The journey inward and outward: a re-examination of Fuller's concerns-based model of teacher development

Abstract This study re-examines Fuller's widely cited model of teacher development. Fuller's model of teacher development, based on an analysis of teachers’ concerns, posits a three-stage model of teacher development moving from (1) concerns about self, to (2) concerns about tasks, to (3) concerns about students and the impact of teaching. The study examined Intern teacher development during a two-semester Internship program in teaching by focusing on the patterns of Interns’ evolving concerns and aspirations. Six Interns were interviewed about their hopes and fears three times one-to-one and in focus groups over a 6-month period. Our claims both support and extend Fuller's developmental model. Interns’ concerns appeared to shift, as Fuller predicted, from self, to tasks to students—a journey outward. However, their concerns and aspirations also shifted from those about personal capacity to manage their classrooms to concerns about their personal capacity to grow as a teacher and person, as their understanding of teaching and all it involves changed—a journey inward. We argue that the pattern of Interns’ concerns and aspirations moves outward, as suggested by Fuller, but also inward with heightened reflexivity and attention to development of self-as-teacher during the Internship.

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