Journal Title/Source
International Journal of Learning, Teaching and Educational Research
Publication Date
8-2015
Volume
13
Issue (if applicable)
1
Page Numbers
29-41
Document Type
Journal Article
Department
School of Education, Leadership, and Public Service
Abstract
In this exploratory paper, the author argues that a core, ontological assumption—the nature of experience—could be a part of the enduring problem in preparing prospective teachers. The paper begins by identifying contrasting perspectives of teaching as simple versus teaching as complex in order to illuminate how perspectives relate to a construction of reality. Positioning this literature review as creative inquiry, the author first identifies seventeen assumptions related to the preparation of teachers in the United States and analyzes the constructs of place, purposes, practice, and the nature of field experiences. Finally, the author asserts that the foundation for the purposes and practices of experience in preparing teachers resides on a problematic assumption about the nature of reality as “out there” in the field or in the future. An examination of this problem in light of extant literature calls attention to the need for teacher educators to attend to ontological assumptions rooted in experience.
Recommended Citation
Edge, C. (2015). On the nature of experience in the education of prospective teachers: A philosophical problem. International Journal of Learning, Teaching and Educational Research, 13(1), 29-41.