Borrowing insights from the Ancient Greek ideal conceptions of a democratic civic space (demos), this article examines the applicability of this framework to four teacher educators’ journey to implement social justice in their programs. It is proposed that the three constitutive dimensions of demos (freedom of speech, equality to vote and hold office, and equality against the law) could provide explanatory lenses to bottom-up collaborative projects in teacher education and beyond, through the illumination of both successes and failures.
BlantonMLStylianouDA (2009) Interpreting a community of practice perspective in discipline-specific professional development in higher education. Innovative Higher Education34: 79–92.
2.
CarrP (2008) Educating for democracy: with or without social justice. Teacher Education Quarterly35(4): 117–136.
Darling-HammondLHammernessKGrossmanP. (2005) The design of teacher education programs. In: Darling-HammondLBransfordJ (eds) Preparing Teachers for a Changing World: What Teachers Should Learn and Be Able to Do. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, 390–441.
5.
DavenportSLeitchS (2005) Agoras, ancient and modern, and a framework for science-society debate. Science and Public Policy32(2): 137–153.
6.
FaircloughN (1992) Discourse and Social Change. Cambridge, MA: Polity Press.
7.
FleckRKHanssenFA (2006) The origins of democracy: a model with application to Ancient Greece. Journal of Law & EconomicsXLIX: 115–146.
8.
IversonSVJamesJH (2010) Becoming ‘effective’ citizens? Change-oriented service in a teacher education program. Innovative Higher Education35: 19–35.
9.
KaputskaKMHowellPClaytonCD. (2009) Social justice in teacher education: a qualitative content analysis of NCATE conceptual frameworks. Equity & Excellence in Education42(4): 489–505.
10.
KosterBDengerinkJKorthagenF. (2008) Teacher educators working on their own professional development: goals, activities and outcomes of a project for the professional development of teacher educators. Teachers and Teaching: Theory and Practice14(5): 567–587.
11.
McDonaldMA (2005) The integration of social justice in teacher education: dimensions of prospective teachers’ opportunities to learn. Journal of Teacher Education56(4): 418–435.
12.
McInerneyP (2007) From naïve optimist to robust hope: sustaining a commitment to social justice in schools and teacher education in neoliberal times. Asia-Pacific Journal of Teacher Education35(3): 257–272.
13.
NevinAIThousandJSVillaRA (2009) Collaborative teaching for teacher educators—what does the research say?Teaching and Teacher Education25: 569–574.
14.
ParkerWC (2004) Diversity, globalization, and democratic education: curriculum possibilities. In: BanksJ (ed.) Diversity and Citizenship Education: Global Perspectives. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, 433–458.
15.
PoplinMRiveraJ (2005) Merging social justice and accountability: educating qualified and effective teachers. Theory into Practice44(1): 27–37.
16.
RaafLaubK (1996) Equalities and inequalities in Athenian democracy. In: OberJHedrickC (eds) Demokratia: A Conversation on Democracies, Ancient and Modern. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. Pp 139–174.
17.
SandrettoSBallardKBurkeP. (2007) Nailing jello to the wall: articulating conceptualizations of social justice. Teachers and Teaching: Theory and Practice13(3): 307–322.
18.
ZajdaJMajhanovichSRustV (2006) Introduction: educational and social justice. International Review of Education52(1–2): 9–22.
19.
ZeichnerK (2010) Competition, economic rationalization, increased surveillance and attacks on diversity: neo-liberalism and the transformation of teacher education in the U.S. Teaching and Teacher Education26: 1544–1552.
