Abstract
This chapter attempts to examine in pedagogical situ and further elaborate the notion of postformal thinking advanced by Joe Kincheloe and Shirley Steinberg (Kincheloe, 1993; Kincheloe & Steinberg, 1993)- and, by way of contrast, the more static and positivistic ways of thinking embodied in formalist views of education. That is, this chapter's main goal will be to hold the theories of formalism and post formalism up to the harsh light of classroom-gathered ethnographic data in order to more fully understand what kinds of environments teachers guided by these divergent knowledges might help to foster (intentionally or otherwise).