Discussions

The purpose of this session is to report on a study project in which student-teachers challenged the teacher education programme they were following, more precisely their preparation to become researchers and ultimately agents of educational change.

The study questioned why the student-teachers perspective was underrepresented in policy discussions when it is argued that their voice can influence system policy and reform, support the development of democracy and ultimately play a transformational role in education. It looked at agency and educational change in relation to researching, at a time when at system level, teacher education is being reformed in Colombia.

Data produced by questionnaires, structured interviews and observation of student-teachers was used to explore their perceptions and attitude towards the prospect of being actively involved in the creation of a revised and updated initial teacher preparation programme, more in tune with the leadership for educational transformation discourse. 

A product of this study project was a model to conduct research, designed by the student-teachers themselves, and a result of dialectic interaction, collaborative construction of knowledge and interpretation of their own educational context. The research model includes an element of international collaboration where by higher education students from other countries participate in discussions and activities to facilitate exchange of ideas. In the case of this project with Colombian participants, the international partner was an MPhil/PhD student from the Institute of Education, London.