Political Transformations and Teacher Education Programs

Edited by Miriam Ben-Peretz and Sharon Feiman-Nemser

Political transformations have a decisive power to shape education systems in general and teacher education programs in particular. How these processes unfold is especially interesting in educational systems which are not generally known to Anglo-Saxon educators, like Germany, Russia, or China. Several chapters in this volume discuss the impact of statewide political transformation on teacher education programs.Political transformation is one of the important features of societies in the second half of the 20th century. Political transformations and changing ideologies are part of the history of teaching and teacher education. It is important to be aware of this process in order to keep the accumulated experience of the teaching profession alive and contribute to present day education policy and practice.Bringing ideological-political perspectives to bear on teacher education can deepen our understanding of the relation between society and teacher education. Moreover, it highlights the pivotal role that teachers play in any society. This volume presents different ways of analyzing teacher education programs through the lens of different ideologies and the influence of societal transformations.

AcknowledgementsIntroductionChapter 1: Axel Bernd Kunze - "Democracy Educational Models in Teacher Training in Germany"Chapter 2: Ayman Agbaria - "Multiculturalism and Self Government Rights in Teacher Education: Implications for the Palestinian Minority in Israel"Chapter 3: Salman Ilaiyan, Randa Abbas and Zehava Toren - "Teacher Training in the Arab Sector in Israel: The story of the Academic Arab College for Education in Israel, Haifa"Chapter 4: Di Wilmot - "Teacher Education in South Africa after the Political Transition to Democracy in 1994"Chapter 5: Alexandre Bermous and Olzan Goldstein - "Russian Teacher Education: the Transformation in a Loop of Time"Chapter 6: Qiong Li, Li Pei, and Danxingyang Gao - "Teacher Education since the Founding of New China"Chapter 7: Gary McCulloch - "Politics, Ideology, and the History of Teacher Education Reform in England"