Arguments for and against conceptions of teaching as a science or form of technicism have often focused on the relevance of experimental evidence and issue of purpose in education. However, these debates have largely omitted an analysis of the wider socio-economic context in which education and teaching have been and continue to be significantly shaped and understood. The aim of this paper is to provide this broader contextual analysis, explaining how a technicist logic in schooling and teaching emerged during the Industrial Revolution, how it is being repurposed in light of recent changes and predictions about the world of work, and the importance of reconceiving teaching as a form of artistry.
It is first argued that the Industrial Revolution significantly contributed to a logic for mass schooling and teaching based upon the standardised production of specific learning outcomes – predominantly for work-related purposes. As technologies have advanced and rapid changes have occurred in the world of work, this technicist logic remains but is shifting focus. New conceptions of the world of work, including one termed the Fourth Industrial Revolution, are influencing education policy and increasingly reflecting a shift in focus toward the production of meta-level learning outcomes, such as learning-to-learn. The sustained application of an underlying technicist logic to schooling and teaching has created various problems. These problems are first analysed, and then a systematic response to these problems is provided in the form of a typology of artistry in teaching.

Authors:
Stephen Sowa, University of Southampton, United Kingdom

About the Presenter(s)
Dr. Stephen Sowa is a Teaching Fellow in the Education School at the University of Southampton. His current research focuses on conceptions of teaching within the context of a changing world of work and the artistry of teaching.

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