Engaged pedagogy in teacher education: A literature review

The structures of North American school systems are often based in what bell hooks called rote, assembly-line teaching that includes top-down instructional practices. As a result, teacher educators often serve in an authoritarian role, making the decisions about what knowledge is important and how it should be learned. By comparison, engaged pedagogy promotes collaboration, whereby teachers and students transgress educational norms and become active participants in learning. The purpose of this review of literature is to understand how researchers in the field of education use engaged pedagogy in their teaching practice. It highlights three themes found throughout the literature: (re)designing courses, critical reflection, and sharing stories. Following each theme, a critical discussion contextualized within related research in music education provides practical implications for how music teacher educators can use engaged pedagogy in the classroom. Finally, the potential for issues of using engaged pedagogy in preservice music teacher education are illuminated for the reader, along with recommendations for future research in music education.