Teachers' tacit knowledge and understanding of children's moral learning : a comparative study of teachers in three schools with different perspectives

Lovemore, Tessa J. (2006) Teachers' tacit knowledge and understanding of children's moral learning : a comparative study of teachers in three schools with different perspectives. PhD thesis, University of Gloucestershire.

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Abstract

The study focuses on 9 teachers teaching pupils aged between 12 and 18 years of age at the turn of the twenty first century in three schools; a Technology College for boys, a Rudolf Steiner-Waldorf School, and an Islamic School for girls. Starting from the premise that teachers may express different views to what they do in practice, qualitative methods of close examination (through interviews and observations) were used to explore the influence of ethos of the different schools on the teachers' expressed knowledge and behaviour, and sought to identify relationships between the models of learning and the models of moral learning teachers expressed in interviews, and implied in their interactions with children. The methodology highlights the qualitative perspective of 'the researcher as an instrument of the research', and 'gaining closeness' to the subjects and the data; and demonstrates how closeness and triangulation ensures the trustworthiness of qualitative research of this nature. The analysis is grounded in the research through themes arising from the data; and three fields of knowledge (e.g. theory and research on learning processes, philosophical perspectives of morality, and theory and research of moral development) inform the models of teachers' understanding identified from the implicit values or philosophical perspectives that they expressed verbally or implied by their behaviour. In general teachers expressed more eclectic views of learning processes and moral learning than they appeared to use in practice. Furthermore, some teachers may have been influenced towards mainly behaviourist perspectives by the ethos of their schools, and their perceptions of respect for their roles. However, unique characteristics and personal tacit knowledge of how children learn and learn morally dominated teachers' actions in the way that they imparted knowledge and guided children morally. Finally, the thesis acknowledges the personal journey of the researcher moving from positivist values and analytical methods involving quantifying qualitative data, to postmodern, constructivist and feminist values that emphasise the relationship between knowledge and context; and the validity of subjectivity and 'lived experience' as exploratory tools in research.

Item Type: Thesis (PhD)
Thesis Advisors:
Thesis AdvisorEmailURL
Littledyke, Michaelmlittledyke@glos.ac.ukUNSPECIFIED
Fuller, Marymfuller@glos.ac.ukUNSPECIFIED
Uncontrolled Keywords: Secondary education; Moral learning
Subjects: L Education > LB Theory and practice of education > LB1603 Secondary Education. High schools
Divisions: Schools and Research Institutes > School of Education and Science
Depositing User: Susan Turner
Date Deposited: 03 May 2017 12:52
Last Modified: 31 Aug 2023 08:50
URI: https://eprints.glos.ac.uk/id/eprint/4591

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