The challenge of shaping socially responsible teachers^*

* The Contribution was prepared by Carmen Mohamed within the scope of the Contributor's employment at University of Nottingham. The copyright in the Contribution is owned by the Contributor.

ABSTRACT

It has been vigorously argued over decades that trainee teachers hold entrenched, stereotypical attitudes and beliefs about diverse groups of pupils. These assumptions have been shown to create discriminatory teaching practice which affects the educational attainment of pupils as young as five. This article reports on a study of the complex issues involved in challenging trainee teacher assumptions in an attempt to address the cycle of perpetuating stereotypes. The study was carried out within the context of Initial Teacher Training during a 10-month primary PGCE programme at an English university. The professional reflections of a participant sample of trainee teachers were analysed to ascertain the participants’ awareness of their own socio-cultural beliefs and assumptions and how the variety of instructional pedagogies supported or inhibited their examination of those beliefs. The findings provide implications for all teacher training programmes that attempt to ensure educational equality for children.

KEYWORDS:

• Initial teacher training
• equality
• ethnicity
• primary education

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes

* The Contribution was prepared by Carmen Mohamed within the scope of the Contributor's employment at University of Nottingham. The copyright in the Contribution is owned by the Contributor.