The Public Expression of Citizen Teachers
Source: Journal of Teacher Education, 61(1-2) 66–76. (January/February 2010).
(Reviewed by the Portal Team)
The imposition of the audit culture on schooling has severely limited teachers’ freedom and dignity, exacerbating traditions of teacher education and employment that are infantilizing.
In this article, the author argues for a collaborative model of teaching that contradicts the competitive individualism that still dominates our students’ experiences in the university.
The author claims that if teachers are to participate in the politics that determine curriculum and pedagogy, education programs must provide differentiated credentials that welcome adults into teaching and offer insight into the processes of political organizing and public speech.
The author concludes that it is only through collective public action with their peers and with their communities that teachers can influence curriculum and change their schools.