The gap between theoretical knowledge and the practice of teaching

The problem of the school/university interface in teacher education is one experienced internationally. This may be due, in part, to the different systems and structures in different educational institutions in which initial teacher education occurs. Any university-based input to teacher preparation will not have real value, regardless of its quality, unless accompanied by the student teachers‘ practical training and the development of the necessary related skills. Korthagen et al. (2001) indicated that, in some countries, the main part of pre-service teacher education is now the responsibility of the school; this is often attributable to political response to limitations in the traditional methods of teacher preparation in preparing potential teachers for the reality of the classroom.

Teaching practice it is one of the most fertile periods in the life of the future teacher and for his/her preparation for professional life. Teaching practice relies on the relationship between the university and school. However, in general, I think the notion of partnership means that the distinction can be quite subtle. I think Oxford (and Exeter) see the training as integrated, with the university being responsible for introducing insights from theory and research and helping students to understand the range of possible practice, whereas schools are responsible for interpreting theory in their own context and choosing the particular practice that is best suited to that context. The concepts of theory and practice focus on the interpretation, development, evaluation and application of scientific, behavioural and educational theories; in the end, theoretical knowledge must be developed by, and put into practice in, the reality of the classroom. The

power of theory is evident from the idea that ―Practices are changed by changing the ways in which they are understood‖ (Carr and Kemmis, 1986, p 91). Therefore, teaching practice is an essential part of the student teacher‘s professional preparation as it provides adequate opportunities to relate theoretical knowledge and applied practice in the classroom so that both are developed. It may be useful to note that other UK teacher education programmes may be based on explicit views of the theory/practice relationship, but the Exeter and, especially, Oxford models are particularly well researched and documented, so have been an important influence on the development of this thesis.

A lot of research has addressed itself to the issue of theory and practice, to the importance of applying and practising skills. For example, I think engineers and medical educators would question the idea of simply practicing what they have learnt to develop their skills for which they have the foundation in theoretical knowledge. Thus teachers also need to put into practice the theoretical knowledge they have gained from their academic study at the university in real school classrooms, and therefore this constitutes an important part of the school‘s responsibility for pre-service teacher education.

Studies carried out on the various models of teacher education across the world have shown weaknesses that result in severe problems for teachers once they have left their pre-service teacher education (Korthagen, 2004). In addition, Hennissen et al., (2017) asserts that there are doubts about the effectiveness of teacher education with regard to the professional behaviour of pre-service teachers. Korthagen, (2001) confirmed what others had reported, namely that, teachers, during induction into the profession, faced a huge gap between theory and practice. This is often interpreted as evidence for the irrelevance of educational theory. This view might be justified if we rely the familiar model of the theory/practice relationship which has been used in several countries (including KSA): namely a ‗theory into practice‘ model which is sometimes called the traditional approach that is based on ‗technical-rationality‘ model. This model basically involves university experts teaching future teachers about the available

knowledge relating to teaching and learning which the student teachers then simply apply in their teaching practice. Even in its own terms, this model has been failing because the teaching methods provided by the expert teachers to new teachers gets ‗washed out‘ and used less and less as time goes on. However, if we take the view of the relationship between theory and practice that is outlined above, the fact that students and others find the theory/practice gap to be problematic may simply show that teacher preparation does not help students to understand the subtle relationship between the two. This is why it is important to carry out research relating to the problems of teacher education internationally and to discuss the new theories which have been proposed and applied (Korthagen, 2004).

Hennissen et al., (2017) noted that, many researchers consider that the gap in teacher education between practice and theory is a classic argument between two different types of concepts of knowledge. The first is Plato's concept of rationalism ‗episteme‘, which is the theoretical or conceptual knowledge that the teacher may use to analyze the situation with a set of general assertions that apply to many different situations and problems. The second is Aristotle‘s concept of practical wisdom ‗phronesis‘, which is the knowledge that the teacher can use to identify the profiles of the practice situation and to act on them in order to solve the problem. That the gap is therefore a gap between, on the one hand the model of rationalism that takes the deductive approach and the conceptual knowledge as a starting point for the teacher education process, and on the other hand, the realistic model that takes the inductive approach, which was launched since the 1980s and which adopts practical experience as a starting point for pre-service teacher education.

From this perspective, although, there will be a gap between theoretical and practical knowledge when the student teachers practise their teaching in the classroom (Hascher et al., 2004), this should not be seen as a problematic gap but, on the contrary, it should be a growth point. For example, practitioners in some disciplines of education may adhere to theories in their particular field, but

in reality these theories are not reflected in their practice. Griffiths and Tann (1992) explained this gap as ―mismatch between the observer's theory and the practitioner's own theory" (p.70). This may be due to their misunderstanding the theory or its wrong application in a particular context, or to the insufficiency of the theory itself (Stones, 1983). This gap may be generated if the student teacher‘s pre-training experiences or the impact of the teaching practice context have a more powerful influence than the teacher preparation programme as a whole (Cheng et al., 2010). Zeichner and Tabachnick (1981) indicated that most of the theories acquired from studying in teacher preparation programmes are ‗diluted‘ by the first encounter in teaching practice. However, as is discussed elsewhere in the thesis from the perspective of Activity Theory, the gap may be inevitable: what matters is that the gap is used as a stimulus for creative development and not as an excuse to dismiss either the theory or the current practice as fundamentally flawed. It is interesting to note that this view of the theory/practice gap is consistent with the Oxford view that is discussed above.

Hennissen et al., (2017) imagine two important aspects to bridging the gap. First, it is important that experiments begin in practice and develop into theory (inductive). To connect practice to theory in this inductive way, Korthagen (2001) calls for an inductive method of training called "real teacher education", which begins the process of learning from concrete experiences and pre-service teachers' concerns. Second, it is important to learn how to use theory in practice (deductive). Although the first model leads to an understanding of the value of theory that consists of generalised insights from practice, it does little to explain how formal theory that might be derived in different ways can inform practice. Both models could be supported by the view of the theory/practice gap discussed above (i.e., as conceptualised in the Oxford model).

The discussion above perhaps helps to clarify the reasons for the non-application of theories taught in teacher preparation programmes by new teachers within classroom contexts – even where the taught theories are potentially highly relevant to the observed practice. These causes which should be controlled to

reduce this gap. Without the perspective provided by Activity Theory, it is very difficult to maintain a creative unity of theory and practice through a short period at school for teaching practice, (Ashcroft & Griffiths, 1989, Korthagen, 2001). Hobson et al. (2008) confirmed that student teachers felt there was a lack of linkage between the university-based teacher preparation programme and the school-based teaching experience. This suggests that developments may be needed in university and school provision in the ways that partnerships are conceived and in the ways that gaps between the two elements are conceptualised.

Allsopp et al. (2006) emphasised that the teacher educator‘s role is vital in the school to university connection; consequently it is imperative to see how the two institutions can work together and progress to give positive outcomes. An example of this in KSA is that a long-standing objective for the preparation of teacher programmes is to combine theory with practice. Professional Development Schools (PDS) models were introduced to strengthen the link between theory and practice. They also helped provide a link between educational institutions so that teachers and students could share their knowledge amongst themselves and achieve professional growth. In general, the PDS model in schools is related to student teachers and involves professional models that give rise ―to skills of inquiry, reflection, problem solving and collaboration‖ (Rock &Levin, 2002). Having an actual school setting is an excellent way in which student teachers can acquire their practical experience in a realistic school setting. Merrill (2002) stated that when theoretical knowledge is used in accordance with a sound model of the nature of the relationship between theory and practice, then good learning. For effective learning, application of knowledge and skill is a necessary condition.

Goodlad (1990) regarded the preparation of the teacher as a translation of the theory of good quality education into practical reality. However, in teacher education programmes in the KSA, there is an especially extensive and unproductive gap between the theoretical knowledge taught in modules and

actual teaching practices. That has been shown to be due to the differences between the university curricula and current teaching practice; therefore the student teachers are not able to implement the theoretical knowledge they have learned (Alaqail, 2005). Nevertheless, when teaching practice is organized and planned well, it can be effective in engaging the student teachers with good experiences in the field of specialization. Therefore, initial teacher education programmes need to develop effective partnerships between the institutions (usually higher education institutes and schools). However, there is not a plan in KSA to motivate the universities and schools to establish a carefully conceptualised successful partnership between universities and schools that could work to reduce the gap between theoretical knowledge and its application, or help to make this gap a source of creative development.