Self-Study as an Emergent Methodology in Career and Technical Education, Adult Education and Technology: An Invitation to Inquiry

What Is Self-Study? History Of Self-Study Methodology

Ken Zeichner, a prominent scholar in the field of Teacher Education, boldly declared the significance of self-study just nine years after its emergence. At the time, self-study was a methodology of teacher education practices and specifically for teacher educators. Its emergence coincided with a growing number of scholars interested in practitioner inquiry, of which there are several forms or methodologies today (Cochran-Smith & Donell, 2006). Vanassche and Kelchtermans (2015), in what might be the most comprehensive history of self-study methodology, described the emergence of self-study as a field and its growth over nearly 30 years. Their report highlighted notable benchmarks in the field, including the 1993 establishment of the Self-Study of Teacher Education Practices Special Interest Group (S-STEP SIG) of the American Educational Research Association (AERA). This foundational organization has since served as the keystone of the field, bringing colleagues together annually. In addition, the field has organized an international meeting called Castle in East Sussex, UK held in the summer of every even numbered year. Literature in the field has proliferated with the International Handbook of Self-Study of Teacher Education and Teacher Education Practices (2004), twelve edited volumes published by Springer, the Taylor and Francis journal Studying Teacher Education and an array of publications in journals like Teaching and Teacher Education and Journal of Curriculum Studies speak to the influence of self-study scholarship as it grows.