The Place of Pedagogical Content Knowledge in Teacher Education

Abstract

In recent studies, teacher quality is presented as one of  the most important contributing factors to student learning. However, reaching a consensus about a precise definition of teacher quality is still far from actuality in the field of  education. In other words, what constitutes a quality teacher and how to educate better teachers are still highly debated issues. Pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) enters the scene at this moment as one of  the most critical elements of  improving teacher quality. This paper provides a brief  description of PCK, and its value and limitations in teacher education