The Development of a Dialogical Pedagogical Agency in Initial Teacher Formation Programs: A Critical Inquiry

Abstract

Initial teacher formation is a permanent focus of attention on the part of research, as the value of education for the progress of society is well known. However, given the naturalization of instrumental criteria as common sense acquired in today’s society, on occasion, initial teacher formation reproduces a technocratic perspective of education, not assisting a transformation into a fairer, ethically healthier, and politically more democratic society. This article is the result of doctoral research that addresses this concern, proposing that initial teacher formation could play a transformative role in society. Considering the Bourdieusian dialectical perspective of agency, as well as elements from critical approach literature, this article particularly focuses on showing some results obtained regarding about the capacity for ethical/political/epistemic pedagogical agency that novice teachers show in their first professional experiences as teachers, discussing how important the development of this capacity is in initial teacher formation programs to prepare teachers to be able to transform education.