Dichotomy Between Theory and Practice in Education

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The interaction between “theory” and “practice” in education is a dichotomy that people have been trying to understand for over 2,000 years. The relationship between theorists and practitioners is very complicated because there are issues that surround the pace of change in theory and practice. The debates that have occurred continue to occur through today in an array of perspectives about the purpose of education and about how to encourage learning. Practical knowledge can be defined as knowledge inhibited through practice, action, or experience. Theoretical knowledge is an idea that is a logical explanation of a set of relationships that has been experimented with plenty of research. Theorists are people who carry out in-depth research and analysis of detailed topics to arrive at answers to particular behaviors and practices and practitioners are those who actively practice a profession. Practical knowledge and theoretical knowledge draw to mind much familiar oppositions- thought and action, belief and desire, rationale and passion, and so on. Professionals in the field of education have identified many factors that have caused this dichotomy, identified the relation of theory to practice, and identified strategies for bridging the gap between theory and practice.

Educational technology professionals are concerned that their classroom practice doesn’t relate to the latest theories. There are many reasons that may perhaps have brought about this distinction between theory and practice. People have been trying to understand learning for over thousands of years. Learning theorists have carried out a debate on how people learn that began during the time of Greek philosophers, Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle. The debates that occur...

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...he learners’ physical environment. Modern learning theories integrate the role of culture and other influences on experience in views of how people develop their abilities. Differences in views of the purpose of education lead to the continuation of the debate about the best teaching practices. Educators believe that different strategies are useful for different kinds of learning.

(2011, Jan. 1 ). In Resource: The Learning Classroom: Theory Into Practice. Retrieved Mar. 2, 2011, from http://www.learner.org/resources/series172.html

Daniel, T, & T. Laurel. (2006). Curriculum Development: Theory Into Practice. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Prentice Hall.

Defazio, J. (2006). Theory into Practice: A Bridge Too Far?. AACE Journal, 14 (3), pp. 221-233.

Kuo, Y. (2010). Self-Regulated Learning: From Theory to Practice. Online Submission, Retrieved from EBSCOhost.

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