I Never Would Have Noticed It Before”

The Possibilities of Critical Discussion Groups for Teacher Candidate Policy Engagement

Bibliographic Data

ID9729667
AuthorsMay Hara (0000-0001-9825-4399, Framingham State University, MA, USA, corresponding author)
Year2020
Volume52
Issue3
Pages343-364
Publication date2020-03-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueEducation and Urban Society (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0013-1245 • E-ISSN: 1552-3535
PublisherSAGE Publications (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/0013124519846278
OpenAlexW2944117537
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited34

Teacher candidates are central to the implementation of educational policy in schools, but receive little professional training around policy in their teacher education coursework or in their practicum experiences in the field. In examining this disconnect, this article explores the following questions: What do teacher candidates know about educational policy at the beginning of their student teaching practica? How do they envision their role with respect to policy? How does their participation in a critical discussion group around educational policy influence their perspectives? This article draws on qualitative data from a group of teacher education candidates enrolled in a student teaching practicum in Massachusetts. Analysis illustrates how teacher candidates make sense of educational policy via their university experiences and their field placements. Data suggest that critical discussion groups have potential to support increased capacity around teacher candidate policy engagement

Coursework · Education policy · Higher education · Mathematics education · Pedagogy · Policy analysis · Political science · Practicum · Professional development · Qualitative research · Social science · Sociology · Teacher education · Educator Training and Historical Pedagogy · Global Education and Multiculturalism · Psychology · Public Administration · Teacher Education and Leadership Studies