Introduction: New Perspectives On Teachers And Teaching

The purpose of this handbook is to provide not only an update on research about teachers and teaching, but also to introduce to students, scholars and researchers new perspectives on an important educational topic which has been undergoing considerable change over the past several decades. No one questions the centrality of teachers and their activities for learning processes at all levels of educational systems. However wide variations exist as to how teachers function in educational systems, and also about the various ways in which they carry out their teaching duties. Teachers have been bound with traditional notions of what is required to teach and the best practices for teaching. Also there have been traditional notions of the teacher's role with respect to their administrative superiors, to students and to parents which have been followed over many decades, and across many countries and cultures. However in the last two decades, changes have occurred which have radically altered these traditional notions of teachers' roles or their practices of teaching. New and emerging teacher roles and relationships with educational stakeholders necessitate a careful inspection of what we know about teachers and their practice of teaching. This New Handbook represents a collective effort to examine the results of these changing conditions in education.