Self-Study: The Fifth Commonplace

Abstract

This paper argues that there has been academic amnesia in the field of self-study with respect to the intellectual heritage underlying self-study as a way of understanding teaching practice. From Aristotle to Dewey, the concept of practical inquiry or deliberation has been a recurrent theme. However Schwab's exploration of the role of the ‘practical’ is the most significant in recent times in focusing attention on ‘the teacher as knowledge creator’ and interpreter of curriculum in classroom settings. This work is particularly important as it came at a time when educational research sought a place in the academy, and ‘technical rationality’ (Schön, 1983) was the vehicle for establishing that position. Schwab's characterisation of classroom practice, in terms of four commonplaces (the teacher, the student, the milieu, and the subject matter), highlighted the significance of the practical and paved the way for what we argue is the fifth commonplace: self-study.