Demythologizing teaching and learning in education: towards a research agenda

This chapter identifies a number of different perspectives on teach­ing and learning myths in contemporary education and analyses some of the conceptual frameworks, research methodologies and empirical evidence generated by scholars associated with those perspectives. The discussion in this chapter points towards a provisional research agenda for examining and evaluating the constructions, the deconstructions and where appropriate the reconstructions of multiple teaching and learning practices in current education theorizing, policymaking and practice, which the subsequent chapters develop. In the collection that follows, several 'myths' are examined from within different cultural and educational contexts, from disciplines such as medicine, educa­tion, vocational education and English language programmes and from contexts including the Middle Eastern, Dutch, Spanish and Australian education systems, as well as supranational online environments. These are set against the shifting priorities of policymakers, teachers and other stakeholders