Educators and Epistemic Authority: Reflections on the Messy Relationship Between Teachers’ Voices and Agency
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Authors
Tschernisch, Sig
Issue Date
2024-05-01
Type
thesis_open
Language
Keywords
Progressive education , Pedagogy , Teacher-Research , Educational Critique
Alternative Title
Art of Teaching Thesis - Written
Abstract
In this oral presentation, I argue that educators are knowers (Epistemic Authorities); however, in the U.S., teachers are not socially recognized as those with epistemically authoritative Voices. By looking at broad (media) and personal (student-teaching) accounts of teaching in this country, we can observe that the voices of teachers are silenced in favor of less qualified stakeholders in education. When inquiring into this problem, the questions we must ask are: what does a teacher’s knowledge look like? Why aren’t teachers’ ways of knowing taken seriously? How might teachers reclaim their voices and epistemic authority? Answering the first question will necessitate a look into the Prospect process, a representative form of teacher knowledge. In answering the second question, we will look at the program, Amplify, as a case study of the hegemonic practices in education that invalidate a teacher’s way of knowing. Finally, in answering the third question, we will consider the possibility of teacher coalitions as part of the solution to our problem.