Daniel P. Liston

This is the second volume in the "Reflective Teaching and the Social Conditions of Schooling" series. Reflection in the area of culture and teaching necessarily takes teachers on both an introspective journey and an examination of the social conditions of schooling. There is a need to know not only what they believe but also what schools do. It has long been charged that our educational system privileges some and disenfranchises others. Schools are not the equitable institutions that one would hope them to be--a feature of schooling and one that deserves a great deal more attention. This work facilitates an examination of its readers' own beliefs, acquaints them with the sentiments and arguments of others, and encourages them to look further into the social conditions of schooling.

This popular text provides a clear, succinct explanation of how reflection is integral to teachers’ understandings of themselves, their practice, and their context, and elaborates how various conceptions of reflective teaching differ from one another. The emphasis on the importance of both self and context is embedded within distinct and varied educational traditions (conservative, progressive, radical, and spiritual). Readers are encouraged to examine their own assumptions and understandings of teaching, learning, and schooling and to reflect on self and context. The major goal of both this book, and of all of the volumes in the "Reflective Teaching and the Social Conditions of Schooling" series, is to help teachers explore and define their own positions with regard to key topics and issues related to the aims of education in a democratic society. Its core message is that such reflection is essential to becoming more skilled, more capable, and in general better teachers.

This popular text provides a clear, succinct explanation of how reflection is integral to teachers’ understandings of themselves, their practice, and their context, and elaborates how various conceptions of reflective teaching differ from one another. The emphasis on the importance of both self and context is embedded within distinct and varied educational traditions (conservative, progressive, radical, and spiritual). Readers are encouraged to examine their own assumptions and understandings of teaching, learning, and schooling and to reflect on self and context. The major goal of both this book, and of all of the volumes in the "Reflective Teaching and the Social Conditions of Schooling" series, is to help teachers explore and define their own positions with regard to key topics and issues related to the aims of education in a democratic society. Its core message is that such reflection is essential to becoming more skilled, more capable, and in general better teachers.

This volume outlines the assumptions and beliefs that distinguish the concept of the reflective teacher from the view of the teacher as passive and a mere technician -- a view that teacher education programs and schools have historically promoted. The authors demonstrate how various conceptions of reflective teaching differ from one another. They believe that it is only through teachers' reflections on their own teaching that they become more skilled, more capable, and in general better teachers. This is the first volume in the Reflective Teaching and the Social Conditions of Schooling series. The major goal of both this book and of all of the volumes to follow in this series is to help teachers explore and define their own positions with regard to the topics and issues at hand within the context of the aims of education in a democratic society.

This is the second volume in the "Reflective Teaching and the Social Conditions of Schooling" series. Reflection in the area of culture and teaching necessarily takes teachers on both an introspective journey and an examination of the social conditions of schooling. There is a need to know not only what they believe but also what schools do. It has long been charged that our educational system privileges some and disenfranchises others. Schools are not the equitable institutions that one would hope them to be--a feature of schooling and one that deserves a great deal more attention. This work facilitates an examination of its readers' own beliefs, acquaints them with the sentiments and arguments of others, and encourages them to look further into the social conditions of schooling.