Student teachers' conceptions of curriculum: Toward an understanding of language-teacher development

Abstract

Programmes for the education of second language teachers necessarily base themselves on conceptions of what learning to be a teacher entails. But surprisingly little study has been devoted to understanding the processes by which second language teachers actually develop their knowledge, or to defining what such knowledge consists of. This paper approaches this issue through a content analysis of data on one aspect of student teachers' professional knowledge: their conceptions of curriculum decision making. Different representations of this knowledge emerge, ranging from schemata which appear inadequately developed to those which seem sufficient to guide curriculum decision- making effectively. Implications are drawn for the education and development of second language teachers, as well as further research in this area. It is argued that current "input-output" models of teacher education can be augmented by "developmental learning" models, if further understanding of language teachers' professional knowledge is obtained.

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