What does quality teacher education mean and how can the preparation of future teachers be quality assured?

Livingston, K. (2023) What does quality teacher education mean and how can the preparation of future teachers be quality assured? In: Madalinska-Michalak, J. (ed.) Quality in Teaching and Teacher Education: International Perspectives from a Changing World. Series: Key Issues in Teacher Education: Policy, Research and Practice, 2. Brill, pp. 11-31. ISBN 9789004536593 (doi: 10.1163/9789004536609_002)

Abstract

The concept of quality in teacher education is complex. Different stakeholders have different understandings of what it means and the priorities for measurement of quality as well as the processes put in place to assure quality differ. Despite this conceptual ambiguity and a contested landscape there is an increased focus on policy reforms to improve teacher and teaching quality. This is accompanied by greater emphasis on quality assurance processes in teacher education, including the requirement in many countries for initial teacher education programmes to measure their graduates’ ability to teach against a set of competencies or standards which set out what teachers should know and be able to do when they enter the teaching profession. At the same time, teaching in today’s globalised world is acknowledged as challenging and ever-changing which highlights that teaching is more than prescribed knowledge to be delivered using a toolbox of teacher strategies. The dynamic nature of teaching and the many roles required of a teacher cannot be easily measured using a narrow checklist of quality indicators that do not take account of individual teacher and student differences, the relationships between them and the context in which education takes place. This chapter draws on perspectives of researchers, policy-makers school leaders and teachers to explore what quality teacher education means and argues for new approaches to quality assuring teacher preparation which enrich rather than diminish the success and joy of teaching and learning.

• Item Type: Book Sections
• Status: Published
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Livingston, Professor Kay
• Authors: Livingston, K.
• College/School: College of Social Sciences > School of Education > Culture, Literacies, Inclusion & Pedagogy
• Publisher: Brill
• ISBN: 9789004536593