Schooling, Moral Commitment, and the Preparation of Teachers

Abstract

Teaching has been conceived of as a decontextualized, apolitical, amoral enterprise in both historical and contemporary contexts of teacher education. For example, normal schools fostered a conception of competence in which moral deliberation was less than central by promoting vocationalism and an instrumental rationality that denigrated educational theory and critical reflection. Recent attempts to rekindle a science of education promote a similar kind of technical competence that ignores the importance of moral imagination. This conception of professionalism is in keeping with a focus on self-interest and individualism in American society that makes it hard to envision a common good. A new vision of profession alism is proposed that recognizes the centrality of moral commitment and moral discourse in teaching, and its application in teacher education programs at Knox College is described. Illustrations of how this view of professionalism must be connected to experiences in which preservice students confront the injustices in current social realities are emphasized.