The landscape of initial teacher education (ITE) in Britain is changing (BERA Inquiry, 2014). In England, trainee teachers’ routes to professional qualification are subject to assessment against Teachers’ Standards (Department for Education, 2012), which some argue enshrine the competences trainees require for professional life (Cole, 2008). Competence views of teaching are challenged elsewhere as reductive (Stanley and Stronach, 2012) and counter to the view that teaching (Hobson et al., 2008) and learning to teach (Hodgson, 2014) are complex pedagogical activities (Alexander, 2008). Some argue the competence-view of learning to teach reduces teaching to a “craft-based occupation” (Beauchamp et al., 2015), epitomized in entirely school-based training initiatives such as School Direct (National College for Teaching and Leadership, 2014a) with trainee teachers learning “on the job” (Department for Education, 2010, p23). This study aims to contribute to this debate by examining trainees’ professional development within the historical development of the teaching profession. Whilst undertaking a Post-graduate Certificate in Education (PGCE), data on seven trainee teachers’ professional development were gathered throughout three school placements using active interviewing (Holstein and Gubrium, 1998), prior to within- and cross-case analysis (Creswell, 1998). Trainees’ hand-drawn trajectories of professional development show turning points (Vygotsky, 1978) which direct analysis towards key influences on a complex intellectual process of learning about practice (Dreier, 2002), refining indications from earlier analysis using a componential model of professional development (Evans, 2011). Using Vygotsky’s method of developmental study (Vygotsky, 1978), professional development is understood as a historical process whereby practice-related concepts “take shape” (ibid.) and trainees’ learning (about practice) supports their (professional) development. A relational agency interpretation (Edwards, 2007b) emphasises the influence on trainees’ professional development of working jointly with professional colleagues on problem-resolution, contingent on trainees’ learning through tool and sign use during practice (Wertsch et al., 1993). The findings of this small study suggest that trainee teachers’ professional development is only adequately conceptualised as a complex process led by the intellectual activity of learning about practice. The implications of reframing learning to teach as a social and relational practice implies a personalised approach to teacher education which, this study finds, may support the development of responsive practitioners.

A Lei 10.639/2003 institui a obrigatoriedade da temática \"História e Cultura Afro-Brasileira\" no currículo escolar, abrangendo os estabelecimentos de Ensino Fundamental e Médio das redes oficiais e particulares. Segundo esta lei, esses conteúdos devem ser ministrados no âmbito de todo o currículo escolar, incluindo, assim, o componente disciplinar inglês. O objetivo desta pesquisa consiste justamente em investigar as possibilidades de sensibilização para a temática étnico-racial, junto a um grupo de alunos de Ensino Fundamental da Escola de Aplicação da FEUSP, por meio da aplicação da lei nas aulas de inglês. A metodologia empregada está voltada para a criação e aplicação de materiais didáticos, bem como para a análise desse processo. O trabalho está embasado na teoria sócio-histórico-cultural de Lev Semenovich Vigotski, seus colaboradores e seguidores, principalmente no conceito de ZDP e de desenvolvimento humano por meio de ações mediadas, sejam por instrumentos como material didático ou por outros seres humanos o professor-pesquisador. Os resultados indicam a adequação da disciplina para a aplicação da lei, especialmente no sentido de promover engajamento e participação dos alunos, no uso da língua como meio de acesso a bens culturais e de promoção de reflexão, ao invés do estudo apenas de seu léxico e de suas estruturas gramaticais. As conclusões apontam para a necessidade de frequência das ações, bem como para a diversificação das estratégias didáticas. Também se evidenciou a relevância da lei como um esforço para a conscientização acerca das contribuições dos afrodescendentes na história e na formação da identidade e da cultura brasileiras como um todo. / The law 10.639/2003 establishes the obligation of \"history and Afro-Brazilian Culture\" themes in the school curriculum, comprehending the primary, secondary, public and private schools of the official educational system. According to the law, its contents must be taught in all curriculum subjects, thus, including English. The aim of this research is to investigate the possibilities of raising awareness about ethnic and racial themes with a group of secondary pupils at Escola de Aplicação da FEUSP, through the law implementation in the English lessons. The methodology involves the elaboration and use of teaching materials and the analysis of its process. The research is based on the historical sociocultural theory of Lev Semenovich Vigotski, his co-researchers and followers, mainly in the concepts of ZPD and human development through mediated action, either by tools or other human beings, seen here as the teaching material and the teacher-researcher respectively. Results show the English subject adequacy to implement the law, especially in terms of students\' engagement and participation, using the language as a means of access to cultural assets and reflection upon them, instead of lexicon and grammar practice only. Conclusions point to the need of frequency and diversification of didactical strategies, as well as to the relevance of the law as an effort to raise awareness about the afro-descendants importance in the history and in the formation of the Brazilian identity and culture as a whole.

A Lei 10.639/2003 institui a obrigatoriedade da temática \"História e Cultura Afro-Brasileira\" no currículo escolar, abrangendo os estabelecimentos de Ensino Fundamental e Médio das redes oficiais e particulares. Segundo esta lei, esses conteúdos devem ser ministrados no âmbito de todo o currículo escolar, incluindo, assim, o componente disciplinar inglês. O objetivo desta pesquisa consiste justamente em investigar as possibilidades de sensibilização para a temática étnico-racial, junto a um grupo de alunos de Ensino Fundamental da Escola de Aplicação da FEUSP, por meio da aplicação da lei nas aulas de inglês. A metodologia empregada está voltada para a criação e aplicação de materiais didáticos, bem como para a análise desse processo. O trabalho está embasado na teoria sócio-histórico-cultural de Lev Semenovich Vigotski, seus colaboradores e seguidores, principalmente no conceito de ZDP e de desenvolvimento humano por meio de ações mediadas, sejam por instrumentos como material didático ou por outros seres humanos o professor-pesquisador. Os resultados indicam a adequação da disciplina para a aplicação da lei, especialmente no sentido de promover engajamento e participação dos alunos, no uso da língua como meio de acesso a bens culturais e de promoção de reflexão, ao invés do estudo apenas de seu léxico e de suas estruturas gramaticais. As conclusões apontam para a necessidade de frequência das ações, bem como para a diversificação das estratégias didáticas. Também se evidenciou a relevância da lei como um esforço para a conscientização acerca das contribuições dos afrodescendentes na história e na formação da identidade e da cultura brasileiras como um todo. / The law 10.639/2003 establishes the obligation of \"history and Afro-Brazilian Culture\" themes in the school curriculum, comprehending the primary, secondary, public and private schools of the official educational system. According to the law, its contents must be taught in all curriculum subjects, thus, including English. The aim of this research is to investigate the possibilities of raising awareness about ethnic and racial themes with a group of secondary pupils at Escola de Aplicação da FEUSP, through the law implementation in the English lessons. The methodology involves the elaboration and use of teaching materials and the analysis of its process. The research is based on the historical sociocultural theory of Lev Semenovich Vigotski, his co-researchers and followers, mainly in the concepts of ZPD and human development through mediated action, either by tools or other human beings, seen here as the teaching material and the teacher-researcher respectively. Results show the English subject adequacy to implement the law, especially in terms of students\' engagement and participation, using the language as a means of access to cultural assets and reflection upon them, instead of lexicon and grammar practice only. Conclusions point to the need of frequency and diversification of didactical strategies, as well as to the relevance of the law as an effort to raise awareness about the afro-descendants importance in the history and in the formation of the Brazilian identity and culture as a whole.