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Why deliberate practice is not a basis for teacher expertise.

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Title: Why deliberate practice is not a basis for teacher expertise.
Authors: Hordern, Jim1,2 (AUTHOR) j.hordern@bath.ac.uk, Pratt, Nick2 (AUTHOR), Kelly, Pete2 (AUTHOR), Evans, Katherine2 (AUTHOR)
Source: Cambridge Journal of Education. Aug2025, Vol. 55 Issue 4, p569-586. 18p.
Subject Terms: *Teacher education, *Effective teaching, *Educational outcomes, *Learning, *Reflective learning, Professions, Psychology
Abstract: In this paper the authors examine the notion of 'deliberate practice', which has formed the basis of several teacher education programmes in England and the United States and promises to improve the quality of teaching via highly structured training programmes. They identify early criticisms of deliberate practice and unpack the assumptions embedded in its underpinning thinking. They demonstrate that deliberate practice is insufficient as a basis for teacher expertise as teaching is not a 'performance profession', the activities of teachers cannot all be easily or meaningfully decomposed, and the 'goals' of teaching are not solely geared towards maximising measurable student attainment. The authors suggest that deliberate practice is problematically aligned with reductive assumptions about teacher and student behaviour, as well as causality in social relations and a superficial approach to learning as acquisition, and that this reflects how the notion has been extracted from its psychological roots and recontextualised into debates about teacher preparation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Copyright of Cambridge Journal of Education is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Cambridge+Journal+of+Education%22">Cambridge Journal of Education</searchLink>. Aug2025, Vol. 55 Issue 4, p569-586. 18p.
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  Data: *<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Teacher+education%22">Teacher education</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Effective+teaching%22">Effective teaching</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Educational+outcomes%22">Educational outcomes</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Learning%22">Learning</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Reflective+learning%22">Reflective learning</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Professions%22">Professions</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Psychology%22">Psychology</searchLink>
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  Data: In this paper the authors examine the notion of 'deliberate practice', which has formed the basis of several teacher education programmes in England and the United States and promises to improve the quality of teaching via highly structured training programmes. They identify early criticisms of deliberate practice and unpack the assumptions embedded in its underpinning thinking. They demonstrate that deliberate practice is insufficient as a basis for teacher expertise as teaching is not a 'performance profession', the activities of teachers cannot all be easily or meaningfully decomposed, and the 'goals' of teaching are not solely geared towards maximising measurable student attainment. The authors suggest that deliberate practice is problematically aligned with reductive assumptions about teacher and student behaviour, as well as causality in social relations and a superficial approach to learning as acquisition, and that this reflects how the notion has been extracted from its psychological roots and recontextualised into debates about teacher preparation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
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  Data: <i>Copyright of Cambridge Journal of Education is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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        Value: 10.1080/0305764X.2025.2516524
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        Text: English
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      – SubjectFull: Educational outcomes
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              Text: Aug2025
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