The aim of this paper is to present some contributions from the research perspective known as New Literacy Studies - the study of reading and writing practices in social life - for teacher education programs. We discuss first the ethical aspects of that approach, related to the qualitative methods used, that protect the researcher from the ever present danger of reproducing teacher stereotypes. Next, we analyze the specific knowledge demands being made to literacy teachers in official documents, and finally, based upon our critical analysis of those demands, we explore an alternative teacher education strategy centered arround the participation in social practices.
Literacy; literacy teacher education programs; mother tongue; social practice