Making sense of pre-service teachers’ dispositions towards social justice: can teacher education make a difference?

Given Australia's diverse student population, the need for pre-service teacher education to prepare what is a predominantly Anglo-Australian and middle-class profession to be effective teachers of diverse students is critical. In Lortie's (1975 Lortie, D. 1975. Schoolteacher: A sociological study, Chicago: University of Chicago Press.  [Google Scholar]) classic study, however, he argues that the predispositions of teacher education students are a much more powerful socialising influence than pre-service education. This article explores dispositions towards social justice in pre-service teachers from two teacher education programs within one Australian metropolitan university. Drawing on notions of distributive, retributive and recognitive justice (Gale & Densmore, 2000 Gale, T. and Densmore, K. 2000. Just schooling: Explorations in the cultural politics of teaching, Buckingham: Open University Press.  [Google Scholar]) as a way of making sense of socially just dispositions, interviews with four pre-service teachers – two beginning their Graduate Diploma in Education program (a one year program) and two beginning their final year of the Bachelor of Education program (a four year program) – are analysed. Differences in the dispositions of teachers from the two cohorts are examined and implications for teacher education discussed.     

A Bourdieuian analysis of teachers' changing dispositions towards social justice: the limitations of practicum placements in pre-service teacher education

As populations in contemporary Western societies grow increasingly diverse, preparing predominantly White middle-class pre-service teachers to better understand and work with difference productively has become increasingly critical. Historically, however, teacher education programs have aimed to address diversity with add-on or piecemeal approaches, with little success. This article illustrates and theorises change in two Australian teachers' dispositions towards social justice over time from a Bourdieuian perspective. It attempts to inform our understanding of current pre-service teacher education program inadequacies with a view to providing implications in relation to the constraints of the limited and limiting nature of practicum placements. Fundamentally, its goal is to improve the preparedness of pre-service teachers to cater for diversity in socially just ways.     

Beyond a command performance: reflections on Classmates as a new teacher preparation initiative

This paper reflects on a new pre‐service teacher education initiative, Classmates. Classmates is a collaboration between the University of Western Sydney (UWS) and the New South Wales Department of Education and Training (DET), South Western Sydney Region. Classmates aims to prepare pre‐service teachers to work in challenging, hard‐to‐staff schools. These contexts typically have socially disadvantaged populations and annually experience teacher shortages and high teacher turnover, particularly amongst beginning and early career teachers. Classmates seeks to produce beginning teachers who are highly prepared for, confident and mentally and emotionally equipped to work in such environments. This discussion focuses on some of the positive attributes about the initiative, particularly its practicum structure; its nurturing of pre‐service teachers to work in challenging contexts; and its strong focus on networking and development of ongoing support structures.     

Enlarging the social justice agenda in education: an analysis of rural teachers' narratives beyond the distributive dimension

The sustained disadvantages suffered by rural schools place the concept of social justice at the centre of any discussion of rural education. However, too often a one-size-fits-all model is adopted that equates it with distribution of resources. Drawing on Iris Marion Young's work, this paper instead demonstrates the necessity of adopting a plural framework of social justice that includes issues of recognition and participation within the current neoliberal environment. The author draws on findings from a qualitative study with teachers in two rural schools in Victoria, Australia. While the teachers acknowledged the importance of a better distribution of resources, just as significant was their concern for issues of power, respect and participation in their work. The author argues that the distributive dimension offers a useful but limited approach and that a plural framework of social justice better informs teachers' experiences, and contributes to their understanding of the contexts in which they work.     

Every Child Matters: the perceptions of a sample of initial teacher education trainees in England

We discuss an investigation into the understandings of trainee teachers about government policy, using, as an example, the UK government's ‘Every Child Matters’ (ECM). We discuss the research methods used to gather and analyse data from 197 initial teacher education trainees in three institutions in England drawn from six subject areas. The project focussed on trainees' reactions to the anticipated outcomes of ECM and their confidence to help implement the initiative in their roles as form tutors (home room teachers) and subject teachers. Trainees react positively to ECM but reveal uncertainty about its precise meaning and about the roles they would need to adopt as teachers. We suggest that it is problematic for governments to expect teacher education communities to assist with the implementation of policies that have been inadequately characterised. We make recommendations about the role of initial teacher education in the further development of ECM.     

Empathy,teaching dispositions,social justice and teacher education

ABSTRACT

Considerable attention over the past several years has been given to empathy as a desirable teacher disposition. Situating empathy in a slice of the research on dispositions, the author identifies and explores several problems surrounding empathy related to expectations, definitions, measurement, inferential accuracy, and the realization of social justice. An argument is made for listening to learn as an alternative to empathy as a teaching disposition and virtue.     

Things Fall Apart and Come Together: Using the Visual for Reflection in Alternative Teacher Education Programmes

In this article, we focus on the use of the visual for reflection in ‘alternative’ pre‐service teacher education and, in particular, we address the question: How and what can we learn about teacher education using the visual? By way of illustration, we focus on the use of pre‐service teachers’ photographs in a public exhibition, participatory video documentary production and pre‐service teachers’ use of photographs in their professional teaching portfolios. The article draws from research done in relation to three alternative pre‐service teacher education projects based at McGill University in Canada and the University of KwaZulu‐Natal in South Africa.     

Turning Polemics into Pedagogy: Teaching about Censorship in Art Education

In recent decades, the field of art education has seen an increasing interest in issues of social justice and social reconstruction which has led to pre‐service art educators often being encouraged to include potentially controversial topics in their pedagogy. Surprisingly, however, there seems to have been little concurrent discussion concerning the inherent risks involved in introducing polemical themes within the classroom. Indeed, despite its obvious importance, the subject of censorship is often given little attention in art education circles, save for when it has already become an active problem, such as when an instructor is accused of censorship by a student, or when forces outside the classroom seek to involve themselves in pedagogical decisions. In this article, I describe my experience creating and implementing an undergraduate pre‐service art education course on the subject of censorship. I begin by examining my students’ reactions to some of the themes explored, and then explain how discussing cases of art censorship and controversy can serve as a platform for introducing students to the key role that context plays in how we perceive, value and react to artworks. Finally, I make the argument that by including censorship as a subject within their curriculum, teachers can help students better to navigate the psychological, moral and ethical complexities of contemporary art making.     

Drama Teacher Training in Greece: A survey of attitudes of teachers towards drama teachers

The provision of drama teacher education in Greece is discussed. Its past and current states are examined and new trends in drama teaching are outlined. The pros and cons of specialist drama teachers are considered. The provision of specialist drama teachers is supported with the proviso that they should be fully integrated into the life of the school.     

Pre‐service teachers’ open‐minded thinking dispositions,readiness to learn,and attitudes about learning and behavioural difficulties in students

This self‐report study investigated 274 pre‐service teachers’ attitudes toward students with learning and behavioural difficulties (LBD) and the factors that predict their attitudes. Using four scenarios describing students with LBD, we investigated the degree to which pre‐service teachers’ open‐minded thinking dispositions, readiness to learn about students with LBD, beliefs about the role of regular classroom teachers in providing for these students, and emotions in relation to dealing with these students’ difficulties predict their likelihood of engaging in punitive reactions (e.g., giving a timeout) and planned behaviours (e.g., adapting instruction). Teachers with more open‐minded thinking dispositions and readiness to learn about students with LBD reported a higher likelihood of adapting instruction. Pre‐service teachers’ negative emotions partially mediated the relationship between their beliefs and punitive reactions and fully mediated the relationship between their open‐minded thinking dispositions and punitive reactions.     

From the contribution to the action approach: White teachers' experiences influencing the development of multicultural science curricula

In this exploratory case study, we sought to understand teacher's integration of multicultural curricula in science curriculum units, and how personal experiences influenced the level of integration in light of Bank's typology of ethnic content integration into school curricula. Five research participants volunteered and were selected so as to be representative of the demographic of pre‐service and in‐service teachers in the southern United States. The aim was to explore teachers' personal experiences with cultural others that either facilitated or impeded their adoption of multicultural curricula strategies in science curricula units. Case narratives present and discuss interview data and assigned curricula projects. Findings suggest that participants who had transformative cultural experiences and who identified as the marginalized cultural other, transformed science curricula at higher levels of Bank's typology for curricula' multicultural approaches. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 49: 1271–1295, 2012     

Sexualities of initial teacher education applicants in the Republic of Ireland: addressing the hidden dimension of diversity in teaching

While research and policy recommendations internationally have pointed to the need to diversify teaching populations with regard to ethnicity, social class background and, to a lesser extent, dis/ability, there is a paucity of research addressing sexualities as a diversity dimension in teaching. This article explores initial teacher education (ITE) applicants’ and entrants’ (N = 746) sexualities and the intersections of sexualities with other socio-demographic background variables and career motivations. The analysis suggests that the topic of sexual orientation caused high levels of discomfort among respondents and that sexual minority student teachers are underrepresented in ITE cohorts in Ireland. The socio-demographic and motivational profiles of our non-heterosexual respondents generally mirrored those of their heterosexual counterparts. Non-heterosexual respondents reported a stronger motivation to affect social change and lower levels of participation in religious services. Findings are discussed within the context of persisting cultural and institutional barriers for sexual minority (student) teachers in Irish schools and in ITE.     

Embracing diversity in the history curriculum: a study of the challenges facing trainee teachers

This paper explores the issues that secondary history teachers on an initial teacher education (ITE) programme in England encounter in attempting to incorporate more cultural and ethnic diversity into the history curriculum. It also assesses the impact that changes in their training course had on their views and pedagogical practice. Using questionnaires and scenario based interviews with three cohorts of trainee teachers, key challenges were identified, which were related to the purposes of teaching history and diversity, appropriate pedagogy and content, dealing with pupils, and teachers’ personal concerns. A framework for analysing trainees’ stances towards cultural and ethnic diversity based upon a confident-uncertain-uncomfortable continuum was developed. The research revealed that the course had had an impact, although this was in subtle rather than marked ways, which raises further questions about what is possible within the confines of an ITE training programme and the need for additional support beyond the course.     

The Politics of Standards and the Education of Teachers

A number of industrialized countries around the world are in the process of creating new directions for education, focused on elementary and secondary schools and the preparation of teachers in universities. Those directions, it has been suggested, will enhance not only the education of children and adolescents, but will lead to expansive improvements in people's social and economic well-being and will advance our technological capacities. Teacher educators and K-12 teachers are now in the midst of coming to grips with a new approach to the education of prospective and veteran teachers. While I am not sanguine about earlier attempts to improve the quality of teacher education programs, I also believe the current emphasis on national standards for P-12 teachers and university faculty in the United States and elsewhere must be challenged and critiqued. Standards Based Teacher Education (SBTE) relies on a set of ideas and commitments that needs to be both understood and critiqued. The SBTE process has approved sets of aligned external standards that encompass specific kinds of performances, outcomes and dispositions, and are linked to accreditation requirements. The process of teaching in this system is based on a technical-rational approach to teaching, and largely ignores social, political, and philosophical understandings. The present paper provides an analysis of SBTE and its shortcomings, as well as suggesting an alternative vision for the preparation of teachers.     

Innovation in teacher education: towards a critical re-examination

ABSTRACT

In the course of introducing a themed issue of the journal on “Innovation in Teacher Education’, we lay out an argument for re-examining the meaning of innovation in the field, shifting it away from the dominance of the economistic and technological. Acknowledging its status as a ‘buzzword’, we distinguish between purposes for innovation and, in particular, between changes driven by arguments for social mobility and those driven by social justice and equity. Two imperatives for innovation underpinned by arguments for social justice and equity are identified: the concept of a ‘teacher education debt’, built on Ladson-Billings’ more general notion of ‘education debt’; and the humanization of learning, teaching and becoming a teacher as person-centred, relational practices. The final section of the article introduces each of the six papers in the context of the discussion in previous sections about these imperatives for change.     

Bringing modern languages into the primary curriculum in England: investigating effective practice in teacher education

This paper presents the results of an investigation into the effectiveness of an initiative in a large education faculty in the North West of England, designed to ensure that all generalist primary teacher trainees on an undergraduate course are prepared to support the implementation of the UK government’s National Languages Strategy in primary schools. The results suggest an overall positive response from trainees, but indicate a need to ensure that schools provide more explicit and targeted support when trainees are on placement.     

Decolonial innovation in teacher development: praxis beyond the colonial zero-point

ABSTRACT

Despite a rich repertoire of inventive and robust practices, and stated commitments to equity, social justice, and diversity, teacher education has continued to struggle to produce educators capable of enacting culturally sustaining pedagogies, and providing historically marginalized youth and communities with meaningful learning opportunities. This paper contends that ontological distance between educators and youth of colour, and the ways Eurocentric epistemologies exist as a colonial ‘zero point’ in teacher education praxis, are a core element of this existential crisis facing teacher educators. Drawing on decolonial theory and epistemologies of the global south, I suggest that teacher education is in need of epistemic innovation; radically revising our approaches to preparing educators by anchoring them in the epistemic and ontological perspectives of the global south, and in so doing, crafting pedagogical imaginaries through which we might disrupt the ways coloniality lives (often invisibly) in, and is reproduced by, our assumptions about best practices, ways of being, and measures of success. Such a decolonial approach to innovation in teacher education holds promise for ensuring our praxis, and the educators we prepare, are positioned to engage with a hyperdiverse world in humanizing ways.     

Pre-service teachers' dispositions towards diversity: Arguing for a developmental hierarchy of change

This article explores Australian pre-service teachers' beliefs about and attitudes towards diversity. Building on Garmon's [Garmon, M. A. (2004). Changing preservice teachers' attitudes/beliefs about diversity: what are the critical factors? Journal of Teacher Education, 55(3), 201–213] argument that there are three dispositional factors that influence students' likelihood of developing multicultural awareness and sensitivity in teacher education programmes, the authors explore the relationship between such dispositions as exhibited in students' autoethnographic work. In so doing, the authors posit that these dispositions may be hierarchically developed: beginning from ‘self-awareness/self-reflectiveness’; moving towards ‘openness’; and finally a ‘commitment to social justice’. After exploring the nature of this hierarchical development through the in-depth investigation of six representative student accounts, the paper concludes by discussing the implications for teacher education, including the necessity to adjust our expectations of changing the dispositions of pre-service teachers in discrete, short courses.     

Exploring the salient experiences of pre‐service teacher candidates who were former volunteer tutors

Teacher candidates were tracked to monitor whether their former tutoring experience influenced their experiences as teacher candidates. Through interviews, email and group discussions, participants reflected on their teacher preparation experiences and their orientations to effective reading and writing instruction. At times, teacher candidates identified pedagogical similarities between their tutoring experiences and teacher education programs. Other times, disparities between the classroom and tutorial instruction settings provoked some candidates to denounce the approaches of their teacher mentors during practica. We conclude by discussing the need for teacher education programs to assist candidates to assimilate newly acquired pedagogies into existing ones, including those acquired through volunteerism.     

Becoming a Teacher of Mathematics

For many years I have engaged future mathematics teachers in activities that focus on emotional dimensions of their learning. Even those teachers who were able to reconstruct themselves as learners of mathematics had difficulties with changing their practice. Through a series of autobiographical stories, I examine my own experiences as a teacher and a learner. These stories—one from a computer class, one from a workshop for elementary teachers, one from college, and one from eighth grade—serve as data from which I draw themes that capture the tensions that I experience as I teach. Sharing these tensions with mathematics teachers has had an impact on the way the teachers talk about their teaching and promises to change how they teach. The paper is written to encourage teacher educators to adopt the practice of sharing teaching and learning stories with their students.