Contested aspects of becoming a teacher: teacher learning and the role of subject knowledge

Teaching is acknowledged to be complex, multifaceted and dynamic. Curriculum revisions in Scotland, and elsewhere, call for teachers who are adaptable and capable of change. Yet the skills and attributes traditionally valued and acquired by teachers during their education do not necessarily equip them to cope with the shifting landscape of educational change. This article draws on a collaborative review of literature relating to teacher education, undertaken for the Scottish Teachers for a New Era project. It examines the nature of knowledge for teaching generally and in relation to science education in particular to discuss contested aspects and to develop a conceptual framework for future research and development in this area. The main argument for this study is that a reformulation of teacher education is required. This involves changing the way teachers are educated within an accompanying shift in epistemology and a move to interdisciplinarity. It calls for a more egalitarian way of learning as a means to facilitate change within schools for the creation of a more equal and just society.