How does a competent teacher become a good teacher? On judgement, wisdom and virtuosity in teaching and teacher education.

Abstract

The idea that teachers should be competent at what they do is difficult to contest. Perhaps this partly explains the popular appeal of competence-based approaches to teaching and teacher education, which, in recent decades, have spread rapidly across many countries around the world. With regard to the practical implementation of the idea of competence, particularly within the field of teacher education, there are a number of problems. Aristotle provides a compelling and useful set of concepts for understanding the role of judgement in teaching. This chapter tries to make clear why we need judgement in education, where we need judgement, and what kinds of judgement we need in education. It tries to answer the question of how a competent teacher might become a good teacher. The chapter suggests that the difference between a competent and a good teacher lies in the ability to bring judgement to the task of teaching.