Abstract

When preservice teacher candidates write their philosophies of education, the results are often relatively superficial statements filled with well‐intentioned truisms. As a result, the exercise does little to clarify beliefs about teaching and learning or direct future professional growth. The suggestions that follow grew out of an ongoing attempt to both guide and deepen the reflection that should go into a philosophy statement and, at the same time, connect the philosophy statement to the content of a social foundations course in a way that makes that content more relevant to classroom practice.