Becoming a Teacher, a key textbook for all educators, written and edited by King’s academics since its inception in 1997, sees its sixth edition tackling issues that have been at the top of the educational agenda over the past few years.
The editors of the sixth edition, Dr Simon Gibbons, Dr Melissa Glackin, Dr Emma Towers, Dr Richard Brock, and Dr Elizabeth Rushton, found it critical to cover topics such as wellbeing and mental health, using data in schools, and decolonising the curricula in new chapters, and ensure updates to chapters concerning social justice, environmental and climate change education, and safeguarding.
They shared findings from their research project on teacher identity, retention and wellbeing during Covid-19 to delve into how to develop teacher identity when starting a career. Taking stock of the step change in the use of online tools and virtual spaces brought about by the pandemic, the editors ensured that the theme of digital pedagogy now runs through the core of the book.
Dr Gibbons, one of the co-editors, and Director of Teacher Education at King’s College London, said: “I am incredibly proud of the work that all the authors and editors have done to produce this new edition of Becoming a Teacher. The book remains a – now up-to-date – primer in the core areas of teaching policy, assessment and curriculum planning, which are so crucial to PGCE students and new teachers."
