Contemporary socio-political issues often seen as socially controversial and highly politicised topics, such as anthropogenic climate change, public scepticism over preventive public health measures during pandemics such as COVID-19, and Indigenous sovereignty, lands rights, and ways of knowing, being and doing, highlight the need for education to address such issues more effectively. Controversial issues do not exist in isolation. They are connected to questions of order, interpretation, meaning-making, ethics, and why and how we live, i.e., to philosophical questions. We argue (...) that philosophical inquiry is essential for dealing with controversial topics in the classroom. However, we point to the need for teachers to understand the role of the community of inquiry in addressing such topics. This has implications for teacher preparation. We, therefore, examine John Dewey’s use of experiential education to argue for rethinking teacher preparation, especially when dealing with controversial topics which point to the need for greater emphasis on how best to engage with them philosophically. To this end, we will argue in favour of a reconstruction of educational philosophy, specifically the community of inquiry, by integrating a Deweyan inspired place-based education that emphasises environment, experience, and social reconstruction learning. (shrink)

This book explores and examines current topics and issues in teacher education through the lens of eight practicing teachers. Their voices add a new perspective on the effectiveness and practicality of current trends and reforms in teacher education.

ABSTRACTFew would argue against the importance of ethics in early childhood teacher preparation and practice. However, arguing for something in principle does not always lead to action. The purpose of this paper is to bring attention to the need for a sharper applied focus on ethics in early childhood education than that which currently exists. A context for professional ethics in early childhood education is outlined, a case highlighting specific ethical considerations is presented, and, finally, concerns and insights (...) are discussed. The discussion is anchored in professional ethical codes and the literature on teacher preparation and ethics education. (shrink)

This study is aimed at exploring how teacher preparation programs in Taiwan—both traditional and alternative— prepare teachers for teaching controversial public issues specific to Taiwan (e. g., national identity, sovereignty, and ethnic issues). Using a case study design, this study documents six social studies teachers’ readiness and attitudes about whether to teach controversial public issues or not. Findings illuminate that 1) teachers’ attitudes and readiness have been influenced by their teacher preparation programs (both traditional and alternative); (...) 2) teachers from different teacher education programs contribute to their curricular-instructional decision making for teaching controversial public issues differently. (shrink)

The educational reform movement in social studies has focused on constructivist and inquiry-oriented approaches to the teaching of history. Since many social studies teacher education students have had little experience with such approaches in their own schooling, special attention needs to be given to these topics within teacher preparation programs if they are to be implemented in schools. One pathway for accomplishing this is through investigations of local history. This article presents an exploratory qualitative research study investigating (...) pre-service teachers' understanding of inquiry and the impact of a set of lessons in a methods class using local history in the service of inquiry-oriented learning. The results suggest that local history can be an effective tool for stimulating interest in and a deeper understanding of inquiry-oriented teaching. (shrink)

This book researches how dispositions are a key indicator in teacher success both in terms of instructional effectiveness and long term retention giving examples and support strategies on how to implement these qualities and characteristics into a robust curriculum.

In recent years, alternative teacher preparation programmes are globally emerging to address teacher quality in ‘hard-to-staff’ schools. These programmes commonly attract graduates from prestigious...

Prologue: love of children lost and found for teacher educators -- The seed of play -- The seed of hope -- The seed of imaginative voice -- The seed of change -- The seed of unmasking -- The seed of inner awareness -- The seed of freedom -- The seed of love.

Provides specific research-based considerations for LGBTQ teacher preparation and practice that is concerned with teacher identity in an otherwise heteronormative society.

This book is a series of original strategies that teacher educators, teacher candidates and practicing teachers can use to think critically about issues of equity, diversity, opportunity, and social justice in urban education.

This book is for anyone interested in how to build a teacher education program utilizing the arts as one central modality for teaching and learning or for those interested in building some of their program along these lines. Throughout the book you will find reference to the intersection of ethics, aesthetics, and teaching. We provide an integrated program devoted to good learning and the good society. In the book we discuss how the program came to be and the underlying (...) educational thinking that informs the whole program. This section of the book is invaluable for understanding how the reader can build her/his own arts approach to teacher education. The central section of the book is devoted to the specific coursework of the program. Each author describes in detail how she/he leverages aesthetics and art to expand the possibilities of learning and teaching (including a chapter focused on the core competency course, Teaching, Imagination, Creativity) in language and literacy, psychology of education, science education, mathematics education, social studies education, and classroom management including many examples from our teaching. The book ends with a focus group discussion about the program by former students. (shrink)

Like many others, I have resisted the idea that education, in general, is a form of training. We always talk about training for something, while an educated person is not educated for any one thing. But for this very reason, I do not wish to abandon the term ‘teacher training’ in favor of ‘teacher education’, although ideally I would prefer to speak of ‘teacher preparation’ because the term ‘training’ always reminds me of monkeys. I shall use (...) the terms ‘training’ and ‘preparation’ interchangeably, with both standing in contrast to ‘education’. All persons deserve to be educated; there is nothing specific to teachers here. Teacher training, whether general or specific to a subject or discipline, remains a contentious business. Some regard Pedagogy as a legitimate subject area and structure training around it; others prefer to see teacher training firmly in the context of the various disciplines that teachers will, in turn, be teaching: mathematics, literature, history and, in this case, philosophy. Indeed, when it comes to training teachers to teach philosophy, the problem is exacerbated by the plain fact that most teachers have no formal background in philosophy. So we are faced with the rather daunting prospect of providing such a background as well as providing whatever is needed in order to teach philosophy to others. Matthew Lipman and Ann Margaret Sharp were well aware of this challenge when they set up the first training programs in Philosophy for Children at Montclair State College in the early 1970s; hence the requirement that if classroom teachers were not actually qualified in philosophy, at least those who trained them to do philosophy with children should be. However, this idealistic model was always going to be difficult to apply. The problem, as it developed in countries around the world, was two-fold: teachers with little or no philosophical background were, increasingly, being trained by other educators who were in the same boat ; and conversely, when professional philosophers did become involved in teacher training, it quickly became apparent that they lacked any real training in pedagogy, and so were inadequate to the task of modeling the role of the teacher in the classroom. To look on the bright side, some constructive attempts have been made to resolve these shortcomings. The one with which I am most familiar is the Australian model for what is termed ‘Level Two training’, that is, training those who will, in turn, train and work with classroom teachers. This model recognizes the complementary requirements of philosophical and pedagogic expertise, respectively, by awarding certificates of achievement based on whether those trained have come from the discipline of philosophy, the practice of teaching, or both. Ideally, then, training workshops for teachers would be directed by at least one person in the former category, and at least one in the latter. (shrink)

Presented here are the cases of two secondary social studies teachers who were participants in a larger research endeavor designed to examine the enduring effects of a preservice teacher preparation program rooted in problem-based historical inquiry (PBHI) on their in-service beliefs and practices. The study was designed to revisit graduates of this teacher preparation program after they completed their induction into the profession. The two teachers selected for closer examination in this piece had relatively similar preservice (...) teacher experiences and taught in the same city school system. Findings indicate that the preservice program continued to impact both to some extent. However, their current beliefs about social studies teaching and their typical classroom practices differed greatly. Evidence suggests that these differences may be attributed to their personal dispositions and their conceptions of the role of the teacher. (shrink)

__Preparing Teachers for Deeper Learning _answers an urgent call for teachers who educate children from diverse backgrounds to meet the demands of a changing world._ In today’s knowledge economy, teachers must prioritize problem-solving ability, adaptability, critical thinking, and the development of interpersonal and collaborative skills over rote memorization and the passive transmission of knowledge. Authors Linda Darling-Hammond and Jeannie Oakes and their colleagues examine what this means for teacher preparation and showcase the work of programs that are educating (...) for deeper learning, equity, and social justice. Guided by the growing knowledge base in the science of learning and development, the book examines teacher preparation programs at Alverno College, Bank Street College of Education, High Tech High’s Intern Program, Montclair State University, San Francisco Teacher Residency, Trinity University, and University of Colorado Denver. These seven programs share a common understanding of how people learn that shape similar innovative practices. With vivid examples of teaching for deeper learning in coursework and classrooms; interviews with faculty, school partners, and novice teachers; surveys of teacher candidates and graduates; and analyses of curriculum and practices, _Preparing Teachers for Deeper Learning _depicts transformative forms of teaching and teacher preparation that honor and expand all students’ abilities, knowledges, and experiences, and reaffirm the promise of educating for a better world. (shrink)

In a context of high-stakes accountability in teacher education, concerns are emerging about challenges to the already tenuous position of elementary social studies teacher education. In this case study, the author administered a survey to elementary social studies teacher educators in Georgia and conducted follow-up interviews focusing on the impact of edTPA on elementary social studies teacher education and the ways in which they are navigating the new context of teaching elementary social studies methods. The findings (...) reveal the possibility of further decline of social studies in elementary teacher education programs due to elementary edTPA's singular focus on literacy and math content pedagogy along with the high-stakes nature of edTPA process. Implications for future research on edTPA and elementary social studies education are discussed. (shrink)

__Preparing Teachers to Educate Whole Students_ offers a wide-ranging comparative account of how innovative professional development programs in a number of countries guide and support teachers in their efforts to promote cognitive and socio-emotional growth in their students._ The book focuses on holistic educational outcomes in an effort to better serve students in the twenty-first century and examines seven programs in all—in Chile, China, Colombia, India, Mexico, the United States, and Singapore. Fernando M. Reimers, Connie K. Chung, and their contributors (...) focus on a pair of issues of great significance to educators throughout the world: the need to identify and promote a full range of competencies in students as they prepare for work and life in the twenty-first century, and the need to create and enhance professional development programs for teachers that will help them cultivate these competencies in their students. _Preparing Teachers to Educate Whole Students_ offers a unique and helpful contribution to our understanding of fundamental educational goals and the professional development programs for teachers that aim to further those goals. (shrink)

This exploratory mixed-methods study considers what motivates pre-service social studies teachers to pursue a career in teaching, and the extent to which those motivations are connected to a desire to promote democratic citizenship. We seek to put pre-service social studies teachers’ motivations into a broader context by comparing them to those of pre-service teachers in other certification areas. Using surveys and open-ended responses, we analyzed the motivational factors of 218 pre-service teachers using the FIT-Choice Scale and Westheimer and Kahne's categories (...) of citizen-types. Our findings suggest that being civically motivated is not a phenomenon unique to social studies teachers. However, participants’ responses to the open-ended prompts suggest a greater likelihood of pre-service social studies teachers articulating a more nuanced vision of “good” citizenship than their peers in other certification areas. Our findings offer implications that extend beyond social studies teacher education to the structure of teacher education programs more generally. (shrink)

What makes teaching a moral endeavor? How can we prepare classroom practitioners for engaging in that moral endeavor in meaningful and effective ways? This volume brings together leading scholars who draw upon both their academic expertise and substantial wisdom of practice to offer a variety of perspectives on the challenge of preparing today’s teachers for the moral work of teaching. Book Features: Examines the role that teacher preparation and development can play in addressing the moral work of teaching. (...) Highlights the work of leading scholars from educational psychology, educational philosophy, and teacher education. Provides compelling insights for identifying the next generation of our nation’s best teachers. Contributors: Wolfgang Althof, Karen Benson, Marvin Berkowitz, Donald Blumenfeld-Jones, Elizabeth Campbell, Julie Canniff, Mary Crawford, Lana Daly, Rebecca Evers, Catherine Fallona, Gary Fenstermacher, Anthony Holter, Lisa Johnson, Daniel Lapsley, Darcia Narvaez, Virginia Navarro, Larry Nucci, Joy Pelton, Virginia Richardson, Don Senneville, David Light Shields, Barbara Stengel, Jonatha Vare, Marilyn Watson. (shrink)

As social studies receives less instructional time in elementary classrooms, elementary pre-service teachers (PSTs) observe little social studies instruction in their field placements. Social studies integration is one way to counteract the devaluation of social studies in elementary schools. This multiple case study examines the extent to which nine elementary PSTs were able to integrate social studies into lessons during an alternative field placement, an integratedSTEM camp. The findings show variance across and within participants in their ability to integrate social (...) studies in a quality way. Implications for elementary social studies methods course instructors are discussed. (shrink)

This case study examines a teaching candidate's completion of a major assessment project, including his approach to lesson planning and assessment design, the creation of rubrics, and the crafting of narratives to analyze his students’ work. Qualitative data analysis suggests that this beginning teacher, who excelled in planning and teaching for historical thinking, needed additional support in honing his skills with respect to discipline-based assessment. In his analysis of students’ work and his reflection on the assessments, the teaching candidate (...) retreated to generalist stances that made no references to thinking historically. The teaching candidate demonstrated an ability to design discipline-based assessments and an inability to use a discipline-based framework to assess and describe his students’ work. (shrink)

This book explores and examines current topics and issues in teacher education through the lens of eight practicing teachers. Their voices add a new perspective on the effectiveness and practicality of current trends and reforms in teacher education.