Increasingly, teacher learning groups (TLGs) are being deployed as a way to realise high-quality educational designs. There is a need for monitoring and for insights into the development of TLGs. Therefore, in the present study, the 'Dimensions of Social Learning Questionnaire' (DSL-Q) is developed that can be used to map the social configuration…

Despite a well-documented and significant increase in the population of children in UK schools who speak language(s) beyond English at home, the national Newly Qualified Teacher survey regularly reports that new teachers do not feel confident or prepared to work effectively with 'EAL children'. Whilst understanding the experiences and exploring…

This report is part of a larger collaborative action research-based study examining the relationship between writing for publication, English language proficiency, and motivation in pre-service English language teacher education. Data come 171 book review drafts completed by 57 student-teachers as part of their coursework in Argentinian teacher…

Recent research emphasises significant interconnections between teacher educators' normative beliefs, their relations with student teachers and their teaching methods. In an attempt to better understand how teacher educators perceive of their work task, interviews were conducted with twelve Early Childhood teacher educators at a Swedish…

Drawing on a larger ethnographic study, this article reports a case study investigating the impact of a blended professional learning community (PLC) on teacher educators' changes in professional identity situated in initial teacher education (ITE) curriculum reform. Out of 200 teacher educators involved in the project under the Indonesian…

This In Practice paper reports on an autoethnographic study based on the author's 12-week teaching practicum experience in two secondary schools in an initial teacher education programme to professionally develop himself as a teacher educator. As a novice teacher educator, the author took on the role as a student teacher in the practicum. Through…

Understanding student-teachers' decisions to enter and stay in the teaching profession after graduation could help teacher educators to find appropriate procedures to enhance commitment to teaching. This study classified student-teachers based on their levels of commitment to teaching, and described these types based on student-teachers'…

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 is the first report in a series of studies concerning student teachers' readiness-for-the-job, defined by a framework of 11 international teacher competences (ITCs). Attaining readiness-for-the-job is connected to four characteristics of teacher education, namely; (1) employing the ITCs in day-to-day teaching in initial teacher education, (2)…

Apprenticeship and professional development schools (PDSs) are two models for teacher education. The mentors that are the focus for this research completed their initial teacher training through one of these models and now mentor in PDSs. The paper reports on how the way in which they were trained as student teachers influenced their role…

This article contains important messages for all those with an interest in enhancing the effectiveness of professional development supported by websites. It is informed by the findings of a Training and Development Agency for Schools (TDA) funded evaluation of the use and effectiveness of three websites whose development the TDA had supported.…

In this article, the author describes a project wherein she conducted a qualitative case study of four elementary student teachers from a large, research university in the Rocky Mountain Region, USA. The student teachers were in a traditional teacher education programme in which they took a series of courses followed by 16 weeks of student…

The diversity and complexity of the post-modern era places new and important challenges on teacher education. The crucial role that personal dispositions have for professional learning needs to be better understood and acknowledged. Teacher training programmes need to focus more on objectives such as promoting conflict literacy, self-awareness,…

Northern Ireland has invested heavily in the use of technology enhanced learning at all levels of education. Alongside this, radical changes to the school curriculum and the planned move away from academic selection towards a more inclusive system are challenging those involved in Initial Teacher Education to find ways to improve teaching and…

Today, isolated practice is regarded by most educators, administrators and policymakers as an inadequate way of performing teachers' work. Most teachers and teacher educators embrace the current dominant discourse on the virtues of teacher collaboration, but these beliefs do not always materialize in the way programs of initial teacher education…