A Companion to Research in Teacher Education

Chapter 50

Theorising Teacher Practice

with Technology: Implications

for Teacher Education Research

Julianne Lynch

This chapter engages with contemporary theorisations of technology practice to
discuss implications for teacher education and education research. First—drawing
on the example of Australia—it characterises trends in government policy, where
technological innovation is positioned as an economic imperative, a panacea for
educational ills, and as a catalyst of educational change. Within this context,
teachers are often positioned as lacking knowledge, skills and requisite attitudes for
the correct and effective implementation of new technologies. This deficit approach
to teacher practice also underpins much of the existing research into teacher
technology practices, with many studies seeking to develop principles of best
practice while also diagnosing inadequacy in teachers. The chapter offers a critique
of such approaches to research by drawing upon three interrelated theoretical
distinction:

1. Between different conceptions of technology practice—one focused on inputs
   and outputs (Lynch 2006 ); the other drawing on sociomaterial theorisations of
   practice (Fenwick 2012 ), together with de Certeau’s notion ofreuse;


2. Between different conceptions of professional practice—one focused on tech-
   norationalist conceptions of teaching (Connell 2009 ); the other drawing on
   contemporary practice thinking to support more expansive and productive views
   (Lynch et al. 2017 ); and,


3. Between axiologically distinct education research traditions (Biesta 2015 )—one
   focused on developing and auditing technical solutions to educational problems;
   the other focused on developing understandings of the complexity and subse-
   quent unprogrammability of educational practice.
   Calling on these theoretical distinctions, the paper takes an explicit position on
   the nature of teacher practice with technology—as involving an ongoing, impro-

J. Lynch (&)
Deakin University, Warrnambool, Australia
e-mail: [email protected]

©Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2017
M.A. Peters et al. (eds.),A Companion to Research in Teacher Education,
DOI 10.1007/978-981-10-4075-7_50

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