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The Continuing ‘Problem’ of Teacher Education: Policy Driven Reforms and the Role of Teacher Educators

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Preparing Teachers for the 21st Century

Part of the book series: New Frontiers of Educational Research ((NFER))

Abstract

In this chapter, I consider the question, ‘What will the teacher education system look like in the 21st century?’ I review the ways in which teacher preparation has been framed in the past and then focus on the current ‘policy moment’ for teacher education and the associated questions being asked of teacher educators: What is the value of teacher education? What should beginning teachers know and be able to do? How can judgments be made about what beginning teachers know and are able to do? I use the example of Australia, but I believe there are many similarities in other countries. I explore governance structures and mechanisms, and examine the professionalization of teacher education practice and the work of teacher educators. In doing so, I aim to foreground the importance of formal university based teacher education and highlight the important work that needs to be done by teacher educators through their research and scholarship to inform and influence the current policies for systems and standards and ensure a professionalised teacher education system.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Victoria University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia

    Diane Mayer

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  1. Diane Mayer
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Correspondence to Diane Mayer .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Teacher Education Research, Faculty of Education, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, People's Republic of China

    Xudong Zhu

  2. College of Education, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA

    Kenneth Zeichner

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Mayer, D. (2013). The Continuing ‘Problem’ of Teacher Education: Policy Driven Reforms and the Role of Teacher Educators. In: Zhu, X., Zeichner, K. (eds) Preparing Teachers for the 21st Century. New Frontiers of Educational Research. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-36970-4_3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-36970-4_3

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-642-36969-8

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-36970-4

  • eBook Packages: Humanities, Social Sciences and LawEducation (R0)

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