Uncertainty: a key element in quality teacher education

Purpose Uncertainty constitutes an inseparable, significant aspect of education. Beyond the challenges and complex feelings they arouse, crises and uncertainty are likely to constitute growth and renewal opportunities. Thus, it is important to train educators to work in uncertain conditions. This study aims to examine how second-career students in special education perceive uncertainty in their professional development. Design/methodology/approach This study examines a pedagogical framework applied in a course for second-career students entering the field of special education, during which they experience learning processes that summon situations of uncertainty and engage in narrative discourse about them. A total of 26 students wrote opinion essays about the gains of educators when coping with uncertain situations, which were analyzed thematically. Findings Analysis revealed themes that reflect the participants’ ability to identify challenges in situations of uncertainty, and how uncertainty encourages growth and advances the educator personally and professionally. Practical implications Teachers must be prepared for situations of uncertainty to prepare themselves better for their future roles. Therefore, uncertainty should be considered a basic infrastructure for quality teacher education. Originality/value This paper reflects how narrative pedagogy, which was based on personal and group processes, transformed the uncertainty that exists in our world in general and in the changing educational reality in particular, into the core of the students’ learning process, thus enabling them to develop a sense of competence for their future educational role.