The case method in teacher education: Analysis, rationale, and proposal

An important component of the preparation of professionals in many fields has been the systematic study of cases. Teacher educators are increasingly recognizing that cases are underutilized in the professional preparation of teachers. This study examines why cases may have great potential in teacher education and how they may be used.The first portion of this dissertation is largely an affirmation of Dewey's analysis of the relationship between theory and practice in education. Applying Freidson's (1970) concept, "clinical mentality," to the educational arena, it is argued that teachers' subjective and pragmatic outlook is related to the context of teaching. It is further suggested that "clinical mentality" may have a developmental source as well, based on the work of Belenky, Clinchy, Goldberger, and Tarule (1986). This worldview is critically examined in chapter 2 and it is asserted that Dewey's description of the intellectual habits teachers should possess is an insightful solution to the problems posed by clinical mentality. Cases are hypothesized to be a potentially useful tool for teaching theory to teacher candidates who are clinically-minded and for promoting the perspective Dewey advocated.The second half of this study examines case method more closely. A survey of the case method(s) in the fields of law, medicine, and business revealed that cases are generally used to teach habits of thought scholars believe to be productive in meeting the problems of practice, although case method varies greatly between fields and even within fields. It is suggested that rather than simply adopting a case method from another field, it is likely that teacher educators will have to develop a case method of their own. Finally, a proposal for case method is forwarded based on this analysis, drawn heavily from the work of Schwab.U of I OnlyETDs are only available to UIUC Users without author permissio