Barbara S. Stengel

Barbara Stengel is a Professor of the Practice & Director of Secondary Ed at the Department of Teaching & Learning at Vanderbilt University’s Peabody College.
As a philosopher of education. She employs philosophy as a verb (the pursuit of wisdom through disciplined thinking-in-community) as well as a noun (competing systems of belief instantiated in action) in the study and practice of teaching and teacher education. In her position as Professor of the Practice of Education, she teaches courses that examine the social, philosophical, history, political and economic aspects of schooling specifically and educational efforts generally. In her role as Director of Secondary Education, she brings a philosophical temper to practical questions about their teacher education programs and policies, raising prior questions, uncovering assumptions, clarifying language, and generally deconstructing the stories we tell ourselves about what we are doing and why. All three roles involve cross-cultural dialogue among the various constituencies in schools and universities: students, teachers, school leaders, parents, policy makers, teacher educators, educational researchers, arts and sciences faculty and university administrators.
More info: http://peabody.vanderbilt.edu/bio/barbara-stengel