RESEARCHES FOR PROMOTING EXCELLENCE IN TEACHER EDUCATION

High quality teaching is now widely acknowledged to be the most important school-level factor influencing student achievement. This in turn has focused attention on the importance of teacher education, from initial training and induction for beginning teachers, to on-going professional development to help update teachers' knowledge, deepen their understanding and advance their skills as expert practitioner. Policy-makers around the world have approached the task of teacher preparation and professional development in different ways, reflecting their distinctive values, beliefs and assumptions about the nature of professional knowledge and how and where such learning takes place.