Session Information
10 SES 16 A, Student Teachers and Professional Identity
Paper Session
Contribution
This paper has to main purposes: At first, I present a theoretical framework to analyze the development of Bildung. Secondly, I present empirical results from a longitudinal survey measuring student teachers development of Bildung during and after teacher education.
The concept of Bildung is a normative, educational concept suggesting a value basis specifically founded in humanity and democracy. Bildung represents an alternative way of understanding teaching and suggests asking normative questions about the content and purpose of learning in school (Biesta, 2015). However, Bildung is different from concepts like socialization, education or teaching. Bildung is a concept for what it means to be human. Bildung emphasizes maturation in the means of becoming a self-determined, critical thinking, responsible and active participating citizen (Adorno, 2013). According to Klafki (2010; 2007), (categorical) Bildung represents a synergy between knowledge (material facet of Bildung) and one’s own personal development (formal facets of Bildung). Especially Klafki’s conceptualization is relevant for the analysis of my empirical studies in the context of teacher education.
My conceptualization of Bildung aims at reducing and structuring the complex ideas of Bildung in way to open up for empirical investigations. Freedom and diversity are the crucial conditions for the development of Bildung (Von Humboldt, 2012). The main facets of Bildung in my conceptualization are autonomy, responsibility and criticism. These facets together emphasize the major ideas of Bildung promoting an understanding of humanity and democracy.
Method
The facets of Bildung are theoretical basis for the interpretation of my empirical studies. I use data from a longitudinal survey of teacher education students in Norway. The survey is conducted in a repeated measurement design including three measurements (N=673): student teachers at the start, at the end of teacher education, and after three years in-service. The survey is designed as a test-battery among others containing items, which theoretically are related to facets of Bildung such as autonomy, personal development and social motives and attitudes. Construct validity is examined by explorative factor analysis and correlation studies. Internal consistency is estimated by Cronbach’s Alpha. Mean score differences are used as indicators for change between the different measurements.
Expected Outcomes
The results show student teachers’ understandings and attitudes and how these change during teacher education and after three years in-service. The main findings show a significant reduction of autonomy and the developmental facets of Bildung at the end of teacher education. These values increase back to the original level after three years in-service. However, the results show that helping people is an important motive for the students right from the beginning. This social dimension keeps stable over time during teacher education and after years in-service. I discuss the results in relation to the facets of Bildung. Some of the results show interesting relations supporting existing findings in the literature. At the same time does the specific theoretical perspective suggest important directions for the future of teacher education.
References
Adorno, T. W. (2013). Erziehung zur Mündigkeit: Vorträge und Gespräche mit Hellmut Becker 1959 bis 1969. Frankfurt: Suhrkamp. Biesta, G. (2015). What is education for? On good education, teacher judgement, and educational professionalism, European Journal of Education, 50 (1), 75-87. DOI: 10.1111/ejed.12109 Klafki, W. (2007). Neue Studien zur Bildungstheorie und Didaktik. Zeitgemäße Allgemeinbildung und kritisch-konstruktive Didaktik. Beltz: Weinheim and Basel. Klafki, W. (2010). Studien zur Bildungstheorie und Didaktik. Stuttgart: Beltz. Von Humboldt, W. (2012). Theorie der Bildung des Menschen. In Hastedt, H. (ed.), Was ist Bildung? Eine Textanthologie (pp. 93-114). Stuttgart: Reclam.
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