A Review of Social Theory for Teacher Education Research: Beyond the Technical- Rational by Kathleen Nolan & Jennifer Tupper, J. (Eds.)

A Review of the book Social Theory for Teacher Education Research: Beyond the Technical-Rational by Kathleen Nolan & Jennifer Tupper, J. (Eds.) Bloomsbury (2019) ISBN 9781350086395

Toward Nonbinary Theories of Practice in Teacher Education Research

This essay argues that contemporary debates about the role of practice in teacher education run the risk of reproducing mind/body, thought/action dualisms. Absent these binaries, practice is understood as always theoretical, principled, and contextualized and knowledge and identity are understood as always embodied and enacted. The author discusses nonbinary theories of practice and their application in teacher education scholarship within both historical and political contexts. The essay argues that the practice turn in teacher education might be leveraged to enhance the field’s intersectional imagination and to eschew the polarities and linearities the field has inherited from Western enlightenment philosophy.

The Initial Training of Science Teachers in African Countries: A Systematic Literature Review

This study presents a systematic literature review (SLR) on the initial training of science teachers in Africa based on selected research articles, in the period 2000–2020, that emphasize the importance of surveying knowledge that goes beyond those that historically have a longer path in the building of scientific knowledge, such as that of European or North American countries. The analysis included a total of 31 articles from the Web of Science (WoS) and Scopus databases. The findings indicate a lack of knowledge, or at least visibility, considering the initial training of African teachers, particularly in developing countries. South Africa leads the number of publications. Within the five African countries implied in the SLR the following outputs were identified: (i) a division between teacher education research that is ‘place-based’ and one that uses (only) ‘universal theories’ (such as Vygotsky and Bandura); (ii) a tension between the application of student-centered learning and teaching models and more traditional classroom practices. Finally, the majority of articles highlight the importance of investing in further research around teacher education. Based on these outputs the importance of international cooperation in teacher education research articulating theory and practice to ensure a global and local perspective towards sustainable development is reinforced.

Learning to Launch Cognitively Demanding Tasks: A Practice-Based Unit for Secondary Methods

Cognitively demanding tasks provide important opportunities for students to develop an understanding of mathematics; however, they are challenging to launch and implement. The authors designed a secondary methods unit on launching tasks. Participants in the study were enrolled in five different methods courses. Using a noticing framework, findings suggest that by engaging in the unit, preservice teachers developed a greater understanding of the four aspects of an effective task launch. When viewing video examples, preservice teachers were able to talk about the four aspects of a task launch with increased specificity. Additionally, they began to identify ways of developing common language without reducing cognitive demand. We discuss implications of this work and offer suggestions for future teacher education research.

Mapping Research in Teacher Education on Diversities and Inequalities: Opening Possibilities Through Social Cartography

This article considers the potential of the methodology of social cartography to open generative possibilities in research on diversities and inequalities in teacher education in the international context. Research in teacher education focusing on difference or diversities and inequalities offers highly diverse practices and orientations, yet we have found that intelligibility across research communities can be challenging and ultimately limiting for the field. Social cartography is a methodology that attempts to address this issue, inviting researchers and practitioners to create forms of conversation that are more tentative, self-critical, and generative. In this article, we introduce our priorities in teacher education that center awareness of social-cultural commitments and assumptions, as well as historical context. We then share a social cartography of teacher education research we have created to reveal the possibilities of social cartography for teacher education, as well as an invitation to open needed dialogue amongst teacher education researchers and practitioners.