Teacher Socialization from a Dialectical Perspective: Pretraining through Induction

Recent attention has focused on examining the process of becoming a teacher. Researchers have begun studying the stages of socialization that influence the beliefs, behaviors, and perspectives of those who choose to teach. The purpose of this article is to explore the earlier stages of professional socialization, focusing on four periods (pretraining, preservice, field experiences, and induction) that have the potential to significantly impact teacher development. The authors maintain that prospective teachers participate in a dialectical process, determining to some degree which beliefs they will acquire and which they will ignore. Specifically, this article supports the notion that a dialectical process exists during all four selected periods of socialization—a contest between societal expectations and the individual inclinations of prospective teachers.