Can Teachers Bridge the Theory-Practice Gap? An Ethnographic Study of a Teacher

Abstract

Abstract:: In education, there has been a gulf between the production of pedagogical knowledge and the way that it is put into practice in education centres, popularly known as the theory-practice gap. This paper presents an approach to how teachers can bridge this gap so as to bring together both of these dimensions of education. It summarises an ethnographic case study carried out collaboratively with a Spanish teacher who has explored the relationship between theory and practice as part of his professional development along his life, and generated his own relationship model, which has been actively developed in the education establishment where he works. The conclusion of the paper includes some central ideas that are decisive in the processes of the relationship between theory and practice, which could be useful for any teacher who seriously seeks to link knowledge and action and promote their own coherence and the school improvement.