What are the characteristics of exemplary initial teacher education programmes in countries similar to Aotearoa/New Zealand?

Abstract

Recent political and educational debate in New Zealand has closely linked the quality of teaching with the educational achievement of learners. This has been supported by evidence from both national and international research. It is no surprise; therefore, that attention has been focused on how we prepare teachers for the profession in Aotearoa New Zealand.

The Education Workforce Advisory Group recommended in its Final Report to the Minister of Education (2010) that moving initial teacher education (ITE) to a postgraduate qualification would improve the provision of ITE by reducing the variability in quality of ITE programmes and helping to raise the status of the teaching profession. There is very little evidence provided in this report to support this claim. Therefore, one of the intentions of this paper is to examine how this vision aligns to the characteristics of exemplary ITE programmes offered internationally.

To achieve this we will ask the following questions:

• What are the characteristics of exemplary ITE programmes?

• How effectively do these programmes prepare teachers to improve the educational outcomes for all learners?

• What are the implications for New Zealand ITE programmes?