I am Yvonne de Vries and I am working at the Department of Education at
Wageningen Agricultural University, the Netherlands. I am working on a
research project which is concerned with the practical theories and practical
knowledge of secondary school teachers with regard to 'good' teaching. In
this project I try to resist against dominant themes within paradigms like
process-product research and the effective teaching movement. In my opinion
the results of these research paradigms are too straight and general with
regard to the issue of good teaching.
I studied educational theory from a Vygotskian perspective at the Free
University of Amsterdam, the Netherlands. I learned there a lot about
pedagogical aspects of teaching and learning and the relationships between
teachers and pupils. I think the answers regarding questions of good teaching
have a lot to do with these aspects and I try to incorporate these issues in
my research project.
I am very interested in the following themes: teacher education, teacher
thinking, teachers' (tacit) knowledge, the professionalisation of teachers,
practical theories, local knowledge and the culture of schools. I would like
to know more about these issues from a Vygotskian perspective and that is one
of the main reasons for subscribing to the Vygotsky list.
Yvonne de Vries
Department of Education
Wageningen Agricultural University
Hollandse weg 1
6706 KN Wageningen
Yvonne.deVries@Alg.AO.WAU.NL