Collaborating Toward Possible Futures: A Sociocultural Analysis of an Alternative Teacher Education Program

• In Event: Sunday Roundtable Session 7:45 am
  In Roundtable Session: Innovative Pedagogies and Possibilities in Teacher Education (Table 25)

Abstract

This study focuses on the university-school divide in teacher education. The divide between the university and PK-12 school systems remains one of the most significant barriers to effective preparation of new teachers identified by researchers and policy makers. Historical obstacles such as, disconnects between coursework and field work, misalignments between professional knowledge and skilled practice, and competing goals among organizations continue to plague the work of teacher preparation. This paper presents the university-school relationship in an alternative teacher education program and draws on third-generation activity theory and activity system analysis as frameworks for examining the partnership culturally, historically, and institutionally. Findings reveal that transactional relationships between system elements shape partnership activities and show multilevel contradictions within and across collective activities.

Author

• Boris Krichevsky, University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire