This book focuses on current trends, potential challenges and further developments of teacher education and professional development from a theoretical, empirical and practical point of view. It intends to provide valuable and fresh insights from research studies and examples of best practices from Europe and all over the world. The authors deal with the strengths and limitations of different models, strategies, approaches and policies related to teacher education and professional development in and for changing times (digitization, multiculturalism, pressure to perform).

Rethinking Teacher Education: Improvement, Innovation and Change is the result of the conference organised by The Aga Khan University - Institute for Educational Development, East Africa (AKU-IED, EA) on education, in Uganda in 2017. The Conference, gathered participants from nine countries, to deliberate on a cross section of factors regarding teacher education in the region and landscaping the same on global perspectives. The choice of the conference theme was inspired by a need to consider new systems, policies, structures and reforms to help drive sustainable education for the development of nations in the East African region. A variety contributors participated from across the education landscape, and included researchers working in higher education, practitioners such as teachers in schools, tutors, instructors in colleges, and lecturers and professors at universities. Also contributing were non-governmental organisations with interests in education and student learning outcomes, civil society organisations whose interests navigate the role education plays in social and national development, policy makers and curriculum developers, librarians, publishers, booksellers and teacher trainees, all of who shared their rich experiences and perspectives on teacher education in the 21st century in East Africa and globally.

From the people who turned teacher education on its ear in Australia in 2001 comes a text about preparing the next generation of teachers. Richard Smith and David Lynch, two of Australia's leading teacher education researchers and the architects of the acclaimed Bachelor of Learning Management program (BLM), take their previously published ideas about teaching and teacher education further to detail a new paradigm in the preparation of teachers. Drawing on 30 years of teacher education research and their own experiences in redeveloping teacher education in Australia, Smith and Lynch explore what it means to be a teacher in the 2000s, outlining a new vision for the preparation of teachers in a Knowledge Age.

Via 100 entries or 'mini-chapters,' the SAGE 21st Century Reference Series volumes on Education will highlight the most important topics, issues, questions, and debates any student obtaining a degree in the field of education ought to have mastered for effectiveness in the 21st Century.

This book offers educators new understandings of 21st century diversity emerging from contemporary national events within the U.S., global movements, and changes in the world political order that have long-lasting impact on local education and call for rethinking traditional generalizations and empirical prescriptions for inclusivity in teaching and learning. The book expands the literature on teacher preparation and intercultural education by providing the educational community with critical perspectives, theoretical approaches, and research methodologies for educational inquiry responsive to diversity. Driven by changes in classroom diversity this book offers educators, researchers and policy makers a language for articulating complex differences in educational reform, policy and practice.

This book demonstrates that policy, professionalism, and pedagogy are integral to the development of the best teachers that our students deserve. The empirical quantitative and qualitative studies and narratives presented in this volume demonstrate that strong analyses are needed to drive decisions on policy and practice.

How can teacher education prepare future teachers for their work in increasingly diverse classrooms? How does the concept of plurilingualism inform language educational policy in different countries? What are the current opportunities and challenges in the domain of internationalisation in teacher education? The contributions to this volume address these questions from different theoretical perspectives, and with a strong emphasis on the actual practices in various classrooms. At a time when simplistic, essentialist, biased, and discriminatory ideologies and practices see a rebirth in public discourse, and represent a risk to education, the contributors here take stock and describe some worthwhile alternatives. The first set of chapters addresses the integration of ethnic, religious, and gender diversity in teacher education colleges. In the second part, the notion of plurilingualism in different educational contexts is explored from a critical sociolinguistic point of view. The chapters in the third part present evidence from innovative international academic exchange programs and how they contribute to socio-spatial learning amongst others. The common denominator in this volume is the notion of convergence – the coexistence of people and practices in diverse contexts.

In this 21st century, technological and social changes have never been as rapid as before, and educative practices must evolve and innovate to keep up. What is being done by educators today to prepare future global citizens? What are the skills and competencies that will be required by our students? What changes in how we approach education might need to be made? This book presents a modern focus on some significant issues in teaching, learning, and research that are valuable in preparing students for the 21st century. The book discusses these issues in four sections. The first section presents contemporary, innovative curriculum and pedagogical practices that are relevant for the 21st century. This also includes how social networking has an integrated role within current educative practice. The next section then explores issues and current research around motivation and engagement, and how these are changing in this era of technological and social change. The third section presents debates around inclusion and social contexts, both global and local. Finally, the fourth section explores current discourses in regard to internationalisation and globalisation and how these are being considered in educational research. The book is an important representation of some of the work currently being done for these rapidly changing times. It will appeal to academics, researchers, teacher educators, educational administrators, teachers and anyone interested in preparing students for a modern and globally interconnected world.

In recent years there has been a new mood in teacher education. The emphasis is on professional studies, on encouraging trainee teachers to think intelligently about how to tackle problems of the classroom.This book surveys the developments which are taking it further in both Britain and North America. It goes on to argue the case for consolidating the new approach in a thoughtful, structured and comprehensive way. It argues that teacher education should be regarded as a discipline in its own right; that teacher education should be increasingly school focused and problem-centered; that it needs to blend theory more effectively with practice. It argues that teacher training programmes should prepare teachers for an uncertain future in a changing world. This calls for an emphasis on process rather than content in programmes and the preparing of teachers who are self-directed.