Practical wisdom in teaching through the promotion of critical reflection during ITE

This chapter highlights the moral and ethical responsibilities that face pre-service teachers entering the profession and provides insight into how these responsibilities are addressed within Initial Teacher Education (ITE). Focusing primarily on ITE in England, it draws attention to how the instrumental approach adopted by many providers does not adequately prepare pre-service teachers for the moral and ethical demands of their role. It argues that in order to help prepare pre-service teachers to navigate the often complex situations they will face in schools, they require training which promotes practical wisdom through a focus on critical reflection. The chapter concludes by discussing how these dimensions might be addressed more explicitly within ITE and the need for research in teacher education to facilitate this by evaluating the effectiveness of different approaches.