Abstract:
The social theories of the political commentator and philosopher of modern times, Hannah Arendt (1958), can be used to guide the 'profession of education' towards a re-conceptualisation of teacher education. Within a context of rapid, constant and pervasive change teacher educators are challenged on a daily basis. They too need some time to facilitate personal renewal and change in this post-modern world. Bauman's (2001) concept of 'Tertiary Learning' consisting of breaking regularity, preventing habitualisation and rearranging the fragmentary experiences into patterns, which exist until further notice, can guide teacher educators in their quest for renewal.
This paper argues that if beginning teachers need to be, as Coulter (2001) suggests, "thinking and judging actors and spectators living in a world that that believes in plurality and natality", then so too do our teacher educators need to be free from habitual thinking and habitual judgement. Teacher educators need the ability to stand back and take a bird's eye view of the programs they operate and then be willing, in a mindful way, to return to the play preparing teachers to be good thinkers and judges in their own right.
This paper argues that if beginning teachers need to be, as Coulter (2001) suggests, "thinking and judging actors and spectators living in a world that that believes in plurality and natality", then so too do our teacher educators need to be free from habitual thinking and habitual judgement. Teacher educators need the ability to stand back and take a bird's eye view of the programs they operate and then be willing, in a mindful way, to return to the play preparing teachers to be good thinkers and judges in their own right.