Paedagogia was founded on the belief that teaching and learning are critical exercises that both teachers and students must constantly reflect on through data and evidence-based processes. For this reason, Paedagogia is a resource for current and pre-service teachers to continue their professional development through teacher action research.
Through Paedagogia, teacher candidates in the Lake Forest College teacher preparation program seeks to address the complex relationship between school and society, the tensions they generate, and the opportunities for social change they present. By connecting real world social issues to classroom experiences, we hope to contribute to the preparation of students to become active agents of change. Through teacher action research, current and pre-service educators are able to assess time-tested and innovative strategies and ideas to improve education in real classrooms, while collecting both quantitative and qualitative data from students, faculty, and education community for ongoing inquiry. Such an approach allows teachers to strengthen the links between school and society through their own observations and actions. This field-based research supports a social reconstructionist framework that encourages educators to reflect on the changes they can enact in their classrooms, schools, and society.