Cooperating Teacher Participation in Teacher Education

TLDR

Cooperating teachers are viewed by student teachers as a key contributor to their preparation, making their participation in teacher education highly significant. The review aims to advance understanding of cooperating teachers’ participation beyond common beliefs toward empirically supported claims. Using Brodie, Cowling, and Nissen’s participation categories, the authors identify 11 distinct roles that cooperating teachers play in teacher education. Comparing the 11 roles to Gaventa’s typology reveals that negotiated or invited spaces are crucial for cooperating teacher participation, offering a new framework for planning professional development and collaboration.

Abstract

Student teachers consider cooperating teachers to be one of the most important contributors to their teacher preparation program. Therefore, the ways in which cooperating teachers participate in teacher education are significant. This review seeks to move conceptions of that participation beyond commonly held beliefs to empirically supported claims. The analysis draws on Brodie, Cowling, and Nissen’s notion of categories of participation to generate 11 different ways that cooperating teachers participate in teacher education: as Providers of Feedback, Gatekeepers of the Profession, Modelers of Practice, Supporters of Reflection, Gleaners of Knowledge, Purveyors of Context, Conveners of Relation, Agents of Socialization, Advocates of the Practical, Abiders of Change, and Teachers of Children. When set against Gaventa’s typology of participation, the resultant grid highlights the importance of negotiated or invited spaces for cooperating teacher participation and provides a new way of thinking about, planning professional development for, and working with cooperating teachers.