Qualitative research in Canadian teacher education: developments in the eye of a vacuum

Abstract

Qualitative research is a well‐developed field in Canadian teacher education. Paradoxically, this growth has taken place in a country where national policy making about education is minimal. In the policy vacuum, a range of innovative and generative qualitative modes have emerged which focus on the teacher's knowledge. A broad spectrum of work covering a focus on the teacher's personal knowledge through to more contextualized life history work has developed. Narrative and story telling genres, along with a range of feminist work, have sought to broaden the focus of qualitative undertakings. In the concluding section, work which seeks to take account of the context and politics of teacher education is reviewed.