The main research objective of this study was to examine the teachers' reasoning behind their practice to gain an insight into their teaching philosophies. A teacher's philosophy includes her personal conception of "whats," "hows," and particularly "whys" of teaching. Philosophy of teaching is a broader topic within philosophy of education that stems from a systematic reflection on the moral and rational foundations of teaching. Drawing on empirical data, this paper, thus, discusses teachers' personal conceptions and reflections of teaching in relation to philosophical understanding in Aristotelian conception of practical reasoning. There is a critical question regarding to teaching: is teaching a "means" to bring about some isolated "ends" such as handing over specific subject matter, or it has an "end" in itself? Reflection on this question can help us gain an insight into the philosophy of teaching. Alasdair MacIntyre claims that " teaching is never more that a means, that it has no point and purpose except for the point and purpose of the activities to which it introduces students" (MacIntyre & Dunne, 2002, p. 9). Contrary to ManIntyre, drawing from Aristotle, some philosophers of education (Carr, 2004, 2005; Dunne, 2003, 2005; Kemmis, 2005; Noddings, 2003 ) argue that teaching is a kind of practice closer in meaning to the Greek term praxis (i.e., it is practice that has internal good) and can be best understood within the conceptual framework of phronesis or practical reasoning. For Aristotle (1934), phronesis or prudence is concerned with human action or the matters of conduct… in doing the end cannot be other than the act itself: doing well is in itself the end.... It therefore follows that prudence is a truth attaining rational quality, concerned with action in relation to things that are good for human beings” (pp. 337-339 [3-4]. From the same point of view some other educational researchers and philosophers of education (e.g., Hnasen 2001; Fenstermacher 2
