CONSTRUCTING PROFESSIONAL KNOWLEDGE - A CASE-STUDY OF AN EXPERIENCED HIGH-SCHOOL TEACHER

Steve Sommers has taught high school physical education for 16 years, and in that time he has learned much about the demands that teachers f ace in public schools. This study examined how Steve constructed the k nowledge necessary to meet those demands. Specifically, this study sou ght to describe the sources and processes used in making pedagogical d ecisions. Data were collected over one academic year using life histor y and ethnographic techniques. Data analysis entailed reducing data to themes and categories that identified the specific sources of knowled ge and how Steve used those sources in his teaching. Steve relied upon four primary knowledge sources: community, school, profession, and bi ography. These sources provided Steve with the expectations for his te aching and the limits of his responsibilities. Further, these sources provided the raw information that Steve translated into classroom prac tices. A dialectic tension existed between Steve and his occupational environment that shaped and gave status to his professional service.