Teacher education: familiar themes in changing times

Anniversaries are traditionally a time to look back and reflect on what has changed and what has not. This, the fiftieth volume in JET’s history under its present and previous names, is no exception. Many of the themes in this volume would be familiar to the readers and authors of the first volume of JET, then the British Journal of Teacher Education. For example, in that first volume, Webster (1975, 143) wrote of the ‘seemingly endless debate about the integration of educational theory and practice’, and about those who are ‘sceptical about the value of educational theory’ (143). Other papers from the first volume considered the then reshaping of teacher education and colleges of education (Bibby 1975), different ways of developing new teachers (Brown 1975), the influence of psychology on teacher education (Armytage 1975), the pressures of ‘accountability at all levels of teaching’ (McAleese 1975, 213), and the interplay between education and politics (Eggleston 1975). Despite its original name as the British Journal of Teacher Education, the first volume also contained papers with international perspectives, such as those by, for example, Boucher (1975), Grant (1975), and Molyneux and Linker (1975).

Of course, new themes and concerns arise, and contributors to the journal have not been slow to respond to them. One recent example has been the response of teachers and teacher educators world-wide to the COVID-19 pandemic (JET 2020, 2022). Even more recently has been what appears (to this author at least) to be the sudden emergence of the use of generative artificial intelligence and the links to digital technology, addressed by some of the papers that follow in this issue. In these and other ways the ‘complex and multifaceted challenges of contemporary life are having a direct impact on all aspects of teacher education’ (la Velle 2023, 351). So, each volume and each issue of the journal offers opportunities to examine new themes and to revisit long-lasting themes in the context of changing circumstances. This issue is no exception.

In our first paper, Susanne Jurkowski and Anna Abramczyk, from Germany and Poland respectively, point to the long-supposed rift between theory and practice, the significance of evidence-based teaching strategies, and of developing the idea of teachers as experts. They report on their work in developing and evaluating in-service teacher training to support teachers’ use of cooperative learning to promote reflective practice.

The importance of teacher noticing comes to the fore in our next two papers. Hea-Jin Lee, Hee-Jeong Kim and Hyungmi Cho, from the USA and Korea, consider the quality of pre-service teacher feedback in the teaching of mathematics. They argue for the importance, for both prospective and practicing teachers, of noticing the use made by pupils of mathematical strategies and interpreting errors and misconceptions that are made, rather than focusing only on the accuracy or otherwise of the mathematical solution. Jingxian Li and Yasemin Copur-Gencturk from the USA consider, with a specific focus on mathematics teaching, the potential of teacher noticing of classroom events, particularly when that noticing is supported by time and support for teachers to reflect on what they have noticed.

The digital perspective is a theme which underlies our next four contributions. Aoife Brennan, Anna Logan, Caitriona Pennycook, Alan Gorman and Dylan Scanlon, from Ireland and Australia, report on how the COVID-19 pandemic demanded some rethinking of the supervision of in-school placements. They consider whether any of the innovative approaches introduced in order to deal with the immediate demands that the pandemic made on placement supervision can be retained to enhance teacher education moving forward. Ronen Kasperski and Gal Ben-Yehudah, from Israel, consider the transition of an academic literacy course from traditional print to digital-based instruction. This, post-COVID, is an aspect of interest not only to teacher educators, but also to pre-service teachers as they prepare for teaching in 21^st century classrooms. Can digitally displayed texts be used to promote deep understanding? How can we use digital technology effectively? Galip Kartal from Turkey examines another aspect of the digital environment, namely the rapid expansion of the use of artificial intelligence. How this technology can be used effectively and authentically is important to consider within teacher education, and within universities, colleges, and schools more widely. Peter R. Whipp, Chad Morrison, Susan Ledger and Antoinette Geagea from Australia then report on their investigations on innovative ways of selecting prospective teachers and, in particular, on the possible effectiveness of simulation.

The following papers concern different aspects of teacher experience. Can Yang, from China, considers the experiences of male primary school student teachers in practicum schools in China. A vivid picture is given of the nuances and complexities of the contexts and experiences. Xiaobo Shi and Susanna Siu-Sze Yeung, also from China, investigate the relationships between ECE EFL teachers’ knowledge and their practices in Chinese kindergartens. Karthigeyan Subramaniam from the USA argues that the past educational experiences of prospective teachers can often shape their pre-service preparation. This has implications for teacher educators as the teacher population becomes more diverse, and where the experiences of prospective teachers may be different to many of the dominant ones of teacher education and training. Yael Grinshtain, Orit Avidov-Ungar, Haim Shaked, Idit Livneh and Daniel Nikritin from Israel examine the relationships between the universities or colleges involved in teacher education, and the schools in which placement experiences are based. Finding an appropriate balance between an overly bureaucratic approach, and one which relies heavily on informal channels is not easy, and the authors make some recommendations to consider. Ming Chen, John H.M. Lam and Rebecca Y.M. Cheung from Hong Kong, China and from the UK consider critical thinking, and how it might be encouraged in pre-service teachers and, in turn, in classrooms. They suggest that practicing ‘mindful presence’ may be valuable in this respect.

We close this issue with two book reviews. Weiping Wu and LV Linli from China highlight that the book they have reviewed examines a variety of important contemporary issues in education ‘such as digital learning, modern learning environments, global citizenship, and well-being from multiple domains, including empirical, philosophical, political, critical, and theoretical perspectives’. Jyoti Jhagroo from New Zealand points us towards themes such as ethics and social justice, marginalised groups, classroom practices and reflection, and practitioners researching their own practice.

This brings us back to the notion of familiar themes in changing times. The continuing exploration and examination of such themes, from a variety of perspectives, cannot be divorced from contemporary teaching, teacher education, and professional development. The contributions to the journal, whose fuller title includes the words ‘international research and pedagogy’, continue to show how these themes are being taken forward in different contexts and in different ways by the world-wide teacher education community.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).