Examining the University-Profession Divide: An Inquiry into a Teacher Education Program's Practices

This paper focuses on the divide between the university as a site of teacher education and the profession of practicing teachers. We employed a theoretical inquiry methodology on a singular case study which included formulating questions about the phenomena of the university-profession divide (UPD), analysing constituents of the UPD, and developing a language system to represent our findings about the UPD. The questions guiding our examination were: How do we conceptualize this divide? How are these concepts represented in the literature? How can a Teacher Education Program (TEP) respond to the divide? The theoretical inquiry was conducted within a singular case study of a TEP in order to explore the chasm between these two settings in a limited and focused manner. Our inquiry led to the identification of three key concepts: competing cultures, competing expectations, and theory-practice dichotomy. In analyzing these concepts and responding to questions which drove this inquiry from the beginning, we assert that these concepts contribute to the divide and therefore, have implications for teacher education programming. We summarize findings about these three concepts, suggest causes for the chasm, and offer recommendations to address the divide. Finally, we argue that while it is important to address the divide to enhance teacher education, the divide itself is a potentially rich site of possibilities. We contend that a reconceptualization of the UPD in this way might mitigate its negative impact on teacher education curriculum and programming.