Rethinking Knowledgeable Practice in Education

The concepts of knowledge and practice are frequently discussed in education – but what is meant by these ideas, and how do they relate to each other? Drawing on recent research, this book breaks new ground to provide novel approaches to conceptualising educational practice, educational judgement and professional knowledge.

This text focuses on the relationship between knowledge and practice in the study of education, developing the notion of ‘knowledgeable practice’ with the aim of rethinking how we understand the knowledge-practice relation in fields such as professional and vocational education, teaching and curriculum studies. It builds on studies in the sociology of educational knowledge and on theories of expertise and practice which emerge from more philosophical traditions.

By developing a nuanced notion of the relation between knowledge and practice that can serve in the further exploration of policy and practice contexts in education, this book encourages critical engagement with how education is conceptualised in the light of the ongoing and emerging challenges that educators are facing today.

Jim Hordern is Senior Lecturer in the Department of Education, University of Bath, UK and Senior Research Fellow at the Plymouth Institute of Education, University of Plymouth, UK.