Preparatory Knowledge: A Hub in Teacher Education in Arts and Crafts

Abstract

Concurrent teacher education involves a double challenge: the students learn one (or more) subjects while they learn to teach those subjects. In Arts and Crafts, this debate often contains questions of how teacher-students, taking short courses on a subject, can acquire enough academic depth in the different areas of the subject. The first part of the article presents earlier research on Arts and Crafts and the concept of ‘pedagogical content knowledge’, understood as a re-negotiation of subject content knowledge and pedagogical knowledge (Shulman). The qualification width (the number of areas) and inner tension (between the areas) in the subject of Arts and Crafts is discussed, ending with the conclusion that a reduction of qualification width will not lead to reduced tension or complexity in teacher education within the subject. The second part of the article proposes the concept of ‘preparatory knowledge’ as an alternative way to manage complexity in teacher education in Arts and Crafts: as a possible basic principle for choosing content and methods. The discussion is linked to the broader educational question of how teacher education in Arts and Crafts can best equip students for a long life as professional practitioners in an unknown future. The article proposes that preparatory knowledge can be understood as a hub in a principle of lifelong learning for teachers in Arts and Crafts, and thus as an overarching goal of teacher education in general.