Reclaiming Educator Professionalism in and for Uncertain Times

Abstract

Uncertainty in education and teacher education is a certainty in the current international policy context. One of the challenges within this constant process of change and focus on providing evidence of effectiveness is retaining our attention on the purpose of education. Gert Biesta challenges us to reclaim teacher professionalism and engage in discussion about education and its purposes in the context of schooling. Our challenge in this book is to explore and reflect on implications within teacher education and the ways research and scholarship contribute to this discussion. Through reflection on Biesta’s (Eur J Educ 50: 1, p. 75–87, 2015) three functions of education qualification, socialisation and subjectification, we aim to engage teacher educators, mentor teachers, school administrators, in-service teachers and pre-service teachers in discussions about the purposes of education. The volume contributes towards discussions about what good education is, and our reflections explore how scholarship provides a space where educators can reclaim their professionalism. Educators across all sectors need to engage in discussion to provide solid justifications for their actions in taking forward education and education research in their context with the aim of making a positive contribution to society. The chapter explores the positive contributions teacher education is making to this debate and identifies ways we can reclaim democratic professionalisms with implications for policy, practice and research.