2025/07/01 by Audrey Doyle, Sarah O’Grady, Marie Conroy Johnson
Social Sciences · #Education Systems and Policy #Innovative Education and Learning Practices #Teacher Education and Leadership Studies
paper · doi:10.1080/00220272.2025.2524724
crossref issued 2025/07/01 · crossref published 2025/07/01 · crossref published-online 2025/07/01 · openalex publication_date 2025/07/01 · crossref created 2025/07/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · crossref published-print 2026/07/04 · crossref deposited 2026/07/24 · crossref indexed 2026/07/24 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/25
Purpose This theoretical paper aims to identify and analyse the specific ways in which teacher educators, involved in Initial Teacher Education (ITE), act as curriculum makers and where exactly do they play out this role. It proposes that their role is crucial in shaping curriculum making for future teachers.Theoretical Framework The paper utilizes Priestley, Alvunger, Philippou, & Soini’s (2021) curriculum-making framework.Argument Drawing on complexity theory, the paper argues that the existing framework does not adequately account for the teacher educator’s role in Initial Teacher Education as a curriculum making site.Proposed Solution To address this gap, the authors propose adding a new site, “Pico,” to the framework. This “Pico” site is designed to highlight the curriculum-making role of key actors and activities within ITE.Implications The “Pico” site provides a theoretical and practical foundation for a teacher’s approach to curriculum making by fostering a deep understanding of underlying principles, theory, and rationale. This helps bridge the gap between educational policy and its practical enactment. By emphasizing the teacher educator’s dynamic connections and relationships across all curriculum-making sites, “Pico” promotes teacher agency, adaptability, and responsiveness, ultimately empowering systemic thinking and facilitating real emergence and transformation in curriculum reform and educational change.