Teacher education, preservice teacher beliefs, and the moral work of teaching

This paper presents a case for attending to preservice teachers’ beliefs that are relevant to the moral work of teaching within teacher education research and practice, and examines what it would look like to do so. The case for attending to candidate beliefs is grounded in a learner-centered approach to teacher education and in the literature on the role of beliefs in teacher learning and change. The authors demonstrate how attending to preservice teacher beliefs is particularly critical for the task of preparing candidates for the moral work of teaching, and present a conceptual framework that can guide that task and teacher education research and practice designed to support it.

Research highlights► Preparing teachers for the moral aspects of their work is central to effective and responsible teacher education. ► Preservice teacher beliefs are a critical part of professional preparation for the moral work of teaching. ► The moral work of teaching framework provides a conceptual tool for identifying beliefs relevant to that moral work, and resources that can be used to elicit and address them in the context of teacher education.