The Emperor's New Clothes? ― Issues and Alternatives in Uses of the Portfolio in Teacher Education Programs

What should be the role of the portfolio in teacher education? As an exit requirement for teacher education programs, the «professional teacher portfolio» is increasingly being tied to the accountability and standards movement, as well as to evidence-based practices. Despite becoming an all-too-common feature of faculties of education worldwide, uses of the portfolio vary widely. Pre-service teachers (its intended beneficiaries) are often those most mystified by the portfolio’s use and value; is there really a benefit or have we created more empty rhetoric? The Emperor’s New Clothes? demystifies the portfolio’s use by mapping out some of the key thorny issues that have troubled portfolios in teacher education. It also identifies creative alternatives to the status quo on learning to become a professional educator.

Kathy Sanford is Professor in the Faculty of Education at University of Victoria. Previous publications include the edited volume Lifelong Learning, the Arts and Creative Cultural Engagement (2013); Boys, Girls, and the Myths of Literacy and Learning (2008); and Youth Literacies in New Times: Everyday Everywhere (forthcoming).
Teresa Strong-Wilson is Associate Professor in the Faculty of Education at McGill University. Previous publications include Bringing Memory Forward (2008); Memory and Pedagogy (2011, co-edited with Mitchell, Pithouse, & Allnutt); Envisioning New Technologies in Teacher Practice (2012); and Productive Remembering and Social Agency (2013, co-edited with Mitchell, Allnutt, & Pithouse-Morgan).