Listening to men student primary school teachers: some thoughts on pedagogy

Abstract

This article is about teaching undergraduate student primary school teachers and is concerned with the pedagogical approaches that will support students as they move into the culture of the primary school and learn a professional identity as a teacher of young children. The paper draws on data from interviews with men student teachers, who, as a numerical minority, are in a context which obliges them and me to notice their gendered identities. What teaching approaches might help students to notice the assumptions shaping their perceptions and others' perceptions of them? How might the process of ITT suggest to student teachers that alternatives are possible? What sort of teacher/student relationship and interaction could help students to rethink themselves as teachers? Active encounters, detail, sensitivity and difference are put forward as important themes to underpin a pedagogy for primary Initial Teacher Training which prioritises conversations and relationships.