Learning to Teach: Building Global Research Capacity for Evidence-Based Decision-Making

The work reported in this chapter emerged from a cross-national collaboration of an international research network (IRN) under the auspices of the World Education Research Association (WERA). The network Learning to Teach: Building Global Research Capacity for Evidence-Based Decision-Making brought together scholars from 12 countries. The task was to engage in a historical analysis of pivotal moments in the evolution of policy and practice in teacher education to understand better dominant teaching conceptions and the knowledge required from those aspiring to the job. An essential goal of this work was to examine the existing research evidence in each setting and its reflection on teacher education policy. The team undertook a critical review of representative studies exploring the effectiveness of different modalities of teacher education in their contexts. The study revealed a general lack of systematic long-term research by teacher educators to guide policy and practice and the need for further longitudinal research, not least of a comparative nature. This chapter includes data from 6 of the 12 countries that participated in the study.