Preparing Social Studies Teachers to Be Just and Democratic: Problems and Possibilities

National education policy today is dominated by the quest to test and quantify students' rote knowledge. How then might those concerned with the democratizing role of schools in general and of the social studies role in particular go about preparing teachers? In this chapter we consider approaches to social studies teacher education that provide space for and model critical analysis of and reflection upon the world around us, ways of thinking that are at the core of teaching for civic efficacyand social justice.