Examining the unexpected sophistication of preservice teachers’ beliefs about the relational dimensions of teaching

Research on preservice teachers’ beliefs about professional teaching capabilities indicates strong attention to the relational dimension; these studies have contributed to a portrayal of preservice teachers as simplistic and overly optimistic about the teaching profession. In this article, I position preservice teachers’ attention to teacher–student relationships as a form of professional knowledge. Drawing from findings of a qualitative study of U.S. elementary (prekindergarten-Grade 4) preservice teachers who were asked to describe professional characteristics of effective teachers, I suggest their beliefs reveal surprisingly nuanced understandings about the complex nature of teaching.