Teacher students’ legitimation of teaching activities in the L1 classroom

Abstract

This study investigates Norwegian L1 teacher students’ legitimation language as they retrospectively reflect on internship experiences during their first two years of teacher education. We aim to describe the teacher students’ legitimation of teaching activities within the framework of the specialization dimension of Legitimation Code Theory. Drawing particularly on Bernstein’s ideas on different knowledge structures and on teaching and acquisition of humanistic subjects, we critically discuss why the interviewees’ legitimation language only to a small degree works to classify L1 as a distinct school subject. By investigating the legitimation language used by teacher students in their second year of teacher education, our study aims to highlight the educational pathway to the L1 teacher profession. Using policy ideals as a backdrop for discussing the implications of our findings, we describe possible measures to assist teacher students’ development toward professional subject didactic reasoning and legitimation.