Case Pedagogy in Language Teacher Education for Autonomy

The Element argues for the potential of case pedagogy to bridge the gap between theory and practice and between research and teaching by engaging student teachers in the analysis and construction of inquiry-based, autonomy-oriented teaching cases.

Despite the advocacy of autonomy in language education research, policies, and curricula, pedagogy for autonomy in schools still holds a rather marginal status. Initial teacher education programmes can promote the development of autonomy-oriented language teachers, but that requires surpassing a long-standing theory-to-practice tradition that undervalues the role of experience in professional development and educational change. The Element argues for the potential of case pedagogy to bridge the gap between theory and practice and between research and teaching by engaging student teachers in the analysis and construction of inquiry-based, autonomy-oriented teaching cases. It presents a framework of pedagogy for autonomy based on a transformative vision of (language) education and proposes a reflective approach to case pedagogy aimed at developing prospective teachers' agency to enact that vision. Practical examples of case analysis and case construction are presented to illustrate case pedagogy in action, and a scholarship of case-based teacher education is recommended.