Thinking and Acting Across Ponds: Glocalized* Intersections of Trepidation, Neoliberalism, and Possibilities for 21st Century Teacher Education

Authors

Kenneth J. Fasching-Varner, University of Nevada, Las VegasFollow
Renee P. Desmarchelier, University of Southern Queensland
David Gerlach, Philipps-Universität
Peter Wiens, University of Nevada, Las VegasFollow
P.G. Schrader, University of Nevada, Las VegasFollow
Barry Down, Murdoch University
Lindsay Stewart, Louisiana State University
Michaela Stone, Northern Vermont University
Nigel Bagnall, University of Sydney
Mareen Lüke, Philipps-Universität

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

5-26-2020

Publication Title

International Dialogues on Education: Past and Present IDE-Online Journal

Volume

7

Issue

1

First page number:

113

Last page number:

127

Abstract

This article draws upon the cross-continental experiences of teacher educators in Australia, Germany, and the United States to contextualize and connect localized experiences in each country in the education and training of teachers as glocal phenomena. Through a glocal lens, the paper suggests that the dynamics working against the successful education and training of teachers are multifaceted, locally significant, and globally consistent. Two relevant areas are considered, resonating in both the local contexts of the authors and in their global reach, connectivity, and consistency: 1) internal university resistance and fighting over funding, status, and role and 2) over-reliance on market economies that depend on cheap labor fueled by nationalism, neoliberalism, and xenophobia. The authors address issues related to enrollment, reduction, and accreditation within university-based teacher education and training programs as particular areas of common complexity before yielding to discussion of the effects of those concerns situated within neoliberalism and neo-nationalism. The glocalized analysis and critical approach taken by the authors serve as foils to combat the negative scenario that encapsulates the education and training of teachers. Finally, questions are framed to help readers join in the broader discussion in their particular contexts, extending the capacity for democratic dialogue.

Keywords

Glocality; Teacher education; Neoliberalism; Educational reform; Comparative education; Free market; Teacher education and training; Higher education

Disciplines

Education | Teacher Education and Professional Development

Language

English

Repository Citation

Fasching-Varner, K. J., Desmarchelier, R. P., Gerlach, D., Wiens, P., Schrader, P., Down, B., Stewart, L., Stone, M., Bagnall, N., Lüke, M. (2020). Thinking and Acting Across Ponds: Glocalized* Intersections of Trepidation, Neoliberalism, and Possibilities for 21st Century Teacher Education. International Dialogues on Education: Past and Present IDE-Online Journal, 7(1), 113-127.