The role of theory and theory-practice relationships in teacher education have been discussed in literature for more than a century. Much of the literature is written from an epistemological perspective, for example, considering how to understand professional knowledge, different levels of theory, the concept of practice, and the different ways to understand relationships between theory and practice.
In this presentation it will be argued that teacher education fails to communicate the complex relationship between theory and practice to preservice teachers, and that the understanding of what theory is and what purpose it fills is taken for granted. Moreover, this 'failure' might be a constraint to the preservice teachers' learning of the theory teacher education wants them to learn. It will also be argued that preservice teachers' relationship to theory is ambivalent and more complex than what is often portrayed in public, political or even academic discussions.
The study presented is part of a doctoral project, where the aim is to gain a deeper understanding of preservice teachers' learning of theory. The results are based on surveys, interviews and observations of Norwegian preservice teachers throughout their initial teacher education. The point of departure is that theoretical knowledge is important, however not sufficient, for a professional. Theory can widen and make our visual perception more flexible, and it can help us see beyond the obvious. HHHence it opens up for different alternatives for action (Kvernbekk, 2000). The analysis draws on neo-Aristotelian notions of 'phronesis' and 'praxis' and the theory of 'practice architectures' (Kemmis & Grootenboer, 2008). It also includes a view on educational theory as more than only 'practical theories'; they are of different kinds and one and the same theory can be used for different purposes (Kvernbekk, 2005).
The findings reveal significant struggles among the preservice teachers. These struggles include encountering education as a new academic discipline, navigating between the different parts of the education program, and tensions between what they think teacher education can and should do, and what they feel they need 'right here and now', to 'survive' in their practice. These struggles will be explored in terms of trying to identify what enables and constrains preservice teachers' learning.