Motstånd och mening. Innebörd i blivande lärares seminariesamtal

Abstract

Both historically and in our own time the teacher education has been discussed and changed to match current traditions and intentions. There is an ongoing debate about the scientific basis of teacher education and the relation to professional basis. The aim with this study is to develop understanding for student teachers’ introduction to education and profession. The study is carried out against the background of the provisions and assumptions that characterise an academic professional education, and in particular teacher education, such as the relationship between education and the profession, the scientific basis and professional basis, the field-based and college-based educational practice. The point of departure is that teacher education cannot be dissociated from the practice and theory of the profession, and in addition that the expression of education must be understood through the student’s experience and interpretation. The overall aim of the study, starting out from the nature and objectives of the academic professional education, is to understand the field of tension expressed in this experience. During the study, dialogues with students were observed at an early stage in their education. These dialogues consisted of four authentic seminars and twenty-three subsequent stimulated recall-inspired interviews with individual students. Content of the dialogues and seminars are student teachers’ experiences from field-based and college-based education. The method of the study is based on critical hermeneutics with reference to Paul Ricoeur. The result shows the two roles of the student, as participant and as observer. The students also consider themselves as students and at the same time as future teachers. Fields of tension are identified between what is recognisable and a talk of changes; between position and investigation; and between progression and process. Professional teachers do not seem as masters, they are instead objects for criticism. The early experience of the profession does not harmonise with the content of the education. Furthermore, the student appears to lack the tools to examine critically and understand both the content offered in the education and the theory and practice of the profession.