Sociology and teacher training: contributions and balance in the new university paradigm

Abstract

The Bologna Declaration of 1999 began the construction of the European Space of Higher Education, marking a shift towards a new paradigm based on the so-called ‘Grados’, which come to replace the previous Bachelor Degrees and Diplomas. This article is located within this new university paradigm to take stock of the contributions of sociology to initial teacher training in the new Grados. In doing so, the starting point is the consideration of some fundamental educational challenges in current society, whose importance makes them introduced in initial teacher training. Here, we analyse the contributions that sociology offers to teacher training as core area of educational knowledge. Next, we review the regulatory framework that gives rise to the paradigm shift in higher education. Then, the state of affairs is analysed, assessing the presence of sociology in education degrees from a sample of Spanish universities. Within this general balance, the specific case of the University of Granada is described in depth, in order to assess the two years of implementation of the Grados.