Towards a critical teaching practice : notes for the teacher educator

Abstract

As a sociologist of education and teacher educator, I am often challenged by students following my courses to demonstrate the way that the insights provided by educational theory can be translated into practice in the 'real world of the classroom'. In responding to their very real needs, which become especially acute during their teaching practice phases, I developed a pedagogical tool with the intention of heightening students' perceptions of their work as critical educators. In this article I intend to first give an account of the theoretical context which informs my approach to teacher education and then present a series of questions which , when confronted by the student-teacher (or any practising educator), would raise issues central to the process of education.