The Role of Sociology in Teacher Education

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Abstract
This paper seeks to outline an appropriate role for sociology in teacher preparation. An attempt is made to account for the hiatus between interest in education by sociologists on the one hand and on the other, their contribution to a sociology of education of value to the teaching profession. It is argued that both normative and interpretive approaches must be presented in sociology courses for prospective teachers. Only in this way can the contradictions and dilemmas in contemporary sociology, reflecting as it does the problems of modern society, be made explicit. Teacher trainees must be educated for the lifetime task of reflection on the meaning of their work; this is seen as the most significant role of sociology in the training of teachers.