The Vocational Major was introduced in Victoria, Australia in 2023 to raise the status of Vocational Education and Training (VET). To address demand for qualified VET teachers in secondary schools, VET trainers without a teaching qualification are granted permission to teach VET. This policy contributes to a vicious circle which maintains the low…

For over a decade, there has been growing concern about declining 'standards' of school students' writing (Gardner, 2018; Wyatt-Smith & Jackson, 2020). Teachers' own writing experiences and writer identities are important considerations in developing teacher preparedness and skill in the teaching of writing. It cannot be assumed that…

Professional organisations in Australia are well placed to offer initial teacher education (ITE) students, in-service teachers, and tertiary educators the opportunity to engage in professional learning. This paper explores the importance of building collaborative relations with professional organisations to enhance ITE students' music knowledge,…

In Ireland, the past ten years have seen the emergence of new policies and practices in initial teacher education (ITE) in response to national priorities and the professed aim of progressing standards. A key mechanism of this process was to universally extend the duration of postgraduate ITE programs from twelve to twenty-four months to broaden…

In Semester 1 of the 2020 academic year, face-to-face higher education students in many institutions were instructed to not attend classes or lectures on campus soon after the semester commenced, due to precautions put in place to limit the spread of COVID-19 in institutions across Australia. To sustain education and course progression, students…

This paper examines pre-service teacher outcomes associated with service learning in domestic and international settings. Participants included upper-division, undergraduate-level pre-service teachers who participated in service learning experiences in either local, domestic settings (Orange County, CA) or international settings (Shanghai and…