Questioning the frameworks we live by requires analyzing and critiquing arguments – both our own and those of others – and a willingness to take action.
In this chapter, we highlight the significance of Bildung, critical thinking, and knowledge in shaping individuals as citizens of society. Our starting point is that Bildung is related to societal development and potential for change, making critical Bildung normative rather than value-neutral.
By examining the public debate on teacher education in the Swedish daily press over the past two decades, we explore the participating actors, the expressed opinions, and their implications. Our findings reveal the pervasive influence of neoliberal ideology, which contrasts solutions for a so-called crisis in teacher education with the “fluffy school of the 1990s.” We critically discuss the regulatory measures aimed at detailing teacher education content and equipping future teachers with practical tools and methodologies grounded in cognitive science, with the expectation that these measures will enable future teachers to handle ‘everything’ and ‘everyone’. The chapter concludes with a discussion of the consequences of these perspectives in relation to critical Bildung and power relations.