Abstract

This fascinating text uses the arrestingly vivid, disturbingly candid, and sometimes disconcertingly private views of teachers to show us how curriculum and pedagogy might be better understood and improved. Drawing on major trends in educational theory, particularly on the seminal work of Joseph Schwab and his investigations of the practical in curriculum making, and on Madeleine Grumet's ground-breaking research on women and teaching, James Bradbeer offers a new approach to the study of curriculum and teaching. Through case studies of five men who teach in a public school, the author presents an unusual perspective on the feminine in teaching; an insightful examination of the inner worlds of teachers which grounds the often elusive insights of curriculum theory in the lived experience of practitioners. He reveals personal and unvoiced beliefs that serve to inform, if not shape, the daily rituals of teaching.