Exploring student teachers’ resistance to teacher education pedagogies

Abstract

Student teachers' resistance to teacher education is often understood as a lack of quality of the student teacher and/or the internship, and is expected to impede learning. In this study we suggest that resistance is interactive in nature, and can potentially have constructive outcomes. We engaged in a cross-case analysis of the resistance of two student teachers in a year-long teacher education program. Our results draw attention to diverse ways in which student teachers can engage in resistance, and to ways in which educators can support students in exploiting their resistance to benefit their learning.