MMichael F Connelly and Miriam Ben-Peretz, "Teachers' Roles In the Using and Doing ofResearch and Curriculum Development,"Journal of Curriculum Studies 12 (April-June 1980)95-108, John K Olson, "Teacher Constructs and Curriculum Change," Journal of CurriculumStudies 12 (January-March 1980). 1-11, and "Teacher Education and Curriculum Change Reexamining the Relationship," Curriculum Inquiry 7 (Spring 1977) 61-66

'Christopher M Clark and Bruce R Joyce, 'Teacher Decision-Making and Teacher Effectiveness, ' paper presented at the American Educational Research Associanon Annual Meeting, Wash-ington, DC, April 1975, Christopher M Clark and Penelope L Peterson, 'Teacher SimulatedRecall of Interactive Decisions,' paper presented at the American Educational Research Association Annual Meeting, San FranciscoApril 1976, Percy W Marland, "A Study ofTeachers' InteractiveThoughts (Ph.D. dissertation, the University of Alberta, 1977), Ronald W Marx and Penelope LPeterson, The Nature of Teacher Decision-Making," paper presented at the American EducationalResearch Assooation Annual Meeting. Washington, D C, April 1985, Greta Morine and ElizabethValiance, A Study of Teacher and Pupil Perceptions of Classroom Interaction," BTES TechnicalReport 75-11-6 (San Francisco Far West Laboratory for Educational Research, 1975)

'Valerie Janesick, "An Ethnographic Study of a Teacher's Classroom Perspective" (Ph Ddissertauon, Michigan State University, 1977)

66National Institute of Education, Theory Development Report ofPanel 10, National Conference on Studies in Teaching. Washington, D C, 1975.

"Jere E Brophy and Thomas L Good, Teacher-Student Relationshtps Courses and Consequences (New York Holt, Rinehart & Winston, 1974)

'Anne M Bussis, Edward A. Chlttenden, and Marianne Amarel, Beyond Surface Curriculum(Boulder, Colo Westview Press, 1976), Gerald Duff., "A Study of Teacher Conceptions of

tIeneB Haris

used to address these questions have ranged from obtaining teachers' self-reports through questionnaires, thinking-aloud techniques, and simulatedrecall to ethnographic participant observation techniques. This body of researchis still in its infancy. Further research in the area will undoubtedly yieldvaluable tools for improving codifications of educational practices and teach-ing through development of practice theories.

Interim Conclusion

Applied theories and practice theories, as distinguished from explanatorytheories and doctrines, directly suggest instructional strategies The availabilityand effective expression of such strategies most likely determines whetherpractitioners are persuaded to experiment with educational practices. Doyleand Ponder, for example, conceptualize practitioner decision making relatedto adoption of educational programs in terms of a practicality ethic; theminimal criterion for program trial is instrumentality: formulation of specificinstructional procedures in terms of classroom contingencies.69 More funda-mentally, applied and practice theories must supplement explanatory theoriesand doctrines so that understanding can become the basis for effective inter-vention

GENERIC CHARACTERISTICS OF THEORIES

Four important types of theory have been identified and characterized.(a) explanatory theory, (b) doctrine, (c) applied theory, and (d) practicetheory. Each has distinct characteristics that affect its function and codificationin guides for practice. The four types also have characteristics in common,which affect their potential functions and codification for guiding practitionersFirst, theories are general representations of reality. Second, theories selec-tively represent reality, they are partial with respect to their subject matter

Practical educational situations are concrete, particular, and complex AsSchwab comments:

Curriculum is brought to bear on the concrete case in all its completeness andwith all its differences from all other concrete cases . The materials of a concretecurriculum will be particular assertions about selected matters couched in aparticular vocabulary, syntax, and rhetoric . particular acts upon particular mattersin a given sequence a particular locus in time and space very local kinds ofchildren The same diversity holds with respect to teachers, and what they do m

Reading," paper presented at the National Reading Conference. New Orleans, 1977, ValeneJanesick, "An Ethographic Study of Teachers' Classroom Perspectives," (Ph D dissertation. Mich-igan State University, 1977), Percy W Marland, "A Study of Teachers Interactive Thoughts." (Ph Ddissertation, The University of Alberta, 1977)

"Walter Doyle and G A. Ponder, "The Practicality Ethnic in Teacher Decision Maklng,"Interchange 8, 3 (1977-78) 7

'JosephJ Schwab, The Practical A Language for Curriculum," in Science, Curindum, andLiberal Education Selected ,Esss, ed Ian Westbury and John Wilkof (Chicago Universit, ofChicago Press. 1978): p 309

44 An rxploration of the Role of Theoris in Communication for Guiding Pmactiioners

Theorists interpretively represent this reality by two techniques-generalization and selection. They abstract and generalize from a plethora of fleetingparticulars, there Is therefore a striking difference between the character ofpractice and the character of theory. Piaget, for example, has described andverified stages of cognitive development, the theory achieves its impressivegenerality by omitting the variations in progress among different children indifferent environments. The Plowden Report formulates the doctrine thecommittee believed to be implicit in the educational practices in a growingnumber of primary schools, but the report expresses a general doctrine,which like other doctrines does not capture the multitude of particular envi-ronments and practices consistent with it or from which it was presumablyderived. In their powerful analysis of teaching method in open schools, Bussisand Chittenden identify behaviors that they believe characterize teachers inopen schools, their explications are phrased in general terms, with referenceto generic teachers, children, environments, and localities."'

Theorists also select for study certain manageable areas from the complexorganic whole. Theorists are selective in two ways They select an area forinquiry such as cognitive development, moral development, social interaction,group process, and so on, for each, they select differentprinciples of inquiry,namely different theoretical viewpoints. The explanatory theories that teacherscan use to understand reality generally address only a segment of the wholePlaget's theory of cognitive development addresses only the development ofintellectual functioning, 'Rogers' theories primarily address personal development, Kohlberg's theories primarily address moral development

Similarly, the doctrines formulated for educational j5ractice present selecttve views of educational reality. The orientations toward educational practiceidentified by Eisner and ValIance and byJoyce and Weil each focus on differenttypes of educational outcomes and methods As Feiman argues with referenceto Joyce and Weil's models of teaching:

Because of their views of man and what he should become, educators are likely tofocus on specific kinds of learning outcomes and favor certain ways of creatingeducational environments .. Each of the four families emphasize particular edu-cauonal goals and tend to prescribe particular means of achieving them the categorles serve to highlight the inevitable partialty of theory, the existence of competingtheories.

Any theory addresses only part of the problems that arise in practice andpresents only one possible perspective

-'Anne M Bussis and Edward A. Chttenden, Anaysis of an Approacb to Open Education(Princeton, NJ Educational Testing Service, 1970)

,Sharon Felman, "Review of Models of Teaching, by Bruce Joyce and Marsha Well," SchoolRevieuw 82 (November 1973) 149-150

Ilene B Harris

Giyen a conception of teaching and educational practice as a complexarena of activities, fraught with endemic uncertainties,73 it is clear that theoriesdo not entail particular practices or programs. Deductive arguments (such aswould be necessary for the entailment of programs) must begin with premisescovering all relevant facts of a situation. But as Hirst argues, no one thedry orcombination of theories is adequate to the requirements of such arguments 7Moreover, theories cannot entail programs through inductive arguments AsSchwab comments, "he practical is deliberative It cannot be inductive becausethe target of the method is not a generalization or explanation but a decisionabout action in a concrete situation."' Although theories do not entail partic-ular practices, either through inductive or deductive arguments, the differenttypes of theories differ somewhat in this respect.

Doctrines do not entail particular practices, because a wide variety ofparticular practices could be consistent with any doctrine. As Chittendensuggests in his review of Weber's book, The English Infant School and Infor-mal Education.

The reference point is standards regarding the nature of quality in learning Ingeneral, observations of such things as whether the room has a variety of math materialsor a sand table, some mixture of ages, whether the teacher smiles are all secondaryquestions since they can only be evaluated with reference to the kinds of learningand human relationships prompted by such materials or activities 6

Nor do explanatory theories entail particular practices, however, they cansuggest educational interventions through an inventive, deliberative processFor example, Skinner has formulated conceptions concerning the relationshipbetween observable behavior and external conditions, such as reinforcement;behavior is shaped or conditioned through controlling the contingencies ofreinforcement. The particular behaviors that are reinforced or extinguishedare determined by the values of those who control the contingencies ofreminforcement These behaviors may range from spelling, writing, or mathe-matical skills, to destructive, criminal actions. The range of programs thatutilize Skinner's principles of behavioral change vary greatly, ranging fromprogrammed learning in a variety of content areas to management of class-room behavior problems. Skinner's principles do not entail any particulareducational practices, rather, they provide input into prescriptions for practicethat rest on strongly held personal and group values (as to the behaviors that

"Roben Dreeben, The Nature of Teaching (Glenview, Ill Scott, Foresman & Co, 1970),Philip W Jackson, Life in Clroomns (NewYork Holt, Rinehart &Winston, 1968), Daniel c Lotie,School Teacher A Sociological Study (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1975)

"Paul H Hirst, "Philosophy and Educational Theory," BritJournal of Educatonal Studmes12 (November 1963) 51-64

'Joseph J Schwab, "The Practical A Language for Curriculum," in Science, Curriculum, andLiberal Education Selected Essays, ed Ian Westbury and John Wilkof (Chicago University ofChicago Press, 1978), p 318

"Edward A Chinenden. "Review of The Englisb Infant School and Informal Education byLlhan Weber," American Educational ReearJournal 0 (Summer 1973)- 221

45

46 An E plration of the Role of Thbeories in Communtcalion for Guiding Prattioners

should be reinforced and the means of reinforcement) and inventions ofeducational methods.

Applied and practice theories, as distinguished from doctrines andexplanatory theories, do explicitly suggest generic decision making parameters and strategies for educational programs However, all theories, includingapplied and practice theories, are general and selective and may not entailany particular practices in a given situation. Berlak and her colleagues codifieda decision matrix for control of learning decisions, but their matrix does notentail any particular decision in a given situation The strategies of behaviormodification are used only in the context of a particular teacher's diagnosticdecisions and value structure.

STRATEGIES FOR EFFECTIVE EXPRESSION OF THEORIESIN GUIDES FOR PRACTITIONERS

Theories formulate some of the understandings that practitioners needas starting points for educational practice. Their value depends, in part, onhow they are expressed. In this section, strategies for effective codification oftheories are suggested.

Alien Terminology-Translation for Practitioners

Theories tend to be expressed in terminology or idioms designed tofacilitate communication within a discipline Practitioners must be able toreference technical terms and idioms in familiar language and in their expenrence before the theories in which such terms are embedded become accessible.

Two types of translation can help render theories more accessible First,technical language and idioms can be translated into the everyday languagepractitioners use to describe experience Smith and Geoffrey suggest, "Whileit has been helpful to us to have the beginnings of clarity in the generallanguage structure utilized in teaching, the 'practical teacher' wants the metalanguage cloaked in the day-to-day problems of teaching, the flesh and blood,as it were, rather than just the skeleton or ideas . At any given moment inthe process of teaching, the teacher presents cues to the children whichindicate he is aware of the latent meaning of events outside the give and-takeof recitation. In the vernacular, he knows what is going on.""

Concrete examples can also illustrate the meaning of technical terms oridioms. Elkind, for instance, communicated Piaget's views concerning the"egocentrism" of children in concrete examples from Piaget's own observations of children:

In observing young children at play Piaget noted a peculiar lack of social orientationwhich was also present in their conversation and in their approaches to certain

'Louis L Smith and William Geoffrey, The Complexftes of an Urban Classroom (New YorkHolt, Rinehart, & Winston, 1968), p 97

lene B Harris

intellectual tasks. A child would make up a new word "stocks" for socks, stockings andlust assume that everyone knew what he was talking about as if this were the conven-tional name for the objects he had in mind. Likewise, Piaget noted that when twonursery school children were at play they often spoke at rather than to one anotherand were frequently chattering on about two quite different and unrelated topics

Elkind continues:

In Piaget's view, all of these behaviors can be explained by the young child's inabilityto put himself in another person's position and to take that person's point of viewUnlike the egocentric adult, who can take another person's point of view but does not,the egocentric child does not take another person's point of view because he cannot"

Given this viewpoint concerning children's mental development, withthe primary term "egocentrism" expressed through concrete examples, thepractitioner (or parent) can view children's behavior in a new light. Elkindcomments:

This conception of childish egocentrism has produced a fundamental alteration in ourevaluation of the preschool child's behavior We now appreciate that it is intellectualimmaturity and not moral perversity which makes, for example, a young child continueto pester his mother after she has told him she has a headache and wishes to be leftalone. The preschool child is simply unable to put himself in his mother's positionand see things from her point of view.'

This entire example illustrates how the technical terms in which theories areembedded can be translated for the practitioner through examples that clarifytheir meanings. The examples render accessible to practitioners the concep-tual frameworks in which the terms are embedded.

Furth uses examples to translate the technical terms of Piaget's theoriesfor practiuoners.

°In Piaget for Teachers, Furth assumes that appropriate

cognitive structures develop in stages somewhat independent of instructionIn verbal skills and must precede the intelligent use of written verbal mediaHe proposes a curriculum that involves children in motor activities, non-verbal sensory experience, and thinking games using non-linguistic symbolsFormal instruction in reading is postponed until children exhibit prerequisitecognitive structures.

This proposal challenges generally accepted views of how intelligencedevelops, namely through acquisition of-reading and writing skills. It alsochallenges one of the most generally accepted goals of the primary school,the centrality of reading as the major and prerequisite goal. Furth comments:

We are searching continually for new methods of teaching reading without ever askingwhether reading is the appropriate focus of early education Instead, I suggest that thespontaneously growing intelligence of the child should be the focus of grade-schoolactivities and that all else should be subordinated to this priority

'David Elkird. "The Educational Iniplications of Plaget's Work," in Thbe Open ClassroomReader, ed Charles E. Slberrnman (New York Random House, Vintage Books, 1973), p 186

'Ibid'Hans G Furth, Pkagetfor Teachers (Englewood Cliffs, NJ Prentice-Hall, 1970)

47

48 An Esploration of the Role of 7beories in Communtcation for Guiding Practitioners

Furth admits to his readers that his proposal " may not sound altogetherconvincing until you have a good grasp of what is meant by the thinkingfoundation on which learning is based.8 1

How does Furth attempt to communicate this essentially unfamiliar con-ception in terms that might induce practitioners to give up reading as thecentral priority of elementary education? In an introduction to Piaget forTeachers, Wilhelms describes Furth's methods of translating Piaget for teach-ers:

In Part One of the book, where he is explicating Piaget What may appear first as abrief, hard to comprehend definition will keep reappearing with fresh examples andadded dimensions .when, in Part Two, the author shifts to practical suggestions ofthings to do, . Furth can only sketch some realistic examples and hint at others I

For instance, he illustrates the concepts of structure and functioning by "ananalogy taken from the workings of a nonbiological system familiar to all ofus, for example, the radio."8 3 He articulates the concepts of assimilation andaccommodation by presenting the case of a dog finding its way home undermyriad conditions. My aim here is not to evaluate Furth's success in commu-nicating Plaget's concepts for practitioners, but rather to illustrate one strategyfor translating the technical terms in which theories may be expressed

The previous examples demonstrated strategies for helping practitionersreference the technical terms of explanatory theories in their language andtheir experience, these strategies are equally useful for articulation of doctrines and applied and practice theories At times theories, particularly practicetheories, are phrased in terms that may be confusing to practitioners, notbecause they are technical, but because they are simply vague as to implica-tions for practice. For example, Bussis and Chittenden, and others as well, cite"respect for persons" as a major component of teaching method in openschools. What are the implications of this phrase for educational practice?Bussis and Chittenden illustrate one technique for clarifying the meaning ofterms that are vague as to specific implications for practice They cite behav-ioral evidence of respect for persons, commenting:

How does one evidence respect' Obviously there are any number of ways, but at leastthree kinds of evidence seemed particularly important to advisors First and foremostperhaps Is the valuing of involved activity, and of the products of such activity, in theirown right-not only (or even necessarily) as steps in an overall pattern of growthSecondly, the ways in which children operate-their personal and cognitive styles-are also to be respected.. Finally, the advisors are quite sensitive to the need torespect children's ideas The problem is how to do this How do you tell a child (otherthan by words) that his ideas are worthy of attention? Displaying children's work isone approach, One advisor suggested other possibilities, e g, do the stories children

8Ibild,p iv and p 5IC Wilhelms, "Foreword" to Hans G Funh. Piagetfor Teacher (Englewood Cliffs. NJ

Prentice Hall, 1970), p xilqblid, p 15

llene B Harris

have written become legitimate reading material for other children; do the games theyinvent become incorporated into the classroom as a legitimate activity, where feasible,are their suggestions acted upon?'

Clearly the evidence Bussis and Chittenden cite are only some of the ways inwhich respect for persons could be demonstrated

Each of these approaches for rendering alien terms and concepts acces-sible to practitioners is likely to introduce some Imprecision into communi-cation of theories, since the vernacular is not codified for precise communi-cation and each example, with its idiosyncratic particulars, sheds a somewhatdifferent perspective on the terms it is used to define. This is the unresolvabledilemma of communication, to maximize shared understandings among per-sons whose experiences and interpretations will inevitably vary.

Overcoming the Limits of Selectivit,

Theories are selective in relation to reality. Any theory is partial andincomplete for representing the whole of which its subject is only a part Butas Schwab comments:

Good theories are persuasive theories, plausible theories Each of them formulates inits own way some truths about some men under some circumstances. If thesetruths, once well presented to us by a theory, find their referents in their ownexperience of men, this resonance of experience with assertion persuades us not onlyof the "truth" of the theory but of its whole truth We not only seek what it tells us toseek, we do not seek what it does not instruct us to search out This constitutes ourproblem as educators I

A practitioner once enamoured of a particular theoretical framework-forexample, the theories of Piaget, Skinner, Ausubel, or Rogers-may view eacheducational situation through its lens and therefore have only a partial viewof educational scenarios and a limited repertoire of mstructional strategies

These problems can be overcome to some extent. Guides for practition-

ers should identify the segments of the whole that a theory addresses Plaget,Ausubel, and Rogers each followed psychological theories that focus on theperson's learning and development, rather than sociological, political, orepistemological theories. Moreover, each focuses'on a different aspect oflearning or development. Piaget on cognitive development, Ausubel on mean-ingful conceptual learning, Rogers on the relationship between the environ-ment and personal growth. Each sheds a different, but useful, light on edu-cautional reality. Simply identifying those aspects of reality that a theory addressesIs inadequate to communicate the particular view it provides of educationalpractice. Another strategy is likely to be more useful, a guide can present a

'Anne M Bussis and Edward A. Chinenden, Analysis of an Approacb to Open Education(Princeton, NJ Educalional Testing Service, 1970). pp 229-230

'Joseph J Schwab, "The Practical Arts of Eclectic." In Science. Curculium, and LiberalEducation Selected Essats, ed lan Westbury and John Wltkof (Chicago Universint of ChicagoPress, 1978). pp 333

__

49

50 An Eoloration of the Role of Theorie in Communicationfor Guidmng Practitioners

theory in association with a case and identify in the case those facets to whichit i. relevant.

Schwab, for instance, suggests a procedure he labelspolyfocal conspectusas a strategy to help practitioners identify the particular facets of a case towhich a theory is relevant. He describes an aspect of this procedure that ispertinent to our point as follows:

The second phase begins, for example, with viewing of a composite motion picture ofvideotape. The viewing reveals five episodes from the ongoing activities of a teacherand a group of children, a "class " The episodes, singly and together, reveal somethingof the behaviors of all the students involved and of the teacher, The instructor willbe concerned, then, with drawing students' attention to the problem of selectingamong exhibited behaviors those to which the Fredidian theory demands attentionhe will also be concerned that students see in the situation behaviors to which theFreudian view does not command attention and recognize these behaviors as outsidethe purview of the theory 86

Schwab suggests using a videotaped scenario to demonstate the aspects ofreality that a theory addresses, a narrative description of educational practicecould also serve this purpose

With only one or a few theories, the practitioner has a limited repertoirefor understanding educational reality. An obvious remedy is to master a varletyof theories, using the communication strategies just suggested The practitioner could scan educational scenarios through a series of lenses, eachshedding a different, but revealing, light.

Linking Explanatory Theories, Doctrines, and Applied and Practrce Thforiecin Guidesfor Practitioners

Each type of theory-explanatory, applied and practice, and doctrlnes-formulates only some of the general understandings practitioners must haveto Implement educational practices

Explanatory theories can formulate persuasive constructs for understanding educational reality and suggest promising instructional methods H lowever,they do not entail any particular educational program or directl' communicatemethods for instruction For example, Skinner's conceptions about the effectsof reinforcement on behavior can suggest instructional interventions andexplain their consequences A complete guide for practice must formulate inaddition. (1) doctrines as to the types of behaviors reinforced and means ofreinforcement, and (2) instructional strategies, such as programmed learning

Thus, an explanatory theory can function as a major component in programs quite different in character, due to different doctrines and instructionalmethods. For example, Furth and the SWCEL Communication Arts Program 11both rely on Plaget's conception of cognitive development as one basis for aneducational program. However, the programs they recommend are different

lIbid. pp 342-343

Ilene B Harris

in character, in line with different emphases in doctrines and teaching meth-ods.8 7

Furth focuses on development of cognitive processes as theprimaty goalof elementary education, in lieu of reading skills and subject matter knowledgeobjectives, he recommends "thinking games" as the educational strategy forhelping children develop these cognitive processes Piaget's explanatory the-ones enter into Furth's recommendations both as a basis for the goals ofelementary education-as doctrines-and as a conceptual framework'forunderstanding children's reactions to "thinking games." By contrast, the SWCELCommunication Arts Program II focuses on more traditional goals of elemefi-tary education defined in a list of the "major principles and generalizationsto which children in these grades should be introduced" and an index of

topics and themes considered as appropriate instructional content for pri-mary grades "8' Recommended methods for reaching these traditional goalsdiffer somewhat from traditional methods. The teacher is urged to use knowl-edge of children's cognitive levels (defined in Piagetian terms) to provisionenvironments and present problems that spark children's interests Piaget'sexplanatory theories enter into SWCEL's recommendations to practitionersprimarily as the conceptual basis for recommended teaching methods

Doctrines formulate persuasive rationalized systems of values pertainingto the means and ends of educational practice. Like explanatory theories,doctrines do not entail any particular educational programs A wide variety ofparticular practices would be consistent with any doctrine

Doctrines must be supplemented in guides for practitioners by appliedor practice theories that directly communicate the general character of appro-priate instructional interventions. The doctrine associated with open schoolsformulated in the Plowden report-for example, that the aim of education inthese schools is to foster development of "balanced and mature adults, ableto live in, contribute to, and look critically at the society of which they will bea part"---could be read in conjunction with Bussis and Chittenden's discussionof general components of behavior (including examples) that they believecharacterize teachers in open schools. These general components are- diag-nosis of learning events, guidance and extension of learning, honesty ofencounters, respect for persons, warmth, provisioning for learning, reflectiveevaluation of diagnostic information, and seeking activity to promote personalgrowth."

'Hans G Funh, Piagelfor Teacbers (Englewood Cliffs, NJ Prentice-Hall, 19'0), Mary AnneStone and Anne P Taylor, Orientation of the Teacher Training Component of the CommunicationArts Program II (Albuquerque, N M Southwestern Cooperative Educational Laboratory, 19'0)

'lbid, p 1*'Anne M Bussis and Edward A. Chttenden, Analsis of an Approach to Open Education

(Princeton, NJ Educational Testing Service, 1970), Central Advisory Council for Education(England) (Plowden Report), 'The Change Since 1931," In The Open Classroom Reader, edCharles E Sllberman (New York Random House, 1973), pp 5-10

51

52 An Exploration of toe Role of 7heores tn Communication for Guidmng Practitioners

Applied and practice theories do directly codify the general parametersof instructional methods.Just as doctrines and explanatory theories are incom-plete for guiding practitioners without formulations of associated methods,so too formulations of methods are incomplete without associated doctrinesand explanatory theories

For instance, based on her observations, Resnick formulated some gen-eral components of teaching method in open classrooms 90 She noted thatteachers frequently initiated extended substantive conversations with onechild or small groups, but permitted frequent interruptions of these extendedconversations. The practitioner could distill similar strategies from the Mur-rows' description of open-classroom life excerpted earlier Why do teachersin open classrooms use this strategy and what is the substance of theseconversations? These questions must be addressed in a Practical Rhetoric forguiding practitioners The doctrine for open education formulated in thePlowden Report would provide one rationale They comment, "The schoolsets out deliberately to devise the right environment for children, to allowthem to be themselves and to develop in the way and at the pace appropriateto them.... It lays special stress on individual discovery, on first-hand expe-rience.'"9 It is likely that teachers in open classrooms have developed suchstrategies to maintain organization and guidance in settings with studentchoice and varied activities But what is the character of the extended conver-sations teachers should have with individual children and groups of children?An understanding of Piaget's views of cognitive development-an explanatory1theory-would help teachers diagnose children's cognitive levels and engagethem in conversations aiined at extending children's cognitive abilities

Overcoming the Limits of Generalio ,

Any theory, by definition, provides a general representation of realityPractitioners, however, must understand theories in light of their potentialapplicability in their concrete, complex situations Such understandings arenot easily achieved

Although theories are potentially applicable across many situations, theparticulars of special cases modulate their applicability Consequently, anytheory should be communicated in terms of its applicability to individuals orgroups of individuals. Hunt and Sullivan argue, "Psychological principlesstated for persons-in-general will never answer educational questions such ashow to adapt educational approaches to different students " They continue

When considering a conclusion from the psychological literature such as "Praisefacilitates learning more than criticism," we should ask, "For whom'' Inclusion of theperson In the principle might lead to a statement such as "Praise is more effective than

"Lauren B Resnick, 'Teacher Behavior in an Informal British Infant School,' School Re'ieu,81 (November 1972) 63-83

"9Charles E Silberman, ed. The Open Classroom Reader (New York Random House. 19'3),p 87

Ilene B Harmis

criticism for introverts while criticism is more effective than praise for extroverts"(Thompson and Hunnicut, 1974) the next question is, "For what?" The final formis "Praise is more effective for facilitating cancellation test scores than criticism forintroverts, while criticism is more effective for extroverts "92

It should be noted that "introversion" and "extroversion" are technical termsand should be communicated by the strategies outlined previously.

Such formulations still leave much to be desired; individuals and situa-tions are endowed with a wide variety of particulars, such that in principlenot all relevant particulars can be formulated. The practical meaning of the-ornes can be enriched by presenting them in association with cases to whichthey apply Clearly, many particular instances would be consistent with anytheory. If theories are presented in conjunction with some cases to which theyapply, practitioners gain access to some of the rich meanings that becomesuppressed in-the formulation of theories.

This communication strategy is an approach to resolving a particularlytough dilemma' in codification of educational practice Namely, theories areformulated in general terms that suppress the meanings available in anyparticular instance of their subject matter. By contrast, any instance of educa-tional reality is'so dense in meaning that the generally applicable aspects tendto remain undisclosed This dilemma can be resolved to some extent bypresenting theories in association with cases to which they are relevant, andby focusing theories on the relevant aspects of cases. In this way, practitionerscan enrich their understanding of theories through access to concrete exam-ples. Conversely, practitioners can enrich their understandings of educationalreality by viewing it through the lenses of theories. For example, Piaget'sconceptions of cognitive development could be studied in association withdeeply textured descriptions of educational scenarios, such as the Murrows'description of one day in the classroom life of Ann, noted earlier. His explan-atory theory could help practitioners understand the type of learning likelyto be associated with her Involvement with concrete materials. At the sametime, her involvement with concrete materials could be viewed as exemplarsof stages of cognitive development. The critical aspect of this strategy is thatthe guide must specifically focus a theory on those aspects of the case to whichit Is particularly applicable Schwab comments

The principle (theory) must be selected and adapted to the case But, the case becomesa case of (an instance of) this theory or another only as it is made to be so We carvefrom the facts of the situation what we shall treat as relevant facts of the forming case.9

3

For instance, Berlak and others, as discussed earlier, posit that for teachersin open classrooms, there appears to be simultaneous pull in two directions-

92D E Hunt and E v Sullivan, Between Ps.holog,' and EdLuation (Hinsdale, ill DrtdenPress, 1974), pp 4, 7

"Joseph J Schwab, "The Practical Arts of Eclectic." in Scence, CuWmculum, and LiberalEducation Selected Essays, ed Ian Wesibury and John Wilkof (Chicago Universitn of ChicagoPress, 19

78), p 331

53

54 An E.ploration of the Role of Theones in Communicationfor Guildng Practitioners

toward the teacher making learning decisions and toward children makingthese decisions. The framework they present to order the complex ways inwhich this type of dilemma can be manifested and resolved, is cited hereagain.

Decisions-not necessarily deliberated-are made about (I) uhether or not a childwill study in a given area, (2) what specifically is to be learned within that area, (3)when the task IS to begin and when it is to be completed, and (4) how the learner isto proceed with the task In a given learning situation, the child, or the teacher, orboth jointly exercise one or more of these decisions a teacher can followN differentpatterns of resolution for different children, and at different times of the sear, or fordifferent subjects or learning experiences 4

The meaning of this practice theory can be enriched by focusing it on adescription of educational practice, such as the following.

On Mondays, Mr Thomas makzes explicit the minimum each child should accomplishfor the week in a variety of academic areas Students can choose to go beyond theminimum or to do other actislties, including obserling pets and discussing footballThey can, in general, allocate their own time during the mornings of the entire weekThus, the observer might, at any given time on ant morning, see children vworking onvarious academic tasks while others are chatting quietly, painting, or working with acooking group On Fridays, Mr Thomas, and perhaps the head, check to make surestudents have completed their assigned tasks to the adult's satisfaction, those few whohave not will either confer with the teacher or be sanctioned In the afternxons thestudents engage in one of a number of schoolwilde "commitments" or "minicourses'At 1 00 p.m. they deploy themselves to various locations In the schxool to join in dance.music, science, "topic," art, or other activity groups 'n

The guide could explilctly focus on those aspects of the description that pertainto learning decisions and state the character of Mr Thomas' resolutions of thecomplex dilemma concerning learning decisions Mr Thomas appears to plaNthe major role In deciding whether children should learn in a given area, andwhat children should learn in a given area "On Mondays, Mr Thomas makesexplicit the minimum each child should accomplish for the week In a xariersof academic areas " By contrast, the children appear to play the major role indeciding when they shall learn "They can, In general, allocate their ovw n timeduring the mornings of the entire week " From this descrlption, It is notevident who decides hou' children shall learn, nor Is it evident the extent towhich Mr. Thomas and the children omintl negotiate learning decisions Clearly.the ideal description for this communicatlon strategy would incorporate andrepresent all important aspects of the doctrinal dilemma, and this particulardescription falls short of this ideal

'Ann C Berlak, Harold Berlak, N T Bagensios. and E R Mkel., Teaching and Learning inEnglish Primary Schools," School Reieuw 83 (February 19.75) 227-228

'Ibid, p 226

Ilene B Harrs

CONCLUSION

In this paper, I have explored the role of theories or theory-based pre-scriptions in communications for guiding practitioners by. (1) characterizingfour types of theory-explanatory theories, doctrines, applied theories, andpractice theories-in terms of their potential roles in communications forguiding teachers, and (2) delineating two generic and fundamental character-istics of all theories-selectivity and generality-in terms that have implica-tions for their role in guides After suggesting that the value of theories forguiding teachers depends in part on how they are expressed, I thereforeformulated rationalized strategies for the effective communication of theoriesin guides for practice These strategies relate to. translating alien terminologyfor practitioners; presenting theories in association with cases, and linkingdoctrines, explanatory theories, and applied or practice theories in guides forpractice The results of these analyses are intended to help authors andpractitioners better understand the role of theories in guiding practice as wellas the forms of expression they should seek in guides. Moreover, theseanalyses contribute to discourse in curriculum theory about communicationfor guiding educational practice

ILENE B HARRIS is Research Associate, University of Minnesota Medical School,and Lecturer, College of Education, University of Minnesota, Box 33, Mayo MemorialBuilding, 420 Delaware Street, S E, Mlnneapols, Minnesota 55455

Schon, Donald A The Reflective Practitioner How Professionals 7Think in ActionNew York Basic Books, 1983, 374 pp, $19 95

Schon initially explicates the crisis of confidence in professional knowledge,addressing the questions, "What is it that professionals really do?" and "Howcan these skills be enhanced and transmitted to others'" Examines professionalsin five fields-engineering, architecture, management, psychotherapy, and townplanning-as they solve daily problems Shows that, faced with the typicallyunpredictable situation of professional practice, one does much more than justapply knowledge learned in school. There is a kind of reflectlon-in-action thatis the essence of professional practice. Findings have profound meaning for thepractice of teaching and supervision.

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Copyright © 1985 by the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. All rights reserved.