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Photographs included in the original manuscript have been reproduced xerographically in this copy. 35 mm slides or 6" x 9" black and white photographic prints are available for any photographs or illustrations appearing in this copy for an additional charge. Contact UMI directly to order. Accessing the UMIWorld's Information since 1938 300 North Z eeb Road, Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 USA Order Number 8824636 The teacher as expert: A theoretical and historical examination Welker, Robert Paul, Ph.D. The Ohio State University, 1988 UMI 300 N. Zeeb Rd. Ann Arbor, MI 48106 THE TEACHER AS EXPERT: A THEORETICAL AND HISTORICAL EXAMINATION DISSERTATION Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of the Ohio State University By Robert Paul Welker, B.A., B.S., M.A. The Ohio State University 1988 Dissertation Committee: Approved by Philip L. Smith William D. Taylor Adviser Bernard Mehl, Chairperson College of Education To Marilyn, Sonia, Joseph, John and Susan ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I'd like to thank the many people who had faith in me during the writing of this dissertation. For years Dr. Bernard Mehl has changed, through force of character and insightful comment, the lives of his students. 1 feel honored to be among them. Dr. Philip Smith and Dr. William Taylor fanned faint embers of thought which few others could see. The people of Summit United Methodist Church provided constant encouragement not to mention a room where I could study. My friend, John Keeny, read through drafts of this manuscript with such enthusiasm that I always felt invigorated and recharged no matter how distant the goal. My children gave up for years the oft-neglected summer vacation. Finally, my wife, Marilyn, gave gift after gift of patient regard, gentle comment, and enduring love. iil VITA July 25, 1950.....................................................Born - Columbus, Ohio 1973 ................................................................... B.A./ B.S., The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio 1974-1977.......................................................... Teacher of English/Language Arts Teays Valley Schools, Ashvllle, Ohio 1977-1979.......................................................... Teacher of English/Journalism Columbus Diocesan Schools Columbus, Ohio 1979................................................................... M.A. Ed., The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio 1979-1983........................................................... Graduate Teaching Associate, Educational Policy and Leadership, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio 1984-1987.......................................................... Instructor, Education Department, Denison University, Granville, Ohio 1987-1988.......................................................... Visiting Instructor, Education Department, Wittenberg University, Springfield, Ohio FIELD OF STUDY Major Field: Social and Philosophical Foundations iv TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS........................................................................................... Hi VITA...................................................................................................................... iv CHAPTER PAGE I Introduction ......................................................................................... 1 Toward an Understanding Expertise ...................................... 2 The Ambiguous Limits of Expertise ...................................... 6 Expertise and Education.......................................................... 10 Expertise and the Reform Movement..................................... 13 Nature of the Study ................................................................... 17 Chapter Notes 20 II Expertise in Progressive Thought ..................................................... 23 Ellwood Cubberley: The Professional Elite ....................... 28 The Emerging Critique ............................................................... 37 George S. Counts, Social C ritic .................................................. 42 Conclusion ..................................................................................... 53 Chapter Notes............................................................................... 56 III Moral Authority and Technical Competence: The Teacher As Professional ............................................................. 60 Professionalism and Expertise................................................ 62 Willard Waller: The Teacher as Human Being ................... 71 Daniel Lortie, The Teacher as Expert Professional 84 Conclusion ............................................................................... 95 Chapter Notes................................................................................101 IV The Teacher as Expert Authority: The Romantic Critique . 107 Paul Goodman and Edgar Freldenberg ................................. 112 Jonathon Kozol, Herbert Kohl, and John Holt ...................... 117 Ivan Ulich and Deschooling .................................................. 122 Conclusion ............................................................................... 127 Chapter Notes......................................................................... 136 v V The Modern C ritiq u e...................................................................... 141 Philip J a c k s o n...................................................................... H8 Alan T om ............................................................................... 155 D iscussion.................................................................................... 152 Chapter Notes........................................................................ 170 VI Conclusion Chapter Notes......................................................................... 186 SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY................................................................................. 187 vl CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION This dissertation seeks to examine the phenomenon of expertise, especially as it relates to the understanding of the teaching craft. Many publications have either decried or celebrated the emergence of the expert as it applies to specific fields such as politics and medicine and as it applies to social affairs generally. Here expertise becomes the basis for examining the practice of teaching. We look at two central questions. How appropriate is the conception of the teacher as an expert? What advantages or disadvantages does expertise present for teachers and the public they serve? At the outset an important distinction needs to be made in regards to the meaning of the word, “expertise. “ In this work, expertise is conceived primarily as a sociological phenomenon rather than simply as a technical or scientific accomplishment. This means that expertise concerns human relations and moral and civic responsibilities as much as the accumulation of technical knowledge and skill. This has implications for our consideration of the expert who has become such a central and indispensible figure in western culture. An expert is more than a person who knows, he has become one central focus of power and authority in our interactions with one another. 1 2 Ultimately and unavoidably, these understandings have had great bearing on how people have come to understand the field of education. Like other occupations, educators have continually asserted their particular competence in a specialized area of knowledge. They have repeatedly debated over the technical skills required of the teacher's craft. Even more crucially, they have been concerned with the moral and social responsibilities of the teacher in the modern age. The question of whether regular classroom teachers should assert themselves as educational experts has rarely been faced in direct fashion until very recently. Nonetheless, as an we shall see by examinating the thought of a variety of educational leaders, the issues of expertise have been consistently raised. This dissertation will argue that despite its many obvious advantages, the idea of the teacher as expert has certain limitations. It can be asserted only at some damage to a more public, inclusive, and moral understanding of a teacher’s practice. Toward an Understanding Expertise Before examining the connection between expertise and education, it is first important to come to a fuller understanding of the place of experts in contemporary life. While many have considered expertise in their examination of technology, Daniel Bell has perhaps provided the most exhaustive and direct analysis of expertise in his dispassionate description