Teacher education reforms worldwide have reinforced a narrative that 'high-quality' teaching and teachers are the most significant contributors to raising education achievement, reducing societal inequities, and boosting economic development. Consequently, countries have put substantial efforts into regulating initial teacher education (ITE) to…

I offer this critical essay as a reminder of the prevalence of unproven negative dialogue about Initial Teacher Education (ITE) in New Zealand, taking selection practices as an example. The focus of this critical essay is the evidence base about selection of students into English-medium undergraduate ITE programmes. In New Zealand and elsewhere,…

This scoping review examines the literature on teaching Indigenous knowledge and perspectives in Initial Teacher Education (ITE) programmes. The study explores how these programmes integrate Indigenous knowledge and perspectives into their curriculum and pedagogy to prepare teachers to work with Indigenous students and communities. The review…

In this study, we use qualitative research methods to explore how discourses about language manifested within two university writing teacher education classes, one in New Zealand and one in the United States. We used a collaborative teaching journal and student work as main sources of data, which were analysed inductively at key points before,…

This study sought to investigate sixteen New Zealand primary student teachers in the second year of their three-year Bachelor of Teaching (Primary) initial teacher education (ITE) programme. Specifically, how these participating student teachers planned for science, technology, and the arts as they worked to be both more effective and culturally…

In Aotearoa New Zealand, there has been a significant increase in the numbers of infants and toddlers participating in 'out-of-home' care and education settings. While initial teacher education programmes include references to this age group, due to competing priorities in the programmes, space to include the depth of knowledge required is scarce.…

Using a qualitative descriptive design, researchers describe and identify similarities and differences in the professional preparation of infant-toddler care and education (ITCE) teachers at university based teacher education programmes in Hong Kong China, Aotearoa New Zealand, and the USA. Researchers overview the ITCE landscape, describe…

This article interrogates the concept of teacher 'readiness' within Initial Teacher Education (ITE) in Aotearoa New Zealand. It reviews the influences of this concept, and interrogates the definition of readiness as currently understood and enacted within education in Aotearoa New Zealand. It highlights the opportunity to invoke concepts of…

Governments around the globe have realised that meeting UNESCO's Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 4 of ensuring inclusive and equitable quality education requires meaningful changes to policy and practice. There are numerous ways localities have attempted to do so: policies aimed at intentional hiring of more diverse teachers, policies requiring…

The paper explores the development and facilitation of a new initial teacher education (ITE) programme underpinned by critical perspectives. It looks at the past and existing influences that have shaped the ways schooling is understood and operationalised in Aotearoa New Zealand. Through an 11-month ethnographic case study approach, the paper…

This paper reports on a small-scale research project that aimed to examine the impact of assessment changes to a second-year course called Tuhura Nga Toi Ahuatanga: Exploring the Role of the Expressive Arts in Education. This 30-credit course is part of a Bachelor of Education (Early childhood teaching) at a pre-service education provider in…

A key global trend in initial teacher education is the 'practice turn' where jurisdictions are increasingly mandating that teacher education providers include more 'practicum' time in teacher education programmes. In New Zealand, the Teaching Council's recent revision of accreditation requirements has extended the minimum number of days that…

The social climate in the classroom can impact students' mental well-being, behaviour and peer-learning opportunities. This article describes one way that elementary teachers can understand students' social networks using a sociogram. Findings show variation in classroom cohesion and reveal groups of students who are at higher risk of social…

Although visual arts pedagogies are considered central within early childhood education programs, teacher self-efficacy has a direct impact on the quality and delivery of visual arts curricula. Until recently, the visual arts self-efficacy, pedagogical knowledge, and practice of in-service early childhood teachers have remained largely unexplored.…

This article presents a case study of what educators from an initial teacher education provider in Aotearoa, New Zealand learnt from the collapse of institutional practice architecture during the COVID-19 lockdown in March 2020. It explores how educators responded to the challenges emerging from living at work and recognises the interconnected…