Key words: principles, pedagogical principles, young learners, language teaching, teachers, pupils Annatatsiya

2. 2 Pedagogical Principles: A Profound Concept
Teaching is a complex, multifaceted activity that often requires teachers to jugglemultiple tasks and goals simultaneously and flexibly. Teaching necessitates the making of difficult and principled choices, the exercising of careful judgment, and thehonoring of the complex nature of the educational mission. In addition to the technicalknowledge and skills, teachers need to deal also with the ethical dimensions of theirprofession. ¹⁰During the past 20 years, the nature of instruction has changed a lot. Early ‘train-ing’ studies emphasized transmission methods, whereas recent approaches emphasizereflective and scaffolded instruction. Teachers have been taught to assess theirpersonal professional performance from the learner’s and learning’s point of view:learning tasks, resources and support have become constituent elements of learningsettings, as Paris and Paris conceptualize it.Teachers’ consciousness of their pedagogical decision-making varies a lot. Somefollow certain ideals intentionally; some are not so aware of the deep basis of theiractions. If the initial and in-service education is inquiry-oriented and research-based, teachers will be provided with good abilities to recognize their principles, in order toanalyze and develop them systematically. Reflective practice throughout one’s careerstrengthens pedagogically conscious thinking, and school-based curriculum designdoes the same. This article discusses teachers’ way of conceptualizing their pedagogical principleswhich they perceive to be personally important. The empirical data was gathered fromFinnish primary and secondary school teachers, who have all been educated atresearch-based universities and who attain a Master of Education Degree (higheracademic degree after bachelor’s degree) after five years of studies. Because of theacademic initial teacher education, teachers are not controlled by means of a strictnational curriculum. Curricular guidelines (National Board of Education enable a school-based curriculum, which allows teachers methodical freedom in thespirit of constructivist learning.Good teacher education and trust in teachers’ competence are typically seen as themain reasons for Finland’s continuous success in the international evaluations ofpupils’ achievements (OECD, 2004, 2006, 2007). Therefore, it is worth investigatingwhich kinds of pedagogical principles teachers follow and how they cope with variousobstacles which may hinder their ideals from becoming reality.Theoretical frameworkDefining pedagogical principlesThe meaning, scope, and applicability of pedagogical principles have always beentopics in the curriculum theory and in the philosophy of education. The differentiationbetween an educational principle and an educational aim is not always clear; generalaims can take the form of practical principles. As the terms principle and objective aresometimes used interchangeably, it seems correct to refer to some educational objec-tives in order to further clarify the concept of a pedagogical principle.The concept of ‘principle’ can be defined in various ways. It is a fundamentalassumption (e.g., We need some sort of principles to reason from.), a basis for action,and a moral rule guiding personal conduct or a set of such moral rules (e.g., He is aman of principle.). Principle is a basic generalization that is accepted as true and thatcan be used as a basis for reasoning or conduct (e.g., ethical principles of evaluation).It is seen also as an opinion or a belief which exercises a direct influence on life and behavior (e.g., Pupil-centered learning is challenging.). Although a principle refers tothe abstract level, its connection to action is present in several definitions.Pedagogical principles reflect findings on good practice, but they also reflectunderlying philosophical values, such as respect for others. Two interpretations ofpedagogical principles are useful: pedagogical principles in the sense of ‘aims for’ or‘reasons behind’ (e.g., to help develop the potential of every child by giving themautonomy) and pedagogical principles in the sense of ‘maxims for action’. These maxims tend to be expressed ata greater level of abstraction than the more specific ideas on good practice, and theyprobably reflect underlying assumptions. These assumptions may be of a pedagogical-didactic sort, more oriented toward acquisition or learning, or more philosophical innature (e.g., they may take into account children’s learning styles).In the philosophy of education, pedagogical principles are discussed as value prin-ciples, which describe norms and ideals for the learners. Statements of principles canserve educators as a reminder of those values embedded in decisions about objectives(aims) and activities. A pedagogical principle has a pragmatic dimension (praxis) anda normative dimension (to do it right and to do it in such a way that ensures quality).Therefore, pedagogical principles and aims are often discussed in the context of goodpractice or effective teaching reportedon teachers’ pedagogical principles which focused on:
(1) eclectic teaching and learn-ing strategies;
(2) sensitivity toward student needs;
(3) theory-based instruction (expe-riential learning, constructivism, reflective and critical thinking, and structure oflearning);
(4) using student feedback as a pedagogical instrument; and
(5) showingprofessional commitment and passion. ¹¹These seem to be useful in relation to theempirical data of this article because they reflect both the aspect of ideals (values) andthe normative praxis.Just principles or action as well?Teachers are not necessarily fully aware of the fact that they apply principles, as theprinciple has already become a teacher belief, perhaps of a deeply internalized,implicit nature. A pedagogical principle is greatly influenced bynational, cultural, and contextual circumstances, and rationales for pedagogical prin-ciples change over time. Principles become a topic for discussion when somethingnew occurs. For example, teachers may be confronted with new curricula or excep-tionally challenging pupils with learning difficulties or behavioral problems. On theother hand, various contextual factors (e.g., learning materials or facilities, class size,school culture, etc.) can put good practice in danger, and teachers may identify obsta-cles to their ideals, which further clarifies their preferred principles.Pedagogical principles are expressed at different levels, from the very abstractdown to the micro context of individual teacher beliefs that form the basis for his/herplanned and spontaneous classroom action. Pedagogical principles can have a directimpact at the practitioners’ level. However, they are stated at a higher level and do notguide teachers’ minute-to-minute conscious decision-making. On the other hand, without broader aimsand principles, pedagogical praxis can become a haphazard collection of actionswhich Graber calls ‘roll out the ball approach’ to teaching.
Grimmitt says that ‘pedagogical strategies’ are the more concrete actionsdesigned to implement pedagogical principles and thereby fulfill or contribute tostated aims. Principles are transferable and invite teachers to invent their own peda-gogical strategies for their implementation. Like learning strategies, they require theunderstanding of context- and task-related factors. The potential gap between idealsand realities, theory and practice, draws teachers into cognitive struggles. Some insiston promoting their ideals, but some may give up.Haberman and Koppelman discuss ‘pedagogi-cal patterns’ which try to capture the expert knowledge of the practice of teaching ina compact form that can be easily communicated to those who need the knowledge.Patterns do not express new pedagogical ideas but have rather tried and proven solu-tions for pedagogical problems. Pedagogical patterns, for example, provide a way forteachers to formalize a comprehensive description of the motivation, context, solution,applicability, and consequences of dealing with pedagogical problems that theyencounter. Pedagogical problems can be seen as obstacles to ideals, which is anotherfacet of pedagogical principles.Pedagogical principles are more general than ‘didactic principles’, which areoriented toward an action and exclusively refer to teaching-learning. Didactic princi-ples – by which we do not mean teacher-centeredness – seem to provide a feasiblenumber of orientation points for the very complex field in which practicing teacherswork. With theirgeneric nature, pedagogical principles can be applied to a wide variety of circum-stances. They are also very pragmatic in that they synthesize a rich set of practical,instructional experiences and can be used to deal with new practical problems(Castillow, 2004).The relationship between principles and action seems to be far away from beingsimple. Watson and De Geest identified common underlying prin-ciples of teaching which different teachers manifested in different ways. When teacherswere questioned about their pedagogical intentions and actions, their reasons for actionwere complex. The teachers’ stated beliefs about education, students, and content weresimilar, and the improvement of their students’ achievement was similar, but the teach-ers’ practices were different at observable, superficial levels. If beliefs are comparableto pedagogical principles, they may be sometimes more important than actions.Various versions of knowledge in teaching-learning processesWhen pedagogical principles are discussed theoretically, it is impossible to avoidresearch on knowledge. Teachers’ competency lies within three domains: contentknowledge, pedagogical content knowledge, and pedagogical knowledge, classicallydefined by Shulman (1986, 1987). Content knowledge or subject matter knowledge isan understanding of the concepts embedded within the domain being taught. Thesignificance of content knowledge is often a priority for subject teachers who workwith older pupils compared to pupils of the primary school level.Pedagogical content knowledge is the ability to convey one’s understandings ofcontent knowledge through multiple models of teaching for student understanding,comprehension, and achievement. It is needed when teaching particular content to students at a particulargrade level. In planning a lesson, teachers predict how students are likely to respondto specific materials, problems, and activities. This ‘cognitive empathy’, as Cerbin and Kopp call it, is an approach that fosters the development of pedagogicalcontent knowledge.With general pedagogical knowledge, researchers have examined classroommanagement strategies, the organizing of pupils’ learning (including assessment), andeffective communication techniques and teaching. The abilities to recall and reflect onclassroom events and the ability to foster meaningful classroom environments havebeen the focus. Research on educational goals, values, and purposes also belongs tothis field. Such studies focus on skills and knowledge with little regard for subject-specific nuances. This is something which wewant to focus on in this article.