knowledge teachers need. It considers philosophy‘of’teacher education which might
be concerned with epistemological, ontological and ethical questions about teacher
education. We discuss three epistemological questions around the kinds of knowl-
edge teachers need, whether these relate to their subject or theoretical knowledge and
ongoing questions around the theory practice relationship. Section36.3explores
philosophy‘as’teacher education research. Examples of teacher educators’own
philosophical work lead us to argue for the importance of practical grounding in
experience for both philosophical and empirical enquiry into teacher education.
Finally, in Sect.36.4we reflect on the role of philosophy‘in’inter or multidisci-
plinary teacher education research.
36.2 Philosophy of Teacher Education: Traditions
of Philosophical Inquiry
Perhaps a central question for teacher education is:‘What sort of knowledge,
understanding and practical competence do teachers need to develop?’ This is
another way of asking:‘What are the aims of teacher education?’though to pose the
question as one about teachereducation, as distinct from teachertraining, is already
to take sides in a debate that continues to run through the profession and receive
philosophical treatment in the analytic tradition.
This question needs to be answered by reference to a teacher’s individual cir-
cumstances—their prior knowledge and experience and their future aspirations. In
the context of in-service teacher education the answers are likely to be diverse,
depending on the positions that teachers occupy, the particular contexts in which
theyfind themselves and their ambitions. For pre-service teacher education (on
which we shall focus here) we tend to provide in any one country a relatively
consistent programme modified primarily by reference to the age range that students
plan to teach and their subject specialisms.
In designing a course of pre-service education, the teacher educator quickly
encounters teasing and often controversial questions which have engaged
philosophers among others for some time. In the space available we will consider
briefly three such questions.
36.2.1 What Is the Importance of Subject Knowledge
in the Preparation and Indeed the Continuing
Development of Teachers?It is sometimes argued that‘a good teacher can teach anything’. This relies on a
view of teaching as a set of generic skills and an approach to the task that relies on
individual and collaborative student inquiry-and resource-based learning rather than
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