This article is about Kay, who wants to be a teacher. She is bright and academically able, has a broad, liberal undergraduate background, and is already on her way to developing “the motivation to learn to teach” (Hawley, 1993). In short, Kay is representative of those candidates for teaching most coveted by Tomorrow's Teachers (1986) and the National Commission on Teaching and America's Future (1996). As Kay enters her first semester as a student in the Preservice Program in Childhood Education at Teachers College, Columbia University, we follow her growing self-knowledge as an educator, her image of teaching, and her beliefs, and explore her nascent theory. These are juxtaposed with literature on teaching and the expectations this literature seems to hold out for candidates who match her profile. Kay's first semester as a student teacher is instructive in that it highlights her struggles as the Preservice Program begins to penetrate the many barriers standing between her and a promising career. The article is drawn from a larger study of Kay over a six-year period and is a first report of this work.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
ArnstineB. (1990). Rational and caring teachers: Restructuring teacher preparation.Teachers College Record, 92(3), 24–25.
2.
BolinF. S. (1988). Helping student teachers think about teaching.Journal of Teacher Education, 39(2), 48–55.
3.
BeyerL. (1984). Field experience and ideology and the development of critical reflectivity.Journal of Teacher Education, 35(3), 36–41.
4.
BolinF. S. (1989). Helping student teachers think about teaching: Another look at Lou.Journal of Teacher Education, 41(1), 10–19.
5.
BritzmanD. P. (1986). Cultural myths in the making of a teacher: Biography and social structure in teacher education, Harvard Educational Review, 56(4), 442–456.
6.
CalderheadJ., & RobsonM. (1991). Images of teaching: Student teachers' early conceptions of classroom practice.Teaching and Learning, 7, 1–8.
7.
ClarkC. M. (1988). Asking the right questions about teacher preparation: Contributions of research on teaching.Educational Researcher, 17(2), 5–12.
8.
CruickshankD., & ApplegateJ. (1981). Reflective teaching as a strategy for teacher growth.Educational Leadership, 38(7), 553–554.
9.
Darling-HammondL. (1996). The right to learn and the advancement of teaching.Educational Researcher, 25(6), 5–17.
10.
DeweyJ. (1904). The relation of theory to practice in education. In McMurryC. A. (Ed.), The relation of theory to pracitce in the education of teachers (Third yearbook of the National Society for the Scientific Study of Education, Part I) (pp. 9–30). Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
11.
ElliottJ. (1976–1977). Developing hypotheses about classrooms from teachers' practical constructs: An account of the work of the Ford Teaching Project.Interchange, 7(2), 2–22.
12.
EricksonF. (1986). Quantitative methods in research on teaching. In WittrockM. C. (Ed.), Handbook of research on teaching (3rd ed.) (pp. 119–161). New York: Macmillan.
13.
GoodladJ. I. (1997). In praise of education.New York: Teachers College Press.
14.
GoodladJ. I. (1991). Why we need a complete redesign of teacher education.Educational Leadership, 49(3), 4–7.
15.
GoodmanJ. (1988). Constructing a practical philosophy of teaching: A study of preservice teachers' professional perspectives.Teaching and Teacher Education, 4(2), 121–137.
16.
GriffinG. A. (1986). Clinical teacher education. In HoffmanJ., & EdwardsS. (Eds.), Reality and reform in clinical teacher education (pp. 1–23). New York: Random House.
17.
HabermanM. (1991). The pedagogy of poverty versus good teaching.Phi Delta Kappan, 73, 290–294.
18.
HawleyW. (1993). New goals and changed roles: Re-visioning teacher education.Educational Record, 74(3), 27–31.
19.
HollingsworthS. (1989). Prior beliefs and cognitive change in learning to teach.American Educational Research Journal, 26(2), 160–189.
20.
JersildA. (1955). When teachers face themselves.New York: Bureau of Publications, Teachers College, Columbia University.
21.
KaganD. (1992). Professional growth among preservice and beginning teachers.Review of Educational Research, 62(2), 129–169.
22.
KnappM. S., AdelmanN., MarderC., McCollumH., NeedelsM. C., PadillaC., SheildsP. M., TurnballB. J., & ZuckerA. A. (1995). Teaching for meaning in high poverty classrooms.New York: Teachers College Press.
23.
LampertM., & ClarkC. M. (1990). Expert knowledge and expert thinking in teaching: A response to Floden and Klinzing.Educational Researcher, 19(4), 21–23.
24.
LiebermanA. (1995, April). Practices that support teacher development: Transforming conceptions of professional learning.Phi Delta Kappan, pp. 591–596.
25.
LortieD. (1975). Schoolteacher: A sociological study.Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
26.
McNeilL. M. (1986). Contradictions of control: School structure and school knowledge.New York: Routledge.
27.
MurnaneR. R., SingerJ. D., WillettJ. B., KempleJ. J., & OlsenR. J. (1991). Who will teach? Policies that matter.Cambridge: Harvard University Press.
28.
National Commission on Teaching and America's Future. (1996). What matters most: Teaching for America's future.New York: Author.
29.
NatrielloG., & ZumwaltK. (1992). Challenges to an alternate route for teacher education.National Society for the Study of Education Yearbook, vol. 91, pt. 1 (pp. 59–78). Chicago: The National Society for the Study of Education.
30.
PultorakE. G. (1993). Facilitating reflective thought in novice teachers.Journal of Teacher Education, 44(4), 288–295.
31.
RodriguezA. J. (1993). A dose of reality: Understanding the origin of the theory/practice dichotomy in teacher education from the students' point of view.Journal of Teacher Education, 44(3), 213–222.
32.
SchoonmakerF., & GoodwinA. L. (1995). The preservice program in childhood education at Teachers College, Columbia University. Unpublished manuscript.
33.
ShulmanL. (1987) Knowledge and teaching: Foundations of the new reform.Harvard Education Review, 57(1), 1–22.
34.
SmythJ. (1989). Developing and sustaining critical reflection in teacher education.Journal of Teacher Education, 40(2), 2–9.
35.
SnyderJ. (1991). Conflict resolution in a school-university union collaboration to plan a professional development school. Doctoral dissertation, Teachers College, Columbia University.Dissertation Abstracts International, 52(12), p. 4299A.
36.
Sparks-LangerG. M., & ColtonB. (1991). Synthesis of research on teachers' reflective thinking.Educational Leadership, 48(6), 37–44.
37.
Sparks-LangerG. M., SimmonsJ. M., PaschM., ColtonA., & StarloA. (1990). Reflective pedagogical thinking: How can we promote it and measure it?Journal of Teacher Education, 41(5), 23–32.
38.
TabachnickB. R., & ZeichnerK. M. (1984). The impact of the student teaching experience on the development of teacher perspectives.Journal of Teacher Education, 35(6), 28–36.
39.
TomA. (1985, April). Inquiry into teacher education. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association, Chicago.
40.
Tomorrow's Teachers. (1986). A report of the Holmes Group.East Lansing, MI: The Holmes Group, Inc.
41.
Van ManenM. (1977). Linking ways of knowing with ways of being practical.Curriculum Inquiry, 6(3), 205–228.
42.
WildmanT. M., & NilesJ. A. (1987). Reflective teachers: Tensions betweem anstractions and realities.Journal of Teacher Education, 38(4), pp. 25–31.
43.
YingerR., & ClarkC. (1981). Reflective journal writing: Theory and practice. (Occasional paper No. 50). East Lansing: Michigan State University Institute for Research on Teaching.
44.
ZeichnerK. M. (1980). Myths and realities: Field-based experiences in preservice teacher education.Journal of Teacher Education, 31(6), 45–55.
45.
ZeichnerK. M. (1984). The ecology of field experience: Toward an understanding of the role of field experiences in teacher development. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Association of Teacher Educators, New Orleans.
46.
ZeichnerK. M. (1987). Preparing reflective teachers: An overview of instructional strategies in preservice teacher education.International Journal of Educational Researcher, 11(5), 565–575.
47.
ZeichnerK. M., & GoreJ. M. (1990). Teacher socialization. In HoustonW. R. (Ed.), Handbook of research on teacher education (pp. 329–348). New York: Macmillan.
48.
ZeichnerK. M., & ListonD. P. (1987). Teaching student teachers to reflect.Harvard Educational Review, 57(1), 23–48.
49.
ZeichnerK. M., & TabachnickB. R. (1981). Are the effects of university teacher education washed out by school experiences?Journal of Teacher Education, 32, 7–11.
50.
ZumwaltK. K. (1982). Research on teaching: Policy, implications for teacher education. In LiebermanA., and McLaughlinM. W. (Eds.) Policy making in education, Eighty-first yearbook of the National Society for the Study of Education, II (pp. 215–248). Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
51.
ZumwaltK. K., & NatrielloG. (1992). Challenges to an alternative route for teacher education. In LiebermanA. (Ed.), The changing contexts of teaching, Ninety first yearbook of the National Society for the Study of Education, I (pp. 59–78). Chicago: The National Society for the Study of Education.
