Some illuminating ELT studies associated with CALS have used Personal Construct
Psychology as their theoretical framework. Results suggest that PCP is useful for
researchers who wish to understand teacher and learner thinking from the inside:
‘the world of lived experience from the point of view of those who live
it’ (Schwandt, 1994: 118). In Section I the fundamentals of PCP are
outlined. Section II contains a justification for its use. Section III summarizes
two Ph.D. studies (in language learners’ perceptions of the curriculum and
student teachers’ changing constructions of good teaching), which
exemplify the usefulness of PCP as a framework. In Section IV some issues relevant
to supervision are discussed: research values, validity, and the scope of PCP in
intercultural studies.
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