Seeing Anew Teachers' Theories of Action

In the first section of this monograph, the reasons why the personal nature of teaching makes it relatively impervious to outside influences are explored. It is suggested that change in education occurs only when the individual teacher changes. Educational innovation is viewed as a matter of facilitating and sustaining modification in the individual teacher's perspectives and sense of identity. The second section discusses the theories of S. H. Foulkes, who stressed the social nature of people and placed the responsibility for personal change in the hands of individuals, while accepting that to achieve this they need the challenge and support of others. Foulkes saw the individual and the group as inseparably linked. He asserted that change can be achieved through open discussion in which the agenda is set by group members. The third section of the monograph discusses education and suggests, with examples, ways that Foulkes's ideas might contribute to both teacher education and school development. The final section explores the potential for change offered by Foulkes's theories, and those of other social scientists who see social changes as linked, through communication, to the development of individual consciousness. (JD)