Teachers' stories

the long version

In Teachers' Stories David Thomas and his contributors present an argument for the content and process of teacher training to be enriched by the inclusion of educational biography, both general (grounded Life Histories) and subject specific accounts, as significant ingredients to be stirred in with more formal theoretic and practical aspects of training. Creating educational biographies is one way of introducing students to critical reflection on their 'taken-for-granted' educational beliefs and values, and their origins. Though not a training manual, Teachers' Stories will be of interest to all teacher trainers including the new cohort of trainers - the teacher mentors. Students will also find support for their attempts to introduce, through journals, diaries or logs, their individual experiences as alternative voices to the pre-eminent discourses of the training institution. It is suggested that such opportunities are especially valuable for students and tutors where the student's background and culture provide unusually distinctive experiences with possibilities for course enrichment as well as personal development.