The metaphoric bridge : spanning educational philosophy and practice

Incorporation of a learning philosophy into an existing learning environment can be challenging to the point of abandoning the process or failing to realize any improvements.Metaphor, a form of figurative language has the potential to clarify or increase the understanding of an unknown or unfamiliar concept. The metaphoric process accomplishes this through "comparative mapping," where the unknown is understood via an interaction with a known concept in a familiar domain. This can be extrapolated to include understanding a philosophy despite a lack of direct experience, rendering the previously unknown philosophy a known phenomenon.This thesis promotes the use of metaphor and subsequent metaphoric process for improvement in education by bridging the gap between educational philosophy/theory and educational practice. Resources of the metaphor enable practitioners in education to understand the process of adopting a learning philosophy successfully. Suggestions for construction and incorporation of such a metaphor that will accomplish this are given