Rights as powerful knowledge? Introducing a rights perspective in initial teacher education to empower teachers to be change agents.
We are working in a policy climate where rapid change has become the norm; where systemic reform in the name of Every Child Matters challenges the professional roles we have lived with for generations; and where government control over teacher education is being increasingly exercised through Standards, TDA Requirements, annual self-evaluation and external inspection. Against this background teacher educators need to articulate their vision for teaching in a way that makes explicit the values and characteristics that provide a foundation for teachers beyond the next policy initiative. Without succumbing to cynicism we must clarify what endures about good teachers outside of the welter of current policy and faddish exhortations to teach this way or that.
Through collaboration between NGOs and universities we have embarked on a project to work towards these goals, which takes the UNCRC as a reasonable starting point for the professional education of people intending to work with children and young people. The first paper shares evaluation data from a national project monitoring how schools are responding to the Children
(Click on an abstract title to view it in PDF format.)