Literacy and numeracy at the crossroads: a return to modernity or a futures orientation in preservice teacher education

Abstract

The report on the National Inquiry into the Teaching of Literacy makes substantial criticism of teacher education programs, suggesting that they are not upholding the high standards expected of them regarding the literacy competencies of their graduates. Similar concerns are expressed in relation to preservice teachers’ levels of numeracy. In each case, an immediate move ‘back to the basics’ seems to be the panacea to which teacher education should return to redress current deficits. However, in teacher education we find ourselves at a crossroads, recognising that how one thinks about and teaches for literate and numerate participation in a global world is heavily informed by one’s own learning experiences in literacy and life. Should our programs take a right turn, back to the ‘basics’, a left turn to a constant disruption of old patterns and routines of learning to extol the virtues of teaching for multiple literacies, or is there a path ahead where teaching professionals of the future can productively draw from a variety of discourses while finding their own way?