Communities: Keywords in Teacher Education

This volume examines the multiple meanings of the term community in relation to teacher education research from an international perspective and present examples of exemplary work that represent different strands of community-focused and community-based teacher education. As well as laying out and clarifying the landscape of existing work on including communities in teacher education, Ken Zeichner argues for a view of teacher education in which existing power hierarchies are disrupted and in which parents/carers, families and local communities play central roles in the preparation of teachers and teacher educators. He also argues for a vision of teaching that includes instruction, curriculum development, and community participation. He explores the links between equity and justice in education in schools in marginalized communities and shows how decolonial approaches to teacher education that access community expertise can help shift power relations resulting in culturally sustaining and revitalizing forms of education.