The Promise and Practice of University Teacher Education

An exploration of the work of teacher education within New Zealand universities, including professional life histories of 15 teacher educators and an analysis of their every-day work.

Centering on the theme of university-based teacher education at a time of system change and its connections with broader global political issues, this book investigates the changing nature of initial teacher education (ITE) as it amalgamated into universities in the New Zealand context. The New Zealand government, like many across the world is seeking improvement in education system performance, with a particular interest in meeting the needs of those traditionally disadvantaged through education. As a result, over the last 20 years, most ITE has been relocated into universities and teacher qualifications have changed. Not immune to international discourses about the criticality of the teacher workforce to system performance, Aotearoa New Zealand provides a bounded yet connected case of ITE development and reform.

The authors draw from a study of teacher education practice in Aotearoa New Zealand and also look at recent research carried out in other jurisdictions to consider how ITE and the academic category of teacher educator is constructed, maintained and practiced within the institution of the university. They highlight the promise of university-based ITE provision, noting areas for development and provide an opportunity to better understand how student teachers within ITE respond to and engage with teacher educators’ work in the service of their own learning.