Confronting Educational Politics with Preservice Teachers: Reactions to Waiting for Superman

Abstract

Within the literature on teacher education in the United States, relatively little research has been conducted on how preservice teachers conceptualize popular depictions of the profession or issues related to the “extended professionality” of teaching. In this study, the authors explore the reactions of elementary, middle, and secondary preservice teachers to Waiting for Superman, a controversial 2010 documentary about the American public education system, as an example of focused and deliberate engagement with aspects of teacher professionalism. Using surveys and focus group discussions, the authors sought to determine the effectiveness of Waiting for Superman in fostering student interest and engagement with issues related to the extended professionality of teaching. The findings from this study illuminate a need for broaching issues of extended professionality within teacher education programs as well as offer implications for the use of documentary films as a catalyst for discussions of issues related to the profession.