The role of research in the policy and practice of quality teacher education: an international review

The stated goal of current education reform is the redesign of education systems in pursuit of quality. Systems that consistently ‘come out on top’ have excited much interest in uncovering the features that have contributed to their success; notably among these is the preparation of future teachers. Research on teacher education quality assurance processes has begun to provide evidence that common features shared by successful systems include the design of teacher education programmes around criteria such as that set by accreditation requirements, in part because they are intended to help shape programmes’ intentions and approach, curriculum design, and outcomes. An important question for the field of teacher education is how to boost the research on diverse approaches’ outcomes to improve programme design as indicated by successful practice, while taking into account the role of economic and socio-cultural factors in the process.