The social-constructivist teacher: A hero without a cape

Abstract

The change in the education paradigm required by the information and knowledge society stems from the social-constructivist approach to learning. Although many authors have made contributions to the social-constructivist approach, its precision at the classroom level and especially its implications for the teacher profile are not yet clearly defined. Defining this profile might help teachers understand how they should be, what knowledge and skills they need, and how they can improve. This study aims to define the teacher profile for a social-constructivist education, integrating the different contributions by means of an analogy with the hero archetype. The proposed social-constructivist teacher profile matches the two main features of the hero: a high level of competence and moral action. This analogy might be useful for teachers not only to better understand the social-constructivist teacher profile, but also to make them more aware of their responsibility and power to improve education and society.