Full Description
Learning to Teach in England and the United States studies the evolution of initial teacher education by considering some of the current approaches in England and the United States. Presenting empirical evidence from these two distinct political and historical contexts, the chapters of this thought-provoking volume illustrate the tensions involved in preparing teachers who are working in ever-changing environments. Grounded in the lived experiences of those directly affected by these shifting policy environments, the book questions if reforms that have introduced accountability regimes and new kinds of partnership with the promise of improving teaching and learning, have contributed to more powerful learning experiences in schools for those entering the profession.
The authors consider the relationships between global, national and local policy, and question their potential impact on the future of teacher education and teaching more generally. The research adopts an innovative methodology and sociocultural theoretical framework designed to show greater insights into the ways in which beginning teachers' learning experiences are shaped by relationships at all of these levels. A key emerging issue is that of the alignment - or not - between the values and dispositions of the individuals and the institutions that are involved.
This book will appeal to academics, researchers and postgraduate students in the fields of teacher education, comparative education, higher education, and education policy and politics.
Contents
Contents Foreword Preface Acknowledgements Abbreviations Authors' Biographies Section I: Learning to Teach: Theory, Methods and Contexts 1. Introduction and Background 2. A Sociocultural Framework and Methods for the Analysis of Teacher Education Policy and Practice in England and the United States 3. The Policy Landscapes for Teacher Education in England and the United States 4. Teacher Education Programmes as Settings for Learning to Teach: Responses to Policy and Social Pressures in England and in the United States 5. Schools as Settings for Learning to Teach: Responses to Policy and Social Pressures in England and the United States Section II: Case Studies of Learning to Teach in Specific Contexts 6. Selection of the Case Studies 7. Cases of Alignment at the Meso-level of Institutions (Schools and HEI) and at the Micro-level of the Individual 8. Cases of Alignment at the Meso-level of Institutions, with a High Degree of Tension or Contradiction at the Micro-level of the Individual 9. Cases of Unacknowledged Contradictions at the Meso-level of Institutions which Result in Low Levels of Support or Challenge at the Micro-level of the Individual 10. Cases of Alignment between the Micro-level of the Individual and the Meso-level of the School (but not with HEI) 11. Cases of Alignment between the Micro-level of the Individual and the Meso-level of the HEI (but not with the School) 12. The Significance of Alignments in Initial Teacher Education Section III: Comparing Trends, Contradictions and Future Trajectories 13. Policy and Practice in England and the United States: Comparing Trends and Contradictions in Teacher Education 14. The Future of Teacher Education in England and the United States Index
