Primary objective: The significance of critical thinking (CT) has grown worldwide in recent years. In teacher education, for example, educators are expected to impart this skill to students but we lack comprehensive international comparative research on CT in pre-service teachers. To begin to develop such assessments, we comparatively analysed CT…

This article aims to highlight how a scientific and critical approach is used in assessment dialogues during the last period of a practical, school-based teacher education programme. The result is based on 13 assessment dialogues conducted in a course at a Swedish university, where one of the course objectives is to, 'in a scientific way, analyse…

We set out to address the question--what does it mean for educational knowledge to be 'powerful'? We compare the Anglo tradition of curriculum studies with the "Didaktik" tradition through the lens of an analysis of curriculum structure in postgraduate courses in South African universities rooted in either the Anglo or…

Over the last decades, teachers have often been identified as 'key' players for the improvement of education systems. The successive waves of reform taking place in Latin America since the 1990s have aimed at initial and continuous teacher training. The main changes intended to improve the quality and lengthen the duration of initial teacher…

This paper explores the substance of competence-driven changes in teacher education curricula by testing the possibility of using a framework distinguishing between the German pedagogical culture of "Didaktik" and the Anglo-Saxon Curriculum culture to describe the substance of these changes. Data about the perceptions of…

University-based teacher-education programmes in the USA confront mounting pressure to demonstrate that graduates will have a significant and positive impact on student achievement. Such pressure has forced teacher educators to wrestle with the question of what constitutes compelling evidence that teacher candidates will indeed have such an…

This survey of teacher trainers in Rhodesia considers their intentions in teaching with respect to three domains of teacher education -- theoretical, practical, and personal. The study assumes that the effectiveness of a curriculum is ultimately dependent on the intentions of its teachers. (JH)

Contends that prospective teachers' knowledge of what writing is and how it is taught is formed by their experiences as students. Describes a course that allows teachers transform their student experiences into appropriate teaching methods. Assesses how this curriculum was experienced by the teacher candidates. (DB)

Discusses the claims in law and teaching concerning the educative power of cases and the role they should play in professional preparation. Reflects upon the case method and compares case traditions in law and teaching. Comments on the lessons that can be learned about the application of case methods to teacher education. (KO)

Asserts that teacher educators struggle with how to represent the complexities of teaching in an isolated and sanitized undergraduate classroom. Describes three approaches: (1) case studies; (2) development of hypermedia environments; and (3) the integration of electronically based computer networks. (CFR)

Reviews research on teaching and teachers' thinking and practical knowledge. Formulates questions regarding discourse practices, production, and research. Centers on themes of story, voice, and form. Looks at how experienced and novice teachers create meaning. Asks whether the teachers' voice is given expression in research on teacher thinking.…

Curriculum transformation was examined at seven higher education institutions in the USA that were developing "performance-based" teacher-education programmes. A heuristic was created to differentiate the contemporary performance standards-based assessment movement from its historical predecessor, competency- or performance-based teacher…

Analyzes the distinction between an academic discipline and its corresponding school subject and how this affects curriculum development. Examines the range of possibilities for the relationship between the two concepts and interprets the meaning of each possibility. Describes a series of actual curricular proposals associated with each…