This chapter explores the structural, functional and social dimensions of knowledge dynamics in the teaching profession. Knowledge dynamics refers to the characteristics of knowledge that transform, change and evolve as a result of various processes and influences. First, we provide an overview of the structural aspects that relate to the dynamics between teachers’ explicit and tacit knowledge. Second, we analyse the different functions of knowledge – its production, mediation and use – and explore how these functions interact and influence each other. We also look at evidence about how functional dynamics relate to solidification of teachers’ knowledge. Third, we study how teachers’ knowledge is affected by a range of complex social processes such as interactions among different actors and other elements of the social-professional field. Lastly, we explore the different possibilities that complexity theory can offer to understanding knowledge dynamics and the consequences that this analytical perspective can have on governing teachers’ knowledge.

Introduction

Knowledge is dynamic; it is changed and shaped by learning, experience and various other processes. This is true whether we consider the individual knowledge of a person, the collective knowledge of a group of people, or the underlying knowledge base of a profession. Like other professions, the knowledge base of the teaching profession is also dynamic and constantly changing. For example, new knowledge emerges from research or is created by and shared through professional communities. In some cases, new curricular demands from policymakers may require teachers to learn new pedagogies, such as the teaching of social and emotional skills. As professionals, teachers are expected to process and evaluate new knowledge that is relevant to their core professional practice and to regularly update their profession’s knowledge base. Investigating the “knowledge dynamics” in the teaching profession is one way to measure how knowledge flows within, and also in and out of the profession, and especially how new knowledge is incorporated into the profession through processes such as initial teacher education, professional development, or networking, as well as how it is created by the profession itself.

The purpose of this chapter is to better understand the dynamics of knowledge, and in particular, the knowledge dynamics in the teaching profession. Some critics have argued that the knowledge base of the teaching profession has not kept up-to-date with new pedagogical and learning research (Dumont, Istance and Benavides, 2010). This will be covered in more detail later. Doctors and engineers are either required or expected to update their practice based on new advances in their fields. For example, doctors can more effectively treat cancers thanks to new findings in DNA sequencing; engineers use advances in materials science to build better bridges and taller buildings. On the other hand, arguments, such as that the knowledge upon which the teaching profession is based has remained the same since the writings of Vygotsky and Piaget, are not uncommon in discussions about teaching. For instance, teacher education institutions continue to train new teachers based on Vygotsky’s theory of the “zone of proximal development” and Piaget’s theory of cognitive development. While it is important for new entrants to a profession to learn about the historical foundations upon which their profession is based, it is just as important, if not more so, to also learn about contemporary perspectives on teaching and learning (Anderson et al., 1995; Sawyer, 2006). For example, new research in the fields of cognitive science and developmental psychology has shown that the theories of Vygotsky and Piaget are not fully supported by empirical research (e.g. Meltzoff, 2007, 2013) and that new understandings of how the brain “learns” – which are relevant to the teaching of children (e.g. Thomas, 2013) – have been advanced.

We do not know however, to what extent this new research has penetrated into the educational sphere. Some have suggested that it is not sufficiently integrated, and mention the lack of a coherent and integrated knowledge base for education as a potential reason (e.g. Hargreaves, 1996; Brante, 2010) or that a large part of teachers’ knowledge is implicit rather than explicit, making it difficult to be codified and thus transferred or shared within the profession. While there has been much speculation about why teachers’ knowledge is thought to be outdated, the dynamics underlying the knowledge base of the teaching profession are still not well understood.

This chapter, therefore, aims to review the processes and factors affecting the dynamics of teachers’ knowledge by triangulating evidence from different but strongly interrelated disciplines, including knowledge management, the economics of knowledge codification and educational sociology. The goal is to synthesise major theories relevant for the teaching profession and to propose a framework within which to analyse the dynamics of teacher’s knowledge. Understanding what influences teachers’ knowledge base, how teachers acquire, develop and update their knowledge, and how policy and research affect this knowledge base is hoped to contribute to establishing a framework on the basis of which the knowledge dynamics in the teaching profession can be studied.

The main question we investigate in this chapter is: How can the dynamics of teachers’ knowledge be described and characterised? To answer this, we conducted a review of the literature to address the following three sub-questions:

• What is the nature of teachers’ knowledge? How can the different definitions and typologies of “knowledge” be applied for a better understanding of teachers’ knowledge?

• What are the main processes influencing the dynamics of teachers’ knowledge?

• What do we know about these processes? How can they be governed to better facilitate the integration and sharing of new knowledge in the profession?

This review is not meant to be comprehensive, nor systematic. Nevertheless, we endeavoured to review the most salient sources involving various different fields of research. Sources were identified through keyword searches1 in educational and sociological databases (ERIC and EBSCOHost) and, where relevant, the references of primary sources were reviewed. To ensure all relevant sources were captured, we also included recommended sources from experts in the field of teachers’ knowledge. Finally, we reviewed and included, where relevant, previous OECD works on the topic.

We start with a review of how different conceptualisations of “knowledge” relate to teachers’ knowledge. Then, we analyse knowledge dynamics from three aspects: the structural aspect, or knowledge dynamics as codification; the functional aspect, that is, knowledge dynamics in terms of production, use and mediation; and lastly, the social aspect, which corresponds to knowledge dynamics as the interplay between the various agents of a social-professional field. We argue that knowledge dynamics can be considered a complex system and draw conclusions on how these dynamics may be governed in an attempt towards creating a solid and integrated knowledge base for teachers. We hope that the insights this chapter provides may facilitate the development of mechanisms that bring educational research closer to practice and vice versa, and thus contribute to strengthening teaching as a profession. The ultimate goal of a professional teaching workforce with a sound professional knowledge base is to provide better learning opportunities for all students across the world.

Knowledge and knowledge dynamics

The nature of knowledge

Studying the knowledge dynamics of the teaching profession, or any profession for that matter, is not possible without first understanding the nature of knowledge. Theories of knowledge fall within a vast literature involving many different disciplines: cognitive psychology, sociology, information science, economics and philosophy; each of which has their own unique, yet overlapping, conceptual approaches, typologies of, and reflections on knowledge. Since the focus of this chapter is on the dynamics of knowledge, rather than on knowledge per se, we use the concept of knowledge in a sense borrowed from complexity theory: “as continuous invention and exploration, produced through relations among consciousness, identity, action and interaction, objects and structural dynamics” (Fenwick, Edwards and Sawchuck, 2011: 28). Still, it is important to begin with a review of some of the various approaches to the study of knowledge so that we can later specify a particular approach or refer to some of these typologies when discussing the dynamics of teachers’ knowledge.

In the case of teachers, Shulman (1985; 1986) proposed that the knowledge base of the teaching profession would comprise the following categories. We define “base”, as the collection of knowledge in the profession, as follows:

• “general pedagogical knowledge (principles and strategies of classroom management and organisation that are cross-curricular)

• content knowledge (knowledge of subject matter and its organising structures)

• pedagogical content knowledge (knowledge of content and pedagogy)

• curriculum knowledge (subject and grade-specific knowledge...