Teacher Education
Loading...
Date
2007-06-27T13:58:02Z
Authors
Noddings, Nel
Whitehead, LeRoy
Martin, Andrea
Russell, Tom
Jardin, Joan
Olson, John
Johnston, James Scott
Keyword
teacher education , preservice teacher education
Abstract
Message from the Editors
We have invited distinguished scholars and practitioners to provide us with a challenging read and the beginning of a fruitful conversation on teacher education. Not surprisingly, as Russell and Martin discuss in their article, the complex relationship between theory and practice and the perceived lack of clarity in our understanding of the links between schools and the faculty of education classroom are seen as central issues in teacher education.
This issue of the Letter opens with an article by philosopher of education Nel Noddings, who argues that developing intellectual habits of mind should be a fundamental educational aim. Teacher candidates need to be ready to set the stage for intellectual development. Furthermore, Noddings places her argument in the current American context, especially the zeal to produce higher test scores. It leads us to think of the negative implications of undue emphasis on causal practice linking research/evidence and practice translated into rules for action to be followed by practitioners. LeRoy Whitehead, associate dean of the Faculty, addresses with authority issues pertaining to the length of the program and the hard reality of funding, accreditation, and the peculiar relation that a teacher education program has with the state. In the next article, Tom Russell and Andrea Martin bring their scholarly expertise on issues related to teacher education. They think that teacher candidates could and should remember preservice teacher education as the lighting of a fire. This is a very important piece. Joan Jardin voices her experience as an associate teacher and goes into the intricacies of the relationship between the teacher candidate and the associate teacher and the relevance of practice in teacher preparation. In turn, John Olson reflects on the nature of the teachers’ craft, the virtues of practice and education as a moral process. The Letter closes with an exquisite book review by Scott Johnston that takes us to reflective practice, fundamental yet often an elusive goal in teacher education. This time the artistic expressions come from school children and aim at conveying the relevance of the aesthetic experience of life itself in any educational process.
Rosa Bruno-Jofre and Romulo Magsino