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Among the thorniest of issues that teacher educators deal with is the relationship between theory and practice. Moreover, there are a number of theoretical traditions on which we can draw to create new programs in teacher education or critique ongoing programs. This article discusses the range of theories that are available and their characteristics and orientations. Though critical theory has not been widely used in teacher education, it is valuable in helping us see the connections between commonsense practices in schools and institutions and ideologies in the wider society. Critical theory promises both critique and new directions, as it focuses on issues related to social justice, equality, and democratic values. An example of what a teacher education program that is based in critical theory might look like is included.

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Teaching has been conceived of as a decontextualized, apolitical, amoral enterprise in both historical and contemporary contexts of teacher education. For example, normal schools fostered a conception of competence in which moral deliberation was less than central by promoting vocationalism and an instrumental rationality that denigrated educational theory and critical reflection. Recent attempts to rekindle a science of education promote a similar kind of technical competence that ignores the importance of moral imagination. This conception of professionalism is in keeping with a focus on self-interest and individualism in American society that makes it hard to envision a common good. A new vision of professionalism is proposed that recognizes the centrality of moral commitment and moral discourse in teaching, and its application in teacher education programs at Knox College is described. Illustrations of how this view of professionalism must be connected to experiences in which preservice students confront the injustices in current social realities are emphasized.