This paper seeks to outline an appropriate role for sociology in teacher preparation. An attempt is made to account for the hiatus between interest in education by sociologists on the one hand and on the other, their contribution to a sociology of education of value to the teaching profession. It is argued that both normative and interpretive approaches must be presented in sociology courses for prospective teachers. Only in this way can the contradictions and dilemmas in contemporary sociology, reflecting as it does the problems of modern society, be made explicit. Teacher trainees must be educated for the lifetime task of reflection on the meaning of their work ; this is seen as the most significant role of sociology in the training of teachers.While sociologists have expressed a strong interest in education, the development of sociology of education has not always provided the valuable insights into the educational system that would justify its inclusion in courses for prospective teachers. In spite of the theoretical and practical import of this dilemma, the plain fact of the matter is that sociological perspectives on education have become an accepted part of curricula in teacher education in Australia. This trend is evident in both universities and colleges of advanced education which have a major responsibility for teacher training. It is interesting to speculate whether the substantial changes in the college stratum of the binary system of tertiary education have, perhaps, accelerated the process of legitimation of courses in the sociology of education.This paper does not purport to evaluate the quality of sociology courses in existing teacher education programs. We would suggest, however, that comparative evidence1 implies that research should be undertaken before institutionalization has proceeded to the point where such knowledge has become " taken for granted ". What the paper seeks to do is to outline an appropriate role for sociology in teacher preparation which takes into account the problems in the introductory sentence.
EDUCATION AND SOCIOLOGICAL THEORYThe conflict between input of sociological interest and output of " marketable " sociological knowledge about education raises two initial questions. Why do schools (in particular) attract the attention of sociologists ? And secondly, can we explain the lack of realization of the potential value of sociologyof education for the teaching profession ?
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