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SOCIAL reformers, ECONOMISTS, POETRY (Literary form), SCOTTISH poets
Abstract
Following the publication in the 1840s of two political economy tracts, William T. Thornton had come to be seen as an influential social reformer and economic commentator. The 1850s were marked, in turn, by the publication of three books of verse. These works form a bridge linking his political tracts of the 1840s to the economic and philosophical works he penned in the 1860s and 1870s. Thornton's poetical compositions also serve to illustrate how the creative work of an economist can shed light on matters treated only cursorily in his earlier political tracts and later economic treatises. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
The practice of reflection in teacher education is a contentious area. Debates have focused on the nature of reflection and how to evidence that it is taking place. Students training to be teachers in the UK are expected to be taught about reflection and incorporate it into their practice. This qualitative study took place in response to difficulties trainee teachers had in grasping abstract concepts. The study explores the use of reading poetry as a tool for facilitating reflection. Data were gathered by observing groups at work with the poems and by interviewing the participants. The findings were that poetry particularly encourages students to venture to areas that they may not address unprompted. It also encouraged a particular form of reflection, to do with the nature of teacher identity and the value of teaching. We suggest that further studies with larger sample groups could be carried out to test these findings. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]