Qualitative Research in Education in Canada

Teachers exhibit wide-ranging knowledge which grows as experience increases. This knowledge encompasses first-hand experience of students learning styles, interests, needs, strengths and difficulties, and a repertoire of instructional techniques and classroom management skills. The teacher knows the social structure of the school and what it requires of teacher and student for survival and for success; she knows the community of which the school is a part, and has a sense of what it will and not accept. This experiential knowledge is informed by the teacher’s theoretical knowledge of subject matter, and of areas such as child development, learning and social theory. All of these kinds of knowledge, as integrated by the individual teacher in terms of personal values and beliefs and as oriented to her practical situation, will be referred to here as ‘practical knowledge’ (Quoting Elbaz, ibid, pp. 55-56).

As a result of this work carried out in Ontario, broad programs of study have been undertaken to define how personal practical knowledge can be discerned, defined and delineated for use in teacher education. As the Ontario teacher education report states:
The significance of this understanding of the nature of knowledge is that in teacher education we must go beyond the elaboration of theoretical principles and rules of teaching and beyond the practical descriptors of action found in statements of skills, habits and routines. We must move to ways of thinking, and to plans and programs, by which teachers may reflect on themselves as knowing, teaching, beings. The question for teacher education in how this personal practical knowledge may be enhanced to strengthen the teachers’ professionalism. To take this notion of knowledge seriously is to pay close attention to innovative programs of reflection and inquiry scattered across the country.

Sound professional development depends also on access to and experience with the best of effective educational practices. Professional development must therefore, provide continuous opportunity to develop necessary skills and competencies, and to reflect, discuss and assess with other knowledgeable professionals the value of particular educational practices. Note that our conception of professionalism has both personal and collective dimensions (Ministry of Education, 1990, p. 56).

In Ontario then, moves to restructure education led to the sponsorship of some interesting new genres of teacher education and research styles. Collaborative work around the teacher’s personal and practical knowledge has been a powerful engine for rethinking matters in Ontario Teacher Education. Likewise, in British Columbia the same leftist social democratic party (The New Democratic Party) has begun to rework existing coalitions of power. In 1987, government introduced a bill, The Teaching Profession Act, aimed to remove control of the teaching profession from the government and place it more firmly in the hands of the teachers themselves. As a result, The College of Teachers came into existence.

The College of Teachers decided early on to undertake an exploratory review of Teacher Education in the province. It is still perhaps too early to say how the new modalities of power in British Columbia will work with regard to teacher education. Grimmett has judged that British Columbia is in the beginning stages of radical experiment that currently appears to be working well but that could also fail abysmally if the various parties to the College of Teachers consultative process cease to collaborate in the negotiation of teacher education. For some teacher educators, it could still be perceived as an outside intervention (i.e., not from government but from teachers in the field) constituting a violation of professional autonomy. My argument here would be that this experiment, relative to the British case and others in the United States, constitutes that of a friendly intervention by people who have a strong vested and educational (as distinct from political) interest in teacher education. Furthermore, the involvement of respected practitioners (along with university-based teacher educators) demonstrates the value of not only research-validated knowledge but also the knowledge that Shulman calls “the wisdom of practice” (p. 18).

Grimmett goes on to argue that the new reforms could elevate the “craft metaphor” of teaching. He sees the craft metaphor as having two broad interpretations:

the more popular and pejorative one which views craft knowledge of teaching in terms of the “mindless, habitual practice”that does nothing but reinforce the existing norms of schools and succeeds in “washing out the effects of university teacher education” and a less popular and nonpejorative one which views craft knowledge as emerging from “inquiry-oriented teacher education”, from “exploring teachers’ thinking”, and from “reflection in teacher education” (p. 19).

What is clear is that there is a fund of important work going on in Faculties of Education in British Columbia which sponsors and sustains the notion of reflection and inquiry in teacher education. This work, whilst building on the earlier work of Donald Schon has its own distinctive Canadian flavour (MacKinnon, 1993, pp. 257-270).