Pedagogical knowledge: exploring new approaches

Abstract

Initial teacher education has become a critical issue for educational policies. In this regard, an element that shows important deficits is the disassembly of pedagogical knowledge in the process of learning to teach. In this article, we propose a reconceptualization of pedagogical knowledge in the light of four key elements that should be taken into account: the role of beliefs about teaching and learning in initial teacher education; pedagogical content knowledge as a significant component in the process of training teachers; how the relation between theory and practice contributes to develop knowledge for teaching relevant to the context where it will be implemented; and the development of reflective practices as a tool to articulate and confront the aforementioned elements in the training of future teachers. The review of these topics will contribute to explore topics barely covered in the field of initial teacher education and to develop a more comprehensive perspective of teaching and learning in teacher education programs. Finally, we discuss practical implications of this proposal for approaches to teaching and learning in initial teacher education and the diffusion of innovations to implement in training future teachers.