Recent government accreditation of initial teacher education provision in England has resulted in a deep sense of unrest within the sector. Along with an intensely regulated accreditation process embodied in the Initial Teacher Training (ITT) Market Review, a revised framework, known as the Core Content Framework (CCF) has been introduced. This…

With increased linguistic diversity in schools, it is paramount that initial teacher education and training (ITET) develops linguistically responsive teachers who can confidently work in the complex language ecologies characterising today's multilingual classrooms. We argue that to achieve this aim, all future teachers should be given…

In 2019, the Department for Education introduced the core content framework (CCF) in initial education in England. The framework, which has been criticised for being heavily shaped by research from cognitive science, has, inadvertently, become the baseline curriculum for initial teacher education. This article explores how experiential learning is…

This paper unpacks the assumptions underpinning England's new Core Content Framework (CCF) in respect of the educational research required for teacher expertise, with particular attention to the sources referenced in the final part of the CCF and claims that these constitute the 'best available educational research'. Drawing on sociological…

In the context of a global teacher recruitment crisis, the English department for Education has responded by implementing a new, highly prescriptive curriculum for initial teacher education called the Initial Teacher Training Core Content Framework. Using a combination of content analysis and an original approach entitled "doppelganger as…

This small-scale qualitative research project is located within post-compulsory education in England and explores some of the strategies and responses employed by three initial teacher educators to carry out their professional role while responding to the COVID-19 pandemic. The central argument is that teacher identity was significant as a…

Many changes have taken place in initial teacher education (ITE) programmes over the last number of years in countries such as Israel, Portugal, Jamaica, Ontario (Canada), and England. This paper outlines some of these changes, why they occurred, and to the extent possible, how effective these changes have been from the experience of the teacher…

Attempts to solve perceived policy problems in Initial Teacher Education (ITE) have seen national and international jurisdictions increasingly centralising ITE curricula, coupled with monitoring and auditing of outcomes against defined sets of professional standards. This paper reports the findings of a documentary analysis of 75 items of publicly…

Recent policy developments in England, particularly since 2021, have resulted in increased regulation and marketisation of Initial Teacher Training (ITT)/Initial Teacher Education (ITE). Although the origins of these developments go back much further than 2021, the current context in which ITE operates in England is, arguably, both challenging and…

Finding opportunities for elementary preservice teachers to engage in mathematics for themselves and to collaborate in their enquiries was the focus of this study, carried out at two English Universities. Preservice teachers on 1-year postgraduate programmes engaged in shared mathematics enquiry, with a focus on growing patterns. We conducted…

In spite of challenges, initial teacher education in England may yet have a future, but only if policy makers come to recognise that a narrow training model can only achieve so much. Teacher education (as opposed to teacher training) recognises teaching as a 'professional endeavour', with teachers prepared in a way that will enable them to become…

This paper aims to (1) explore how notions about STEM in different contexts, times, scales and places affect STEM-practices in ECE and beyond, and (2) with this as a point of departure, highlight the need and potential of using feminist perspectives and a feminist pedagogy in STEM-related courses within ECTE (Early Childhood Teacher Education). To…

Since early 2020, COVID-19 has had a substantial impact on teacher education. We consider novel aspects of how pre-service teachers have collaboratively developed their professional identities during the pandemic. Drawing on findings from forty-five interviews with pre-service high school teachers working in England during September 2020-June…

A growing trend in primary schools in recent times has been to outsource Physical Education (PE) to external sport and activity providers. The impact of this has not yet been examined on new teachers entering the profession. Drawing upon Critical Theory, this paper aims to explore and understand pre-service teachers' (PSTs) school-based experience…

Trauma-informed practice in education is an area of growing interest in England and internationally. Embracing trauma-informed practice in schools requires trauma and related content to be included in teacher education. Over a period of eight years, a short course was developed and incorporated into the teacher preparation programmes at a large…