Towards the construction of narrative knowledge in teacher education

Dolk, M., & Den Hertog, J. (2008). Narratives in teacher education. Interactive Learning Environments, 16(3), 215-229. DOI: 10.1080/10494820802113970

In this paper, Dolk and Hertog (2008) maintain that narratives help teachers and student teachers construct local theories of events in real classroom situations through a cyclic process of observation, analysis and reflection. In their view, learning in teacher education programs is promoted through continual processes of reflection, which, in turn, form the basis for making meaning out of the observation of situated classroom events (Dolk & den Hertog, 2008). Through a process of observation, reflection and analysis, the student-teachers develop situated meaning of teaching processes and are able to construct narratives based on principles from education theory. As the authors state, “meaningful stories are paradigmatic” (Dolk & Hertog, 2008, p. 222). To conclude, helping students develop narrative knowledge entails helping them critically relate education theory with real teaching practices.