Staging the Work of Teacher Education Through Public Conversation

Abstract

The value of university-based programs of teacher education in preparing high-quality teachers is currently the focus of increasingly contentious debate among researchers, policy makers, and media experts. To a large extent, public awareness and understanding of the work of teacher education is filtered through one or another of these lenses because direct public experience with programs of teacher education is limited. The authors developed a capstone event, termed the "Public Conversation," for their graduate-level, Teacher Education Program as a means of introducing graduates to the community and engaging a variety of community members in substantive dialogue around significant and enduring issues related to teaching and learning in the public schools. This article reports on impacts of the Public Conversation on community members, public school professionals, and university faculty, who participated as critical friends in this process.

Educating for Professional Responsibility: From Critical Thinking to Deliberative Communication, or Why Critical Thinking Is Not Enough

“…She argues that teacher educators must 'prepare teachers to function more effectively with ethnically, racially, culturally and socially diverse students and issues' ( Ibid ., p. 227). Ersoy ( 2010 ) and Lippincott, Peck, and D'Emidio-Caston ( 2005 ) argue that public conversation is an important and effective means for the expansion of ideas and the promotion of critical thinking. Further, Leonard et al ( 2010 , p. 262) clearly relate the capacity for critical thinking to social and political purposes: 'Critical consciousness is the ability to understand the political nature of a situation, critique the status quo, and proactively try to change it'.…”