Inaugural Lecture by TCD Professor of Education on the Practice of Educational Theory

May 12, 2010

There is a traditional opposition in educational policy and research between theory and practice. Professor of Education, Michael Grenfell’s recent inaugural addressed the issue in terms of his own background of research conducted in various educational settings, and including second language, teacher education, and classroom discourse. It explored the types of theory found in a range of educational contexts and the way they relate to the practical activity of teaching and learning. In the first part of the lecture, a model was presented which highlighted the practical activity of theorising and the role that theory may play in practice. The lecture included an overview of the history of educational theory, and examined different ways of theorising, including tacit knowledge, and theory in the normative sciences. A special case was made for ‘fundamental education theory’: the source of which was educationalists’ practical experience. This argument is related to issues in the philosophy of education. The lecture reflected on Professor Grenfell’s own biography as a teacher, teacher educator and researcher. Illustrative examples were given, including language learner strategies and a study of students during their pre-service teacher education, in order to highlight the ways in which theory functioned in practice.

The second part of the lecture extended the discussion of theory and practice with special reference to the approach of the French social theorist Pierre Bourdieu. Professor Grenfell described his association with Bourdieu over a number of years and the salient features of his work. He referred to his own use of the approach in such areas as classroom discourse, aesthetic education, teacher education, and educational policy. In particular, he addressed the ‘theory of practice’ that Bourdieu developed. He showed how this approach had significance for the model of educational theory presented earlier. The discussion highlighted the need to actualise a series of ‘breaks’ from common forms of knowledge – empirical, subjective (phenomenological), and objective (normative science) – in order to grasp the meaning of educational knowledge. A final ‘break’ from scholastic knowledge itself was finally presented as a component part of a form of ‘participant objectivation’, which had the potential to purge research knowledge of the interests of the field from which is emerged. Professor Grenfell argued that this was a necessary part of adopting a reflexive approach, and one which needs to be undertaken, not only by individual researchers, but together as part of a ‘community of practice’. He returned to the ‘messiness’ and exploratory nature both of everyday educational reality in practice and activities to make theoretical sense of it. Finally, he insisted that such an engagement was essential in education as a way of developing our understanding of educational practice.

About Professor Michael Grenfell:

Professor Grenfell is Professor of Education at Trinity College Dublin and is currently Head of the  School of Education. He was also recently awarded a Trinity Professorial Fellowship.  Previous to his position at TCD he was Director of Research and Postgraduate Studies at Southampton University.

He originally trained in Medical Microbiology before going to London to take a degree in French and an MA in Applied Linguistics. He taught French and German for some years in south London Schools, including as Head of Department, before going to Southampton University in 1989. His own PhD was a philosophical study of teacher education.

He has a long association with language teaching and learning research, as well as involvement in policy forums. He is a author of Modern Language Across the Curriculum (2002) and Learning Strategies and Modern Languages (Routledge, 1999).  He is a key international figure in the area of Language Learner Strategies on which he has contributed a number of conference papers and journal articles. He also has a longstanding association with the work of Pierre Bourdieu, with whom he collaborated on various projects over a number of years.