Bodies of knowledge: The concept of embodiment as an alternative to theory/practice debates in the preparation of teachers

The theory/practice divide is a persistent theme in teacher education research. This article reports on a phenomenological study of thirteen newly-qualified teachers across their first two years of teaching and their sense of preparedness to teach. Analysis of interviews with the teachers suggested they equated 'being prepared' with 'being knowledgeable', with being knowledgeable described in embodied terms, rather than as knowledge held 'in the head'. We argue that the concept of embodiment, particularly as it has been taken up within the 'practice turn' in teacher education, offers a potential alternative to long-standing theory/practice entanglements in debates about learning to teach.