This paper presents a case study in which the staff of a department of teacher education was challenged to transform theoretical notions into practical outcomes in relation to its own role in the scheme of things. By seizing the moment of history when a coincidence of forces—economic, political and intellectual—was making a deep impact on the professional lives of its staff, the department moved from traditional structures and approaches to teaching to a value position founded on critically reflective analyses of the needs of professional practice in the 1990s. The values for which the revitalised department now stands are authenticated in the discussion which follows. This paper traces the development of a conceptual framework which gave new shape and direction to what the department now both espouses and practises.
AronowitzS.GirouxH. (1985). Education under seige—The conservative, liberal and radical debate over schooling. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul
2.
Brisbane College of Advanced Education, Kelvin Grove Campus, Department of Education Studies. (1989a). Beyond Springbrook: The challenge of professional practice. Brisbane: Author
3.
Brisbane College of Advanced Education, Kelvin Grove Campus, Department of Education Studies. (1989b). The Springbrook experience. Brisbane: Author
4.
ButtsR. (1955). Assumptions underlying Australian education. Melbourne: ACER
5.
CollinsC.W.HughesP.W. (1982). Where junior secondary schools are heading. Hawthorn, Vic.: ACER
6.
Commonwealth Schools Commission. (1987). In the national interest: Secondary education and youth policy in Australia. Canberra: Author
7.
DeweyJ. (1984). Qualitative thought. In BoydstonJoAnn (Ed.), John Dewey: The later works, 1925–53: Vol. 5, 1929–30 (pp. 243–262). Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press
8.
EgbertR. (1985). The practice of pre-service teacher education. Journal of Teacher Education, 36 (1), 16–21
9.
ElbazF. (1988). Critical reflection on teaching: Insights from Freire. Journal of Teacher Education, 40 (2), 171–181
10.
FreirePaulo (1972a). Cultural action for freedom. Harmondsworth: Penguin
11.
FreirePaulo (1972b). Pedagogy of the oppressed. New York: Herder & Herder
12.
GaffJ.G. (1976). Towards faculty renewal. San Francisco: Jossey Bass
13.
GiddensA. (1982). Profiles and critiques in social theory. In GiddensA. (Ed.), Contemporary social theory series. London: Macmillan
14.
GinsburgM.B. (1988). Contradictions in teacher education and society: A critical analysisNew York: Falmer Press
15.
GirouxH.McLarenP. (1986). Teacher education and the politics of engagement: The case for democratic schooling, Harvard Educational Review, 56, 213–238
16.
GoreJ. (1987). Reflecting on reflective teaching. Journal of Teacher Education, 38 (2), 33–39
17.
GottliebE. (1989). The discursive construction of knowledge: The case of radical education discourse. Qualitative Studies in Education, 2 (2), 131–144
18.
GrumetM. (1989). Generations: Reconceptualist curriculum theory and teacher education. Journal of Teacher Education, 40 (1), 13–17
19.
GrundyShirley (1987). Curriculum: Product or praxis. London: Falmer Press
20.
HabermasJurgen (1971). Toward a rational society (ShapiroJ. Trans.). Boston: Beacon Press
21.
HabermasJurgen (1972). Knowledge and human interests (ShapiroJ. Trans.). Boston: Beacon Press
22.
HubermanA.M. (1973). Understanding change in education: An introduction. Paris: UNESCO
23.
KemmisStephen (1985). Action research and the politics of reflection. In BoudD.KeoghR.WalkerD., Reflection: Turning experience into learning. London: Kogan Page
24.
KemmisStephenColePeterSuggettDahle (1983). Orientations to curriculum and transition: Towards a socially critical school. Melbourne: Victorian Institute of Secondary Education
25.
KirkD. (1986). Beyond the limits of theoretical discourse in teacher education: Towards a critical pedagogy. Teaching and Teacher Education, 2 (2), 155–167
MarcuseHerbert (1986). One dimensional man. Boston: Beacon Press
28.
McLarenP.L. (1988). Language, social structure and the production of subjectivity. Critical Pedagogy Networker, 1 (2 & 3), 1–10
29.
O'LoughlinM.CampbellM. (1988). Teacher preparation, teacher empowerment and reflective inquiry: A critical perspective. Education and Society, 6 (1–2), 54–70
30.
PetersM.MarshallJ. (1989). Education, the ‘New Right’ and the crisis of the welfare state in New Zealand. Unpublished paper, University of Auckland
31.
PopkewitzT. (Ed.). (1987). Critical studies in teacher education: Its folklore, theory and practice. London: Falmer Press
32.
RossE.HannayL. (1986). Towards a critical theory of reflective inquiry. Journal of Teacher Education, 37 (4), 9–15
33.
SchonD.A. (1984). Leadership as reflection in action. In SergiovanniT.J.CorballyJ.E. (Eds.), Leadership and organisational culture: New perspectives on administrative theory and practice. Urbana, IL: University of Illinois Press
34.
Schools Commission. (1980). Schooling for 15 and 16 year olds. Canberra: Author
35.
SchubertW. (1989). Reconceptualising and the matter of paradigms. Journal of Teacher Education, 40 (1), 27–32
36.
ShakerP.KridelC. (1989). The return to experience: A reconceptualist call. Journal of Teacher Education, 40 (1), 2–8
37.
ShakerP.UllrichW. (1989). Reconceptualising the debate over the general education of teachers. Journal of Teacher Education, 38 (1), 11–15
38.
ShorIra (1980). Critical thinking and everyday life. Boston: South End Press
39.
SimonP. (1988). For a pedagogy of possibility. Critical Pedagogy Networker, 1 (1), 1–4
40.
SkilbeckM. (1982). The role of evaluation in curriculum development. In RussellN.HughesP.McConachyD. (Eds.), Curriculum evaluation: Selected readings. Canberra: Curriculum Development Centre
41.
SmithR.ZantiotisA. (1988). The practical: Teacher education's system virus. Critical Pedagogy Networker, 1 (4), 1–6
42.
SmythW.J. (1984). Clinical supervision—Collaborative learning about teaching: A handbook. Geelong: Deakin University Press
43.
SmythW.J. (1986). Reflection in action. Geelong: Deakin University Press
44.
SmythW.J. (1987). A rationale for teachers' critical pedagogy: A handbook. Geelong: Deakin University Press
45.
SockettH.T. (1987). Has Shulman got the strategy right?Harvard Educational Review, 57 (2), 208–220
ToomeyR. (1989). Producing quality teachers for tomorrow's Australia. South Pacific Journal of Teacher Education, 17 (1), 47–56
48.
Tymitz-WolfB. (1984). The new vocationalism and teacher education. Journal of Teacher Education, 35 (1), 21–25
49.
WexlerP. (1987). Social analysis of education: After the new sociology. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul
50.
WildmanT.NilesJ. (1987). Reflective teachers: Tensions between abstractions and realities. Journal of Teacher Education, 38 (4), 25–32
51.
ZeichnerK. (1986). Content and contexts: Neglected elements in studies of student teaching as an occasion for learning to teach. Journal of Teacher Education, 12 (1), 5–24
