Seeds of professional development in pre-service teachers: a study of their dreams and goals

What happens to pre-service teachers’ dreams and goals during their professional preparation? What can teacher educators learn from what is uncovered about pre-service teachers’ dreams and goals to improve their practice? To answer these questions, a four-phase qualitative study was conducted. Data on five pre-service teachers were collected over a three-year period. At the end of the data collection, case studies of each of the five pre-service teachers were constructed and a cross-case analysis was performed. Participants in the study prioritized their dreams and goals; they tended to mention goals more frequently than dreams and they revised their dreams and goals through the use of backgrounding, foregrounding, reassessment, and refinement. These activities contributed positively to the development of their professional identify as teachers. The importance of the “affective side of teacher education” is addressed by Professor Geert Kelchtermans in a closing commentary.