Showing papers in "Journal of Education for Teaching in 2013"
98 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors report on the introduction of a "clinical model" of teacher education at the University of Glasgow in 2011, set against the backdrop of a review of major contemporary developments in teacher education.
Abstract: This paper reports on the introduction of a ‘clinical model’ of teacher education at the University of Glasgow in 2011. The account is set against the backdrop of a review of major contemporary developments in teacher education. The common focus in this work is on such themes as the key function of the practicum, on ‘teaching schools’ and on the roles and responsibilities of the various players in teacher professional learning. The context for reform of teacher education in Scotland is described, showing how the opportunity for a radical intervention arose. The distinctive features of the Glasgow model are set out and a summary of the findings of the internal evaluation carried out at the University is offered. Issues identified include challenges of communication, the nature of professional learning and the cultural embeddedness of existing practices. In the light of this initiative, the paper then reviews insights gained concerning the relationship between policy, practice and research in teacher educat...
72 citations
TL;DR: The Master of Teaching degree at the University of Melbourne was introduced in 2008 as mentioned in this paper, which aims to produce a new generation of teachers (early years, primary and secondary) with high-level analytic skills and capable of using data and evidence to identify and address the learning needs of individual learners.
Abstract: This paper describes the implementation of the Master of Teaching degree which was introduced at the University of Melbourne in 2008. The programme aims to produce a new generation of teachers (early years, primary and secondary) who are interventionist practitioners, with high-level analytic skills and capable of using data and evidence to identify and address the learning needs of individual learners. The programme marks a fundamental change to the way in which teachers have traditionally been prepared in the University of Melbourne and builds a strong link between theory and practice. This linking occurs within a new partnership model with selected schools. The model was influenced by the Teachers for a New Era programme in the USA and by the clinical background of senior faculty. The programme sees teaching as a clinical-practice profession such as is found in many allied health professions; this understanding is also embraced by the university’s partnership schools. These schools are used as clinical sites, actively involving their best teachers in the clinical training component. These teachers are recognised as members of the university and are highly skilled professionals who are capable of interventionist teaching and who use appropriate assessment tools to inform their teaching of individual children.
59 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors focused on Finnish secondary school student teachers' reflection on the educational purposefulness of their teaching at the beginning of their pedagogical studies, and found that they all viewed themselves as responsible professionals whose task was to provide students with basic knowledge of their subject matter.
Abstract: The purpose of this article is to contribute to the discussion concerning teacher knowledge in teacher education from the Finnish perspective. The article focuses on Finnish secondary school student teachers’ reflection on the educational purposefulness of their teaching at the beginning of their pedagogical studies. The empirical data include student teachers from all school subjects in the Department of Teacher Education at the University of Helsinki (N = 280) at the beginning of their one-year pedagogical programme, in 2010. According to the data, the student teachers emphasised some general purposes of teaching, regardless of the subject matter they taught. They all viewed themselves as responsible professionals whose task was to provide students with basic knowledge of their subject matter. Furthermore, they viewed themselves as responsible for the holistic education of the students, including their personal and ethical growth. We could also see some subject matter-specific purposes in the subject-sp...
49 citations
TL;DR: This article examined the formation and representation of professional identity in education through the discourses of "professionalism" of teaching assistants and teacher educators working on either side of the school teacher, focusing on the perspectives of two under-researched groups namely "teaching assistants" and "teacher educators".
Abstract: This article brings together two studies which contribute to the examination of the nature of professionalism in education by focusing on the perspectives of two under-researched groups namely ‘teaching assistants’ and teacher educators working ‘either side’ of the school teacher. The projects were conducted in, and framed by, the UK policy context of public sector modernization and cuts, and raise issues of relevance to international debates on notions of professionalism in education in a context of neo-liberal policy and austerity. The studies drew upon different approaches including autoethnography, life history and discourse analysis. The authors examine the formation and representation of professional identity in education through the discourses of ‘professionalism’ of teaching assistants and teacher educators. Professionalism is articulated through three themes in the accounts; ‘non-standard’ professional transformations, role ambiguity, and the role of classroom experience and higher education in t...
38 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors report on a small-scale longitudinal interview-based study with teachers in England, Norway and Germany demonstrating that while opportunities for professional development are increasing in all three countries, dissatisfaction is expressed by most teachers in relation to its quality and outcomes.
Abstract: Proposals made by the European Commission in 2007 led to the Education Council adopting, for the first time, a European agenda for improving the quality of teaching and teacher education. This article reports on a small-scale longitudinal interview-based study with teachers in England, Norway and Germany demonstrating that while opportunities for professional development are increasing in all three countries, dissatisfaction is expressed by most teachers in relation to its quality and outcomes.
38 citations
TL;DR: In this article, a Likert-type instrument intended to measure new teacher possible self-concept and regulation of future-oriented behaviours is described. But few researchers have done so.
Abstract: Possible selves theory describes the relation between self-concept and regulation of future-oriented behaviours. This theory helps conceptualise issues related to teacher development, including preparation and retention, but few researchers have done so. The validation of a Likert-type instrument intended to measure ‘new teacher possible selves’ is described. Student teachers in the United States (n = 335) completed the new measure in their final practicum semester. Results from two confirmatory factor analyses indicate that data fit well the models of new teacher expected and feared possible selves. Limitations and future research directions are discussed.
35 citations
TL;DR: In this article, 200 final-year pre-service teachers from three colleges of education in Ghana were surveyed about their views and knowledge on inclusive education and special educational needs (SEN), and the results showed that almost all of the participants had been introduced to the concept of inclusion during their studies.
Abstract: Pre-service teacher training has been identified as one of the key factors in the promotion of inclusive education. In this study, 200 final-year pre-service teachers from three colleges of education in Ghana were surveyed about their views and knowledge on inclusive education and special educational needs (SEN). The results showed that almost all of the participants had been introduced to the concept of inclusion during their studies. However, only one-third felt highly, or somewhat, prepared to teach children with SEN. The level of knowledge and feelings of self-efficacy were highest among those pre-service teachers who had personal experience of supporting children with SEN during their practicum. The participants tended to prefer those inclusive instructional strategies that were easiest to apply in general education classrooms. Significant differences in the outcomes were found between the three colleges studied indicating strong effects of the teacher education model applied in each college.
33 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors explore the work of teacher education in England and Scotland and propose an activity theory framework that integrates the analysis of these seemingly contradictory discourses with a study of teacher educators' practical activities including the material artefacts that mediate the work.
Abstract: This paper explores the work of teacher education in England and Scotland. It seeks to locate this work within conflicting sociocultural views of professional practice and academic work. Drawing on an activity theory framework that integrates the analysis of these seemingly contradictory discourses with a study of teacher educators’ practical activities, including the material artefacts that mediate the work, the paper offers a critical perspective on the social organisation of university-based teacher education. Informed by Engestrom’s activity theory’s concept of transformation, the paper extends the discussion of contradictions in teacher education to consider the wider sociocultural relations of the work. The findings raise important questions about the way in which teacher education work within universities is organised and the division of labour between schools and universities.
31 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors report the main findings of the Work of Teacher Education project that studied the labour of 13 higher education-based teacher educators in England and Scotland over the course of a year.
Abstract: Written collaboratively with research participants, this article reports the main findings of the Work of Teacher Education project that studied the labour of 13 higher education-based teacher educators in England and Scotland over the course of a year. The priority of maintaining relationships with schools (and between schools and student teachers) is noted and ‘relationship maintenance’ is advanced as a defining characteristic of teacher educators’ work. Policy changes and their impact on institutional structures and roles, variations in organisational arrangements and research activity are also discussed. The paper concludes by arguing that a new conceptualisation of the work of teacher educators as academic work is essential for the discipline and higher education institutions as a whole.
30 citations
TL;DR: This paper reported an in-depth thematic analysis of reflective written responses on problem-based learning of 63 teacher education students enrolled at an Australian university and found that participants indicated that PBL offered an effective approach to incorporate into their future teaching practice.
Abstract: The problem-based learning (PBL) literature presents the shift from teacher-directed transmission models of instruction to facilitation as a challenge for PBL tutors. This article reports an in-depth thematic analysis of reflective written responses on PBL of 63 teacher education students enrolled at an Australian university. Attitudes, skills and knowledge represent three distinctive dimensions of facilitation identified by students. Both content and pedagogical knowledge emerged as features of effective facilitators who students considered as: (1) displaying attitudes conveying belief in the capacity of learners; (2) assuming a humble posture of learning by not considering themselves the font of all knowledge; and (3) creating environments conducive to participation and mutual support through scaffolding and group work. Students indicated that PBL offered an effective approach to incorporate into their future teaching practice.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors focus on the Conservative-Liberal coalition government's policy in teacher education in England and its implications for the work of teacher educators by considering policy documents and the speeches of key politicians responsible for policy formulation.
Abstract: This paper focuses on the Conservative–Liberal coalition government’s policy in teacher education in England and its implications for the work of teacher educators. It does this by considering, for example, policy documents and the speeches of key politicians responsible for policy formulation. It argues that policies influenced by the neoliberal and neoconservative policies of past governments from the late 1970s have been continued and even accelerated by the current coalition government, with the result of a much more significant and rapid shift to more school-based and school-led initial teacher education and continuing professional development. The implication of such a rapid shift of teacher education into schools is then discussed focusing on how this will both influence who the teacher educators are and the work they do in this rapidly changing policy environment.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors assess the impact of the Mexican pre-service teacher curriculum on 813 teachers' sentiments, attitudes and concerns towards inclusion and their perceived selfefficacy to educate students with disabilities.
Abstract: Inclusive education is the most advanced form of recognition of the right to education. Mexico has made important legal and administrative changes to foster inclusion since the end of the twentieth century. This research assesses the impact of the Mexican pre-service teacher curriculum on 813 pre-service teachers’ sentiments, attitudes and concerns towards inclusion and their perceived self-efficacy to educate students with disabilities. It employs two internationally validated questionnaires: The Sentiments, Attitudes and Concerns about Inclusive Education Revised Scale and the Teacher Efficacy for Inclusive Practices scale. Comparisons made across area of training, time in the programme, policy knowledge, interaction with people with disabilities and experience show that special education pre-service teachers in the last years of the programme have the most positive perspectives, while preschool teachers have the least positive ones.
TL;DR: In this article, a survey was conducted among 508 teacher educators exploring their perceptions towards research, and they were questioned about the aims of research within a UAS, their perceived capabilities to conduct research and their need for support.
Abstract: Research conducted by teacher educators is considered important for their professional development, their actual teaching practice and their body of knowledge. However, for many teacher educators in Universities of Applied Sciences (UAS) in the Netherlands, research is a new challenge. A survey was conducted among 508 such teacher educators exploring their perceptions towards research. They were questioned about the aims of research within a UAS, their perceived capabilities to conduct research and their need for support. Subsequently, 10 teacher educators were interviewed to elaborate on the findings and to gain further insight. Research is considered vital for their professional development, and their development is seen as an important means to improve the quality of the curriculum for teacher education. Teacher educators emphasise the need for communities of inquiry in which they can collaborate on research, improve their skills, develop a shared language and contribute to the body of knowledge in tea...
TL;DR: This paper evaluated prospective teachers' responses to two self-report instruments regarding the nature of excellent teaching and the purpose of assessment and found that the strongest relationship between teaching excellence and assessment began with the...
Abstract: How prospective teachers conceive of teaching excellence and assessment purposes probably influences how teaching and assessment practices are implemented in the future. This study evaluated, in four ‘normal universities’ in the People’s Republic of China, 765 prospective teachers’ responses to two self-report instruments regarding the nature of excellent teaching and the purpose of assessment. Both questionnaires had previously been developed in Mandarin Chinese and validated with large samples of practicing teachers in China. The original models could not be recovered and with exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis alternative models were found. Excellent teaching was conceived as four inter-correlated factors (i.e. Professional, Model, Examination and Life-long), as also were the purposes of assessment (i.e. Diagnose and Formative, Irrelevant, Control and Life Character). Structural equation modelling showed that the strongest relationship between teaching excellence and assessment began with the...
TL;DR: The authors studied how persistent categories of written language in institutional texts support the cultural-historical production and re-production of teacher educators as kinds of academic workers in Australia and found that almost complete absence of the teacher educator within these texts.
Abstract: This paper seeks to understand how persistent categories of written language in institutional texts support the cultural-historical production and re-production of teacher educators as kinds of academic workers in Australia. Fifty-seven job advertisements and allied materials produced by Australian universities were downloaded across a seven-month period. These texts were understood as key cultural artefacts not only for the recruitment process but in conveying what it means to be a teacher educator. A surprising finding was the almost complete absence of the ‘teacher educator’ within these texts. Analysis revealed, instead, textual distinctions between the advertisements (shown to be preoccupied with the image and positioning of institutional priorities and the supporting materials) which were characterised by the language of Human Resources. Ambivalence around the work of research within teacher education was another notable feature, which is interpreted in relation to institutional anxieties about the ...
TL;DR: In this article, a case study of a unique initial teacher education program at a Japanese university is juxtaposed with discussion of a well-established Canadian program offering a master's degree.
Abstract: Neoliberal agendas, globalism and the marketisation of higher education have had profound implications for teacher education throughout the world, including increasing standardisation, accountability and credentialism. The rhetoric is ‘teachers need better training’. However, raising the bar to a master’s degree without analysing carefully the rationale for such a reform seems short-sighted. What alternatives are there to a master’s degree as a standard in teacher accreditation? What are the significant issues facing learners of the twenty-first century? In a post 9/11 world, with drastic changes stemming from globalisation, what is important? Teachers need global citizenship education to nurture global citizens who have the knowledge and skills required to critically evaluate phenomena in a rapidly changing world. In this paper, a narrative case study of a unique initial teacher education programme at a Japanese university is juxtaposed with discussion of a well-established Canadian programme offering mu...
TL;DR: In this paper, an analysis of responses given by 27 students in initial teacher education, gives an account of how education theory can be conceived by students as relevant to their teaching practice, and when questions emerge from the students' own experience, theory is often found useful in discussing and understanding their pra...
Abstract: This article, based on the analysis of responses given by 27 students in initial teacher education, gives an account of how education theory can be conceived by students as relevant to their teaching practice. Research on teacher education in many countries has revealed that students regard theory and practice to be inconsistent or to belong to different worlds in initial teacher education. This may have a potentially negative effect on the teachers’ opportunities for future professional development, as such development should be based on the ability to view one’s own teaching practice from a critical, theory- and research-based perspective. In the research and development project reported in this article, the PIL-project, the students’ teaching practice was chosen as the pivotal point for all the other activities involved in the teacher education programme. Results indicate that when questions emerge from the students’ own experience, theory is often found useful in discussing and understanding their pra...
TL;DR: In this paper, a structure for the operationalisation of case study research in teaching and in education more generally which involves consideration of the selection of case subjects, the choice of analytical focus and the varieties of form which the study itself may actually take.
Abstract: Case studies are widely used, particularly by researchers in education. While they are widely used, and have provided some of the most penetrating and challenging research in education and its practice, they may lack coherence and direction. A structure, is therefore, suggested for the operationalisation of case study research in teaching and in education more generally which involves consideration of the selection of case subjects, the choice of analytical focus and the varieties of form which the study itself may actually take. Using this structure, it is possible to give direction and coherence to the study while allowing its design to pursue any of a broad range of trajectories.
TL;DR: This paper examined 28 literacy/English teachers in four countries: Canada, the USA, the UK and Australia to examine their backgrounds, knowledge, research activities, identity and support within the university.
Abstract: This study involved 28 literacy/English teachers in four countries: Canada, the USA, the UK and Australia. The goal of the study was to examine their backgrounds, knowledge, research activities, identity and support within the university. The teacher educators had a range of classroom teaching experience which they drew on in many ways. Most went far beyond simply telling stories about their previous work. All were heavily influenced by their own childhood experiences, which continue to affect their current work. Many felt that they needed to hold dual identities, teacher and academic, because they were still heavily involved in schools through their research and in-service activities. Several felt that there was a hierarchy in their department with those most removed from schooling at the highest tier. Most saw themselves in the field of literacy not teacher education and gravitate towards literacy-focused conferences and journals rather than those in teacher education.
TL;DR: This paper examined whether there are changes in students' teaching practices as a result of their experiencing an overseas professional development course (PDC); the process of any such changes; and whether any changes found are sustainable in the long term.
Abstract: This article examines whether there are changes in students’ teaching practices as a result of their experiencing an overseas professional development course (PDC); the process of any such changes; and whether any changes found are sustainable in the long term. Three forms of data gathering are used, lesson observation, in-depth interviews, and email correspondence, in order to compare and capture the fluidity of changes over time. Results indicate that the teachers’ fundamental belief in certain concepts of teaching and learning did indeed change, but ultimately certain teaching practices could not be altered in the teachers’ home country due to the reality of its assumptions about teaching.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors report on the use of e-portfolios to assess aspects of a one year, post-graduate pre-service teacher education program within the specific context of special needs education.
Abstract: This paper reports on the use of e-portfolios to assess aspects of a one year, post-graduate pre-service teacher education programme within the specific context of special needs education. The rationale for using an e-portfolio for programme assessment is discussed and the potential it offers in demonstrating a range of teaching competencies. Participants in the study were challenged to develop their individual e-portfolio by selecting and presenting evidence for assessment drawn from a wide range of sources and to reflect upon their personal, academic and pedagogical learning and development across the pre-service year. The paper also reports on the individual student experience of building an e-portfolio and attitudes towards its use for assessment purposes within pre-service education and beyond. It also considers future potential for using e-portfolios across all phases of teacher education.
TL;DR: This paper examined the relationship between confidence and risk in relation to the initial education and continuing professional development (CPD) of teachers and argued that the transformative potential of critical engagement with professional knowledge on teacher education courses and through work-based learning should be balanced with the need for the good and appropriate time necessary for the risky political act of reflection, not merely the immediate technical evaluation of practice.
Abstract: This article examines the relationship between confidence and risk in relation to the initial education and continuing professional development (CPD) of teachers. The context for this examination is the Lifelong Learning Sector (LLS) in England, which sits between secondary schools and universities, and the discussion is illustrated with data gathered from trainee teachers in this sector. Understandings of confidence are considered and it is argued that the inculcation of confidence through risk-taking is important for new teachers in their journey to praxis. The article concludes by arguing that the transformative potential of critical engagement with professional knowledge on teacher education courses and through work-based learning (WBL) should be balanced with the need for the good and appropriate time necessary for the risky political act of reflection, not merely the immediate technical evaluation of practice.
TL;DR: In a recent special issue of JET, Donald Gray presented an international picture of perspectives and issues in initial teacher education, arguing that accountability, linked to increasing professionalism, is a significant factor influencing the early phase of a teacher's professional development.
Abstract: The recruitment, retention and professional development of teachers are abiding concerns for education systems across the globe (Furlong 2005; Barber and Mourshed 2007; Day and Smethem 2009). Rigorous empirical research now leaves little doubt that the single most important factor in measures of students’ achievements is the quality of teaching (see e.g. Rowe and Hill 1998; Muijs and Reynolds 2005; Fallon 2006). The influential McKinsey Report (McKinsey and Company 2010, 5), having examined 10 of the world’s top performing schools, claimed that ‘getting the right people to become teachers and developing them into effective instructors’ are two of the ‘three things that matter most’. Put like this, producing teachers who can make a demonstrable difference to positive outcomes for learners seems a straightforward task – but as successful teaching is one of the most complex of human activities, there is, of course, considerably more to it. In a recent special issue of JET, Donald Gray presented an international picture of perspectives and issues in initial teacher education (Gray 2010), arguing that across six countries in four continents, accountability, linked to increasing professionalism, is a significant factor influencing the early phase of a teacher’s professional development. Mastery and professionalism are the theme of this special issue, which brings together a range of papers from a selection of the world’s foremost educational systems. It examines the concept of ‘masterliness’ in education and discusses issues of training and accreditation at the master’s level of provision in initial and continuing professional development courses for teachers. The set of papers provides a rich comparative background to inform the debate about the level at which teachers’ knowledge bases make them most effective in terms of both pedagogic expertise and, ultimately, pupils’ learning outcomes. Recent initiatives such as the Masters in Teaching and Learning in the UK and the Master of Teaching in Australia have arisen as a response to the argument that teaching should be seen as a master’slevel profession. This special issue examines and illustrates the relationship between master’s-level education and professionalism through the lenses of reflective evaluation, narrative inquiry and critique.
TL;DR: The authors examined the classed and early professional experiences of middle-class novice teachers in England experiencing and contemplating working in schools serving socio-economically disadvantaged communities, and concluded that the fundamentally important role that social class plays in terms of shaping early professional experience in teaching suggests the need not only for a commensurately enhanced focus as part of early professional development, but also for attention that is sensitively attuned.
Abstract: This article focuses upon the classed and early professional experiences of middle-class novice teachers in England experiencing and contemplating working in schools serving socio-economically disadvantaged communities. Through an examination of the visibility and invisibility of social class in education set within an increasingly unequal and changed social landscape, the article reports upon research which seeks to better understand the class identities of these teachers. Evidence is presented of the key, yet complex, role that social class occupies within the working lives of new teachers and reveals the different ways in which teachers respond to the classed dimensions of their early professional experiences. It is concluded that the fundamentally important role that social class plays in terms of shaping early professional experiences in teaching suggests the need not only for a commensurately enhanced focus as part of early professional development, but also for attention that is sensitively attuned...
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examined the MTL from the aspect of the course in action and found that teachers may feel more confident in enacting agency, trialling new ideas and taking risks, and that they have developed the way in which they reflect on their practice.
Abstract: This paper examines the Masters in Teaching and Learning (MTL) from the aspect of the MTL in action. It is written by university lecturers who are responsible for its delivery and examines the idea of teacher development through a work-based master’s course. We provide three case studies of the views of MTL participants and their coaches, presented as vignettes. These explore the themes of teacher agency and risk-taking, developments in practice and the role of the coach. We found that the MTL provides a framework in which teachers may feel more confident in enacting agency, trialling new ideas and taking risks, and that they have developed the way in which they reflect on their practice. This has involved a deeper critique of their teaching and learning strategies. Lastly, examination of the coaching model around which the MTL was developed has identified contrasting, yet effective, situations in practice. All three scenarios highlight that the teachers perceive engagement with theoretical perspectives t...
TL;DR: The authors explored the opportunities that student teachers in the initial teacher education (ITE) departments of four English universities had to gain an understanding of this particular form of educational inequality and how it might be addressed.
Abstract: Exclusion from school is a disciplinary sanction used in English schools to manage behaviour by limiting a young person’s attendance at school and the over-representation of Black pupils in national exclusions statistics has been a long-standing cause of concern. This paper reports on the findings of a small-scale, qualitative study that explored the opportunities that the student teachers in the Initial Teacher Education (ITE) departments of four English universities had to gain an understanding of this particular form of educational inequality and how it might be addressed. Despite a strong focus on diversity and social justice within each institution, interviews with the student teachers highlighted gaps and inconsistencies in their opportunities to learn about exclusion from school and its disproportionate impact on Black young people. Nevertheless, Initial Teacher Education programmes emerged as an important space from which to explore student teachers’ understandings of this issue, with a view to mo...
TL;DR: In this article, the authors present a case study of the enactment of the East Midlands Masters in Teaching and Learning (EMMTL), couched in the language of personalisation and support for teachers but can be viewed as part of an increased centralisation of state control of teachers' professional development.
Abstract: Master’s-level accreditation of teachers’ professional development (PD) is a feature of some of the highest achieving education systems internationally. In aspiring to raise its international standing, the New Labour government in England launched a new, fully funded master’s-level degree for in-service teachers, the Masters in Teaching and Learning (MTL), in 2010. In this paper we present a case study of the enactment of the East Midlands Masters in Teaching and Learning (EMMTL). The MTL is couched in the language of personalisation and support for teachers but can be viewed as part of an increased centralisation of state control of teachers’ PD, with an instrumental approach and emphasis on training linked to performativity agendas in the UK and internationally. In resistance to the national MTL Framework, the two HEIs involved in this case study sought to develop a regional approach that took personalisation seriously, built on strong HEI-school collaborative partnerships and put research and context-b...
TL;DR: A helpful analysis of the history, culture, policy and practice of English Language Education in Japan can be found in this article, which is organized systematically to include formal/informal resources.
Abstract: This book offers a helpful analysis of the history, culture, policy and practice of English Language Education in Japan. It has rich resources that are organised systematically to include formal/in...
TL;DR: In this article, the authors present an exploration of Colombian teacher education from Paulo Freire's "directivity" perspective, which involves the political notion of education and the struggle for social justice.
Abstract: The paper presents an exploration of Colombian teacher education from Paulo Freire’s ‘directivity’ perspective, which involves the political notion of education and the struggle for social justice. It examines certain existing tensions in teacher education, and analyses critically their implications for the teaching profession regarding an alternative pedagogical framework and new approaches for the professional identity-formation toward teaching for social justice. The paper also discusses the challenges for education research in Colombia, a country that both dreams of education as the nation’s future and fights against its inherent sense of adversity.