This book presents critical perspectives on teacher professional learning and professional development as interpreted in 14 countries across Europe. Bringing together experts from across Europe, the book fulfils a need for a better understanding of the changing nature of teacher professional learning in national policy contexts and of the cultural differences existing between various systems. It discusses the new thinking that has emerged in the field of teacher education alongside new models that reflect the changing patterns and policies relating to the ways educational professionals maintain and enhance professional practice. The book highlights that new models of teacher leadership and practitioner inquiry have a strong focus on pedagogy and social justice. It also examines briefly the challenges brought about by the Covid pandemic and the ways in which new approaches to professional learning, specifically the use of new technologies, have begun to transform practice in some countries in Europe. The book gives insights into the ways in which professional learning policy is interpreted and applied in practice. It will be highly relevant for researchers and post-graduate students in the fields of teacher professional learning and development, school leadership, comparative education and educational policy and planning.

This volume examines the EU’s changing educational context and its challenges. Based on an extensive survey of more than 2000 European Studies courses in 30 European countries, it maps and analyses the features of teaching methodologies as they emerge from both disciplinary as well as interdisciplinary curricula. It presents a series of case studies on some of the most-used innovative teaching tools emerging in the field such as simulation games, e-learning, problem based learning, blended learning, and learning through the use of social networks. Based on the contributors’ own experiences and academic research, the book examines both strengths and possible pitfalls of these increasingly popular methods. The book’s critical approach will inspire educators and scholars committed to improving the teaching methods and tools in the area of European Studies and other programmes of higher education facing similar challenges.

First published in 1994. Teacher Education throughout Europe is in a process of change. The reform of school structures, changing demographic patterns, technological development and the evolution of social, economic and political structures have all contributed to this process. This handbook, published in conjunction with the Council of Europe, creates a synthesis of these trends, providing both an overview of teacher education across Europe, and detailed explorations of key issues by leading experts in the field.

The Association for Teacher Education in Europe (ATEE) is a non-profit European organisation, aimed at enhancing the quality of Teacher Education in Europe, and supporting the professional development of teachers and teacher educators at all levels. The ATEE Spring conference takes place every other year and is organized by the University of Latvia. The Spring conference in 2013 was the sixth such conference. The contents of this book contain the best articles written by participants at the 2013 conference, and present the exchange of ideas between European teacher educators, in addition to experiences, research and ideas from outside Europe. European experience, knowledge and research support the general enhancement of the quality of teacher education throughout the world. As such, this book stimulates dialogue between teacher educators, researchers on teacher education, students, teachers, employers, politicians, supervisory bodies, NGOs and other groups involved in teacher education and research, and innovation in teacher education.

Educators in the professions have always had unique demands placed upon them. These include the need to keep pace with rapidly evolving knowledge bases, developing skills and attitudes appropriate to practice, learning in the workplace and fostering public confidence. For twenty years, these new demands have created additional educational imperatives. Public accountability has become more intensive and extensive. Practitioners practice in climates more subject to scrutiny and less forgiving of error. The contexts in which professionals practice and learn have changed and these changes involve global issues and problems. Often, professionals are the first responders who are required to take an active stance in defining and solving problems. This book explores the pedagogic implications of these challenges internationally for a wide range of professions which include: accountants, military company commanders, surgeons, nurse practitioners, academic, managers, community physicians and dentists. The established view of professional development is about what the professional knows and can do. The authors broaden this view to include the systemic and contextual factors that affect learning, and the conditions necessary for effective practice and identity development across the professional lifespan. Authors examine the unique particularities and requirements of diverse professional groups. The editors emphasize new ideas and learning that emerges across the professions. As readers use this book as a pathway to their own innovations in scholarship and pedagogic research, they join their colleagues in supportingnew directions in learning, teaching and assessment across professions. This book was awarded the ‘Outstanding Research Publication award’ for 2012 by the American Educational Research Association’s Division I: ‘Education in the Professions’. “/p>

This book explores how well teachers are prepared for professional practice. It is an outcome of a large-scale research and development program that has collected extensive data on the impact of the Graduate Teacher Performance Assessment on Initial Teacher Education programs and preservice teachers’ engagement with the assessment. It contributes to international debates in teacher education by examining an Australian experience of teacher performance assessments as a catalyst for cultural change and practice reform in teacher education. The respective chapters describe and critique this unique, multi-institutional investigation into the quality of teacher education and present substantial evidence, drawing on a variety of conceptual, empirical and methodological entry points. Further, they address the intellectual, experiential and personal resources and related expertise that teacher educators and preservice teachers bring to their practice. Taken together, they offer readers clearly conceptualised and evidence-rich accounts of site-specific and cross-site investigations into cultural, pedagogical and assessment change in Initial Teacher Education.

This volume stimulates critical discussions of the different variants of implementation, translation and scaling research approaches. It presents an integrated collection of different implementation and scaling studies that analyse the different facets of co-design, learning design, curriculum development, technology development, professional development and programme implementation. It also provides critical reflections on their impact and efficacies on transforming practices, informing policy-making, and theory derivation and improvement. The chapters in this volume will provide readers a deeper understanding of scaling of educational innovations in diverse socio-cultural contexts.