Reflective Teacher Narratives: The Merging of Practical Wisdom, Narrative, and Teaching

Responding to current concerns about the quality of public education, in this dissertation I look at teacher development. Specifically, I take up the question: how do we promote teacher flourishing? Though the "we" refers to anyone with a vested interest in education, my primary audience is teachers, administrators, and teacher educators. From this lens I investigate questions of how the teaching life can connect the teacher to the good life. I address this from two perspectives. More broadly, I ask: How can we support the teacher in a manner that contributes to his or her achievement of the good life? Focusing on more specific practices: How can we support the teacher to achieve success in the role of teacher? I assert that teaching is complex work that requires a professional who knows the content taught, has a deep understanding of individual students, and utilizes a host of methods for conveying information and creating community within a classroom. I will argue that the successful teacher depends on what has been defined as practical wisdom---knowing what knowledge to apply to a given situation and how best to apply it.;Having argued the relevance of practical wisdom in teaching, the remaining chapters will look more closely at how those concerned with teacher education might help teachers develop it. Specifically, I will first explore: • How can practical wisdom be cultivated in teachers? (Chapter 2); • How does narrative promote practical wisdom? (Chapter 3); • How do narratives about teaching referred to as Reflective Teacher Narratives in particular promote practical wisdom? (Chapter 4).;Reflective Teacher Narratives are first person narratives written by teachers about their classrooms. The texts focus on individual students, follow a plot, and highlight the teacher's strengths and areas of difficulty. Ultimately, I will conclude that reading Reflective Teacher Narratives support teacher flourishing by providing a means of looking closely at both teachers' practices and thinking. Reflective Teacher Narratives also provide the scaffolding for a means of talking with teachers that supports development and affirms the teacher.