Moving beyond Technicism in English-Language Teacher Education

Book excerpt: Drawing attention to the threats that an overreliance on teaching techniques poses for teacher creativity, student voice, and the well-being of democracy, Moving beyond Technicism in English-Language Teacher Education advocates a critical approach to education. Using the author’s own personal experiences, this book offers a critical analysis of the technicist English-language teacher education programs introduced by Turkey’s Council of Higher Education in the neoliberal period. Beginning with the implementation of critical education at the Village Institutes in the early years of the Republic of Turkey, the book documents how teacher education practices in Turkey evolved from liberatory to mechanic with the influence of the Cold War. By demonstrating the author’s own critical teacher education practices, the book explores the impact of critical teacher education on pre-service and in-service teachers’ perceptions and practice. Highlighting the ethical responsibilities of educators, the book calls for a critical, democratic, and humanizing approach to teacher preparation.