Teacher Education for Democratic Participation: The Need for Teacher Judgement in Times of Evidence-Based Teaching

Abstract

According to national and international policy, teachers' work is supposed to be guided by reliable evidence in order to be effective and achieve the set goals. The purpose of this article is to problematise evidence-based approaches for teacher education by highlighting the occurrence of dilemmas in teachers' work connected to the assignment of educating democratic citizens. The article is a critical theoretical discussion that takes its departure in the teaching paradox of supporting students' initiatives to act as critical citizens. In order to address the current trend of anchoring teacher education in evidence-based methods, Swedish policy documents are used as a point of reference and are read through the lens of the teaching paradox and the need for teacher judgement. The analysis shows that policy texts fall short when it comes to the assignment to support students to take part in society as critical citizens. It is concluded that teacher education could gain from theoretically based case studies of dilemmatic everyday situations in which teaching for democratic participation is visible.

More than a matter of qualification: Teachers’ thoughts on the purpose of social studies and history teaching in vocational preparation programmes in Swedish upper-secondary school

“…Persson and Berg, 2021). However, we know very little about this didactic dilemma (Liljestrand, 2014) or about how the balance between what exists and what has yet to exist is dealt with in school. Accordingly, we know even less about the way this didactic balance operates in a vocational educational context and the individual subjects that it comprises (Tur Porres et al, 2014).…”

Pedagogical Decision Making through the Lens of Teacher Preparation Program

“…Teaching profession must be emphasized and revised of the teaching standards or requirement of teacher council. Teachers need to allow all learners to think and act with developing independence and strive to encourage an informed appreciation of the fundamental values of a democratic society (Liljestrand, 2014). Teachers recognize that they work in collaboration with the children's parents or family to encourage their active involvement in education.…”

The Neo-Liberal Turn in Understanding Teachers' and School Leaders' Work Practices in Curriculum Innovation and Change: A Critical Discourse Analysis of a Newly Proposed Reform Policy in Lower Secondary Education in the Republic of Ireland

“…In this way educational policy directives in an age of measurement (Biesta, 2010) are calling up a new and different kind of efficient, disengaged and effective teacher -'a teacher who can maximize performance, who can set aside irrelevant principles, or out-moded social commitments, for whom excellence and improvement are the driving force of their practice' (Ball, 2003, p. 223). The field of policy research shows an exponential growth in relation to the increasingly complex ways markets impinge on education ecosystems with their relays of power and symbolic control and the effect this has on school leaders' and teachers' work practices and teacher autonomy (Bernstein, 2000;Apple, 2012Apple, , 2013Lynch et al, 2012;Allais, 2012;Edling (2014); Liljestrand (2014); Price (2014); Süssekind (2014). Studies show that in high distance hierarchical societies, such as the Republic of Ireland, that education systems and the micro-politics of schools can leave both students and teachers at a distinct disadvantage (Lynch & Lodge, 2002;Lynch et al, 2012).…”