Drawing on the dual perspectives of teacher educators and student-teachers, this research explores the complex learning needs of pre-service school counselling teachers (SCTs) in China. Relying on data from in-depth interviews and relevant curriculum documents, the findings of the study demonstrate four critical needs of SCTs, namely, developing a…

This paper explores ways of enhancing inter-professional skills as part of professional development during university studies. From a socio-psychological viewpoint, inter-professional teamwork can be regarded as an interface between the group and individual levels, where collective commitment, efficiency, shared processes and outcomes, as well as…

This article examines a physics course for pre-service primary teachers in which physics, crafts and drama were taught together by connecting the standpoints of crafts and drama. The study was carried out by three university educators from these disciplines during an advanced optional course for student-teachers at the University of Helsinki in…

The "theory-practice divide" in teacher education can be viewed not simply as an acceptance of a body of knowledge but instead an acceptance of the teacher educator's authority to determine what is relevant educational theory. This research aimed to explore student teachers' views of "educational theory" and how it was…

This article reports a mixed methods study on the contribution of various aspects of pre-service student teachers' learning in initial teacher education (ITE) to their professional competence in a Five-year Bachelor of Education Programme in Hong Kong. Special attention is given to how student teachers' non-formal learning in higher education…

Competence to work in schools is an important dimension of professional competence, although it is often a neglected dimension of teacher development. This article reports a qualitative study that examined student teachers' learning experiences in initial teacher education (ITE) in relation to competence to work in schools. In-depth interviews…

In recent years Portugal has experienced a severe financial and economic crisis, with implications for all sectors of society, particularly education. Salary cuts, high rates of unemployment, high taxation and worsening career progression are just some ways in which the teaching profession has been affected. Recent policy changes have also…

This study examines the role of pre-service teacher research in facilitating early and meaningful links between research and practice. Results from this mixed methods study show that pre-service teacher research is a promising method of early acculturation. However, despite a programme-wide emphasis on research as a mechanism for learning to teach…

Technology integration is an approach which has been stressed in higher education in the USA for several decades. Many colleges and universities now offer online courses and encourage faculty to incorporate technology into courses. Technology integration in teacher education courses is particularly important. In general, pre-service teachers are…

International internships can assist pre-service teachers in beginning to build a repository of successful strategies for learning and becoming members of the global educational community. These include school settings and scheduling; use of curriculum and resources; instructional skills and strategies, including lesson planning; and classroom…

Giving effective instructional explanations requires a special type of pedagogical content knowledge, that is, foreseeing where students could employ different assumptions in building their understanding of a specific content. This paper proposes the importance of rehearsing instructional explanations and fine-tuning the coherence and…