University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

"""Houses and fields and vineyards shall yet again be bought in this land"": The story of Ana, a public kindergarten teacher in Portugal"

Vasconcelos, Teresa Maria Sena de

This item is only available for download by members of the University of Illinois community. Students, faculty, and staff at the U of I may log in with your NetID and password to view the item. If you are trying to access an Illinois-restricted dissertation or thesis, you can request a copy through your library's Inter-Library Loan office or purchase a copy directly from ProQuest.

Permalink

https://hdl.handle.net/2142/19133

Description

Title
"""Houses and fields and vineyards shall yet again be bought in this land"": The story of Ana, a public kindergarten teacher in Portugal"
Author(s)
Vasconcelos, Teresa Maria Sena de
Issue Date
1995
Doctoral Committee Chair(s)
Katz, Lilian G.
Department of Study
Education
Discipline
Education
Degree Granting Institution
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Degree Name
Ph.D.
Degree Level
Dissertation
Keyword(s)
  • Education, Early Childhood
  • Education, Teacher Training
  • Education, Curriculum and Instruction
Language
eng
Abstract
  • A study using ethnographic and biographic methods was developed in a kindergarten just outside Lisbon, Portugal, involving Ana, a preschool teacher. Ana is considered an excellent teacher by her colleagues, parents, and university supervisors. The questions of the study were: What is the commitment and competence that distinguishes Ana as a Master Teacher? How has Ana's practice been influenced by her personal and professional biography? How does a Master Teacher perceive being a Master Teacher?
  • "This in-depth study shows that Ana builds, day after day, a participatory democracy in her classroom, by teaching her children how to be active members of a community of learners. A metaphor for democracy in Ana's classroom is represented by a Large Table around which the group meets with Ana for conversation, discussion, planning, problem solving. For that democracy to be built, Ana masters the quotidian of her classroom as an ever changing ""puzzle"" which implies a flexible schedule, evolving space and materials, the uses of ""work organizers"" as scaffolds, caring about interactions, juggling many things at the same time, creating a group centered discipline and providing a ""schoolhome"" atmosphere. The intricacy of the work of this quotidian ""puzzle"" is demonstrated as an important women's work."
  • Ana's teaching is her own personal creation because at the core of Ana's teaching is Ana's moral self, constructed throughout her personal and professional biography. This moral self is about respect and caring, and illuminates Ana's view of the child and of the art of her teaching. This moral self makes Ana's presence central to a group of children and to their families, yet lets her step aside when she is not needed anymore. From Ana's practice a curriculum emerges that is phenomenological, constructivist, polycentric, socially and intellectually focused, and contextualized.
Type of Resource
text
Permalink
http://hdl.handle.net/2142/19133
Copyright and License Information
Copyright 1995 Vasconcelos, Teresa Maria Sena de

Owning Collections

Graduate Dissertations and Theses at Illinois PRIMARY
Graduate Theses and Dissertations at Illinois
Dissertations and Theses - Education
Dissertations and Theses from the College of Education