Initial Teacher Education quality is often judged through the auspices of audit-style mechanisms designed to facilitate the identification of matters pertaining to the 'readiness' of student teachers to enter the world of the classroom as fully qualified. In this regard, quality of programmes is often determined by the knowledge and skills student…

Attempts to better conceptualize and measure teacher knowledge, and through that examine its association to instructional quality have been intensified over the past decades. Despite the progress made, a review of pertinent literature points to four challenges related to studying this association: "proximity" (i.e., the extent to which…

Supporting high quality teaching is pivotal in improving children's outcomes. Indeed, research tells us that high quality teaching can narrow the disadvantage gap. It is therefore hugely encouraging to see a host of new initiatives and reforms that recognise the importance of teacher quality such as the Early Career Framework and the new National…

In the 2010 issue of "Teacher Education and Special Education (TESE)," Sindelar and colleagues examined the current status of research on special education teachers and outlined future work necessary to improve the special education teacher workforce. In this article, the authors focus explicitly on Sindelar and colleagues' charge to…

Definitions of teaching quality differ across jurisdictions and have evolved over time. Drawing on a study of five high-achieving countries with strong supports for teachers' professional learning and practice, this article describes the perspectives on good teaching rooted in standards for entry, preparation, and practice. These nations…

Many current and prospective pre-K teachers face significant barriers to obtaining bachelor's degrees; current members of the workforce, in particular, may find it exceedingly difficult to find the time and money to attend college courses and complete traditional preparation programs, given the low wages that come with most jobs in early…

In a teacher residency, candidates receive almost all of their training in their future job site: They spend at least a year in a pre-k through 12 classroom under the guidance of a highly effective mentor teacher. This on-the-job experience is complemented by coursework that is tightly linked to and builds upon their experiences in the classroom.…

Continuing professional teacher development (CPTD) is generally accepted as an indispensable tool for the professional development of technology teachers. The current theoretical framework for CPTD comprises a variety of models. However, criteria underpinning these models are not explicit. If, in turn, the criteria were explicit, it could serve as…

The Asia-Pacific region hosts the largest number of refugees and displaced people in the world, and is the place of origin for nearly half of all international migrants. However, data related to the unique language-in-education needs of refugee and migrant children in and from this area is sparse. The report aims to create a stronger knowledge…

In 1994, Brunei Darussalam adopted an inclusive educational policy and began a number of educational reforms to support the implementation of inclusion within the regular mainstream education system. These reforms include teacher education, which has witnessed the establishment and expansion of training and education opportunities for teachers to…

The process of effective teaching--teaching that directly leads to student learning of standards-based content--is tenuous at best and easily disrupted by contextual and behavioral factors. In this commentary, I discuss the role of student support and mediation in teacher effectiveness and curricular reform. The most vocal students in physical…

The author explores the balance of responsibility for effective formative reading assessment between classroom teachers and the curricular structure within which they work.

Internationally, forms for teacher education (initial and continuing) are under the spotlight for change. This article briefly considers what is at issue and what opportunities might be available for moving towards "professionalisation" in the provision of outstanding teachers. In particular, it suggests how we should characterise the thinking…

The authors consider the future of special education personnel preparation by responding to an overarching question: "What frameworks might teacher educators use as a basis to promote special education teacher effective performance now and in the future?" In answering this question, they summarize current trends in the context of…

This paper documents the ways mathematical knowledge for teaching (MKT) and curriculum materials appear to contribute to the enactment of a 7th grade "Connected Mathematics Project" lesson on comparing ratios. Two teachers with widely differing MKT scores are compared teaching this lesson. The comparison of the teachers' lesson enactments suggests…