Professional learning in initial teacher education: The construction of the teaching self in the professional artistry of teaching

Teachers’ professional learning is conceived as the construction of the teaching self in the professional artistry of teaching in this chapter. This chapter seeks to examine the complex dynamics of preservice student teachers’ professional learning in various arenas of professional learning, namely pre-training influences, coursework of the teacher education programme, and the student teaching context. Through the in-depth examination of two cases of student teachers’ learning-to-teach journeys, this chapter illustrates an integrated framework with “teaching self”, “teaching repertoire”, and “framing” as central themes to enrich our understanding of teacher professional development in its early phase. The recognition of the central role the teaching self plays in professional learning implies that those involved in the teacher education process, namely teacher education faculty and school mentors, need to engage with student teachers as persons and their emerging teaching selves. When preparing and structuring quality professional learning experiences for student teachers, teacher education faculty and school mentors have to work with student teachers’ life histories, their construction of teacher knowledge and the challenge and support they face. The development of institute-school partnership structure and culture in initial teacher education will also facilitate the provision of quality professional learning experiences for student teachers. Copyright © 2006 Nova Science Publishers.