Project information
Pedagogical content knowledge as a key issue in curricular reform

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Project Identification
GP406/06/P037
Project Period
1/2006 - 12/2008
Investor / Pogramme / Project type
Czech Science Foundation
MU Faculty or unit
Faculty of Education
Keywords
teacher´s knowledge, pedagogical content knowledge, knowledge base for teaching, curricular reform

The proposed project is to be considered in the context of curricular research, which attempt at integrating issues of teaching, learning and subject matter. Following the doctoral thesis of the applicatn, the project is based on L.S.Shulman´s concepts of pedagogical content knowledge and knowledge base for teaching, which seem feasible in the international context for educational research. The proposed project focuses on the diagnosis and analysis of pedagogical content knowledge of experienced primary school teachers which is connected to curriculur areaˇ"Člověk a jeho svět". The aim of the project is to analyse and describe the features of this knowledge and the processes construction and development. A complex research strategy will be employed that will include qualitative and quantitative methodology (narrative interview, concept mapping, structuring cards technique, videoanalysis of teacher´s acting, etc.). In the content dimension, the project is supposed to provide analysis of pedagogical content knowledge of primary school teachers. In the methodological dimension, it will contribute to the development of methods and techniques of investigating the pedagogical content knowledge. The practical output of the project will be laying foundations of a knowledge base for teaching, a collection of case studies of experienced teachers, which will be in written form and in the form of videorecordings and communicated via internet.

Results

Shulmans concept of Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK) was introduced into Czech context in the term Didaktická znalost obsahu (DZO), which is in an agreement with Czech didactic terminology. An analysis of studies published on PCK showed that this introduction is impossible without confronting two different research traditions: the American tradition of curricular research and the Czech tradition of field didactics. The concept of PCK was established in three areas: in field didactics, in curricular research and development, in teacher education. Czech research in PCK is most advanced in mathematics and science education, less developed in language and social science education and only rarely done in arts education (Janík et al. 2007). a review of approaches and methods of PCK research was carried out. It showed that along with a quantitative approaches (psychometric and educometric), qualitative approaches (interpretative and hermeneutic) are elaborated. Most of the research is based on combining different methods, which reflects the integrative, dynamic and implicit nature of PCK (Janík et al. 2008). Possibilities and methods of developing PCK in teacher education were also analysed. Special attention was paid to processes in which the teachers content knowledge gains a pedagogical dimension and is transformed into PCK. In this respect the parallel (integrated) models of teacher education were found more fitting than consecutive models (Janík et al. 2008). The solver carried out a PCK research in form of case studies that document the nature, structure, sources and other features of PCK of primary and secondary school teachers (Janík 2008).

Publications

Total number of publications: 2


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