Serves to provide readers with an international understanding of how researchers and practitioners in different countries address some essential issues and initiatives in teacher education and development; what they have found from their known and applied research and what the implications are of which are crucial to coping with challenges from the ongoing developments in teacher education.

"This book moves beyond the purported dichotomy between university-based teacher education and alternatives such as Teach For America to consider their common challenges and suggest a starting place from which to imagine a future of more effective teacher preparation. In focusing on the experiences of the first Teach For America cohort between 1990-1992, the book anchors its analysis in a particular historical moment, allowing a significant accounting of a pivotal time in [teacher] education as well as thoughtful consideration of both change and continuity in how teachers have been prepared and entered the classroom over the decades since. Through its use of oral history testimonies, Schooling Teachers offers important stories about individuals' personal experiences and actions, but also reveals the broader collective and social forces that shaped and gave meaning to those experiences. Richly detailed qualitative data, in the form of oral history, enables the authors to draw from the specific narratives some general insights that speak to the larger issues of staffing and supporting urban schools"--

"This is not a book about praising Finnish school education. After a brief introduction to Finnish education and culture, the book delves into details about the new curricula changes, the workings of schools, and the thoughts and education approaches of Finnish educators. Given the recent curricula changes, effective as of August 2016, the book includes 14 school cases to exemplify the way schools are implementing policy changes and the way principals and teachers see the future of education and learning in Finland. The book also includes one in-depth analysis of curriculum changes for pre-service teacher education and three more pre-service teaching education programs at four universities in Finland. In this way, the book presents not only the views of changes in schools and universities from teachers and principals but also from professors, researchers, and lecturers. The book is unique because is based on ad hoc field research, comprising schools across all levels of education. The book shows in slow motion how the concepts of schools, teaching, and learning are fine-tuned in Finland. The title of the book, Curriculum, Policy and Pedagogy in Finland: Meaningful and Interactive Learning in K-12 Education summarizes the direction Finnish educators see teaching and learning towards the third decade of the 21st century"--

Improve Schools and Transform Education In order for educational systems to change, we must reevaluate deep-seated beliefs about learning, teaching, schooling, and race that perpetuate inequitable opportunities and outcomes. Hatch, Corson, and Gerth van den Berg challenge the narrative when it comes to the "grammar of schooling"--or the conventional structures, practices, and beliefs that define educational experiences for so many children—to cast a new vision of what school could be. The book addresses current systemic problems and solutions as it: Highlights global examples of successful school change Describes strategies that improve educational opportunities and performance Explores promising approaches in developing new learning opportunities Outlines conditions for supporting wide-scale educational improvement This provocative book approaches education reform by highlighting what works, while also demonstrating what can be accomplished if we redefine conventional schools. We can make the schools we have more efficient, more effective, and more equitable, all while creating powerful opportunities to support all aspects of students’ development. "You won’t find a better book on system change in education than this one. We learn why schools don’t change; how they can improve; what it takes to change a system; and, in the final analysis, the possibilities of system change. Above all, The Education We Need renders complexity into clarity as the writing is so clear and compelling. A powerful read on a topic of utmost importance." ~Michael Fullan, Professor Emeritus, OISE/Universtiy of Toronto "I cannot recommend this book highly enough – Tom tackles long-standing and emerging educational issues in new ways with an impressive understanding of the challenging complexities, but also feasible possibilities, for ensuring excellence and equity for all students." ~Carol Campbell, Associate Professor, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto

It’s time for the educational slugfest to stop. ‘Traditional’ and ‘progressive’ education are both caricatures, and bashing cartoon images of each other is unprofitable and unedifying. The search for a new model of education – one that is genuinely empowering for all young people – is serious and necessary. Some good progress has already been made, but teachers and school leaders are being held back by specious beliefs, false oppositions and the limited thinking of orthodoxy. Drawing on recent experience in England, North America and Australasia, but applicable round the world, The Future of Teaching clears away this logjam of bad science and slack thinking and frees up the stream of much-needed innovation. This timely book aims to banish arguments based on false claims about the brain and poor understanding of cognitive science, reclaim the nuanced middle ground of teaching that develops both rigorous knowledge and ‘character’, and lay the foundations for a 21st-century education worthy of the name.

Concerns about the quality of teaching and learning in higher education have given rise to teacher development programs and centers around the world. This book investigates the challenges and complexities of creating instructional development programs for present and future academics. Using case studies from a variety of countries including Estonia, Singapore, the United States and the United Kingdom, it examines issues that are important for higher education researchers as well as higher education managers. The book includes international responses to the need to improve teaching in higher education. It demonstrates many different ways success may be understood, and investigates what factors may influence the results of instructional development. Contributors use these factors to explain program success through theoretical frameworks. This book also provides input for higher-education managers by pointing out how the local context and both institutional and national policy-making may help or hinder the effective preparation of professors for their teaching responsibilities.

Toward Anti-Oppressive Teaching introduces an innovative approach for using live-actor simulations to prepare preservice teachers for diverse classroom settings. Based on the SHIFT Project at Vanderbilt University, the book highlights the promise of these encounters to empower preservice teachers to become more culturally responsive. Despite widespread recognition of the need to educate novice teachers in the theory and practice of culturally responsive pedagogy, few teaching candidates have the opportunity to try out, reflect upon, and internalize these lessons prior to taking their first job. As a result, new teachers are often unprepared to respond effectively to real-life dilemmas of difference and inequity in K-12 schools. The book shows how carefully crafted encounters--when incorporated as part of a well-designed cycle of instructional tasks--can build on traditional approaches to educating future teachers about culture, power, and systems of oppression. The book is ambitious in scope, laying out the rationale and theory behind the use of this new approach and shows how teacher educators are using, adapting, and designing simulations to fit the context of a teaching program. The authors include sample simulation materials and offer advice for addressing common logistical and programmatic challenges for adopting this new practice including how to hire, train, and care for actors. Filled with engaging examples and testimony from students who have participated in the program, Toward Anti-Oppressive Teaching provides guiding principles and practical suggestions, and offers a point of entry for those interested in a new approach to addressing a long-standing challenge in teacher education.

Are teachers ready for inclusion? What is appropriate teacher education? Traditional approaches to inclusive education focused on learners with disabilities. Modern approaches, however, conceptualise inclusion in terms of providing educational equity and equality of access for all students within the same regular school system. Future Directions for Inclusive Teacher Education provides a wealth of ideas about how to support teachers to become inclusive through the application of positive training approaches. Written by some of the most influential internationally acknowledged experts in teacher education for inclusion and highly experienced researchers, together the authors provide a plethora of ideas for teacher educators to ensure that their training is pertinent, accessible, and futures-orientated. This up to date and accessible book combines three key areas related to teacher education for inclusion, which provide: A review of what is happening across the globe by offering examples from different regions; Preparation for teachers to support learners with a range of diverse needs including disability, poverty, ethnicity, gender, cultural diversity, learning disabilities, Autism Spectrum Disorder, sensory impairments and those who are considered gifted and talented; A consideration of systemic approaches, policy, and partnerships, and how these can be better employed in the future. This highly topical text will support all teaching professionals, educational systems, and schools in their transformation of inclusive teacher education.

This book focuses on the professional development of teacher educators, forming a definitive and expert resource for all those interested in this area of professional learning. It offers an in-depth overview of existing international research and professional development initiatives in the area of teacher educators' learning. The book highlights relevant research on the topic, identifies the lessons learnt from recent initiatives, and indicates ways forward for teacher educators' professional learning internationally. It provides a unique combination of six years of pan-European collaborative work, resulting in a book with clear relevance and appeal to both academics and practitioners internationally. The book conceptualizes teacher educators' professional development, in order to deepen understanding of how and why learning occurs and conducts empirical research into the professional development needs of teacher educators internationally using quantitative and qualitative methods in order to redress gaps in existing research. This book will be of great interest to academics, researchers and post-graduate students in the fields of teacher education and professional development and learning.

This book examines the history, recent developments, and direction of travel of Russian teacher education. It draws on scholarly expertise and professional experience in Russia and locates the policies and practices that are discussed within the context of the continuing global reform of teacher education. Providing a rich description of the trajectory of teacher education in Russia, the book analyses the processes of change between the history, current practice, and future directions for Russian teacher education. The chapters consider the relationship between research, policy, and practice and examine the respective influences of the former USSR, of processes of wider reform in the Russian Federation since 'glasnost' and 'perestroika', and of globalisation within education. What emerges from the book is that the Russian case is a prime example of 'vernacular globalisation' in teacher education. Many important insights into processes of education reform and some of the major themes in teacher education are discussed, thus providing new perspectives that are likely to be of interest to scholars and researchers of comparative education and teacher education, as well as policymakers.