This study explores the impact of practica in multigrade schools in rural areas in Turkey on the development of preservice teachers' identities, drawing in particular on Gee's four perspectives regarding viewing identity. Interpretation of the identity categories was based on the content of students' reflective narratives written…

In which areas and domains do individual teacher educators prefer to work on their professional development? What kind of learning activities do they want to take on and with whom? Are there significant differences in these preferences between teacher educators? This article reports on a recent survey (N = 268) about the professional development…

Difficulties in attracting student teachers have resulted in research focusing on student teachers' motives for studying to join the profession. Because previous findings are mixed, the first aim of this study was to explore motives for students to become teachers. A second aim was to explore the relationship between teachers' motives…

This paper reports on a Professional Learning Programme undertaken by primary school teachers in China that aimed to facilitate the development of "adaptive expertise" in using technology to facilitate innovative science teaching and learning such as that envisaged by the Chinese Ministry of Education's (2010--2020) education…

Writing is a complex skill that requires effective teaching practices in the classroom. One of the challenges English teachers in the English as a second language (L2) context face is the lack of teacher experience in teaching English writing. This brief paper reports on a small-scale study on helping Hong Kong in-service primary school teachers…

This article examines the relationship between pre-service teacher education (ITE) for primary schooling and primary teaching in England between 1974 and 2014, and explores the "fitness of purpose" of the current system of preparing teachers for the classrooms of the twenty-first century. Our historical analysis suggests that, despite 40…

This article describes a novel UK school/university partnership, the "Plymouth Model" designed to encourage young people from disadvantaged backgrounds to aim for higher education (HE) study. The model incorporates the activity of university students, researchers and teachers working together to improve aspirations and outcomes for…

The vast proportion of Australia's Indigenous students are represented persistently as well below the national benchmarks for literacy and numeracy. Recent national school-based research and development projects, funded by the Australian Government's "Closing the Gap" strategy, have again targeted improving Indigenous…

Cooperating teachers' beliefs of effective supervision of student teachers may play an important role in mentoring practices. By systematically analysing metaphors unconsciously expressed in the discourse of cooperating teachers concerning supervision of student teachers, these beliefs could be made explicit. This study explored: (1) what…

Student teachers' research is usually valued more for its contribution to their professional learning than for its contribution to the research topic itself. This paper reports on a research collaboration with eight student primary teachers in England, intended to build on a previously established project investigating young children's…

As part of a cross-cultural collaboration, a teacher performance assessment (TPA) was implemented during 2009 in three Malaysian institutes of teacher education. This paper reports on the TPA for graduating primary teachers in Malaysia. The investigation focused on the pre-service teachers' perceptions about whether the TPA provided them with an…

This paper provides an overview of how teacher education is currently structured in New Zealand. This overview is set in a historical, cultural, political and professional context with a brief examination of aspects of these influences on the structure. Two very recent policy documents are discussed to exemplify current directions in New Zealand…

Teacher education in Norway is nationally regulated and is currently undergoing extensive changes. This paper briefly outlines the various education routes for teachers and some of the ongoing work to improve teacher education, but concentrates mainly on the reform that has come the farthest: initial teacher education for grades 1-7 and grades…

This paper reports on a study of pre-service elementary teachers' metaphors of "literacy" and "teaching literacy" at the commencement and conclusion of a year-long literacy methods course at a Midwestern American university. Over a three-year period, a total of 47 participants enrolled in the two-semester literacy methods course with an embedded…

Unprecedented numbers of primary teachers in New Zealand are currently involved in professional learning activities, with practice, in essence, the major focal point. In recent years, however, an increasing trend has emerged for primary teachers to undertake a degree qualification. Although study towards formal tertiary qualifications is…