Theory-practice relationship in the processes of teaching and learning

Abstract

In the field of education, theory and practice are two independent realities that manage knowledge of different sizes and also deal with different contexts (university and school, usually), being in a situation of constant tension: they both need and justify each other. However, they often ignore each other, being this gap a major source of problems for teaching and professional development. The paper shows a summary of the author’s doctoral thesis, which has developed a unique case study in Primary Education with the aim of analyzing the implications of the relationship between theory and practice in teaching and in the teacher development. For that reason, through an ethnographic methodology, it has been examined how teachers try to improve permanently relations between academic knowledge and their daily teaching practice. From a case study we can find the main findings and conclusions of the study.