A Bourdieuian analysis of teachers' changing dispositions towards social justice: the limitations of practicum placements in pre-service teacher education

Abstract

As populations in contemporary Western societies grow increasingly diverse, preparing predominantly White middle-class pre-service teachers to better understand and work with difference productively has become increasingly critical. Historically, however, teacher education programs have aimed to address diversity with add-on or piecemeal approaches, with little success. This article illustrates and theorises change in two Australian teachers' dispositions towards social justice over time from a Bourdieuian perspective. It attempts to inform our understanding of current pre-service teacher education program inadequacies with a view to providing implications in relation to the constraints of the limited and limiting nature of practicum placements. Fundamentally, its goal is to improve the preparedness of pre-service teachers to cater for diversity in socially just ways.