Teacher Preparation in Scotland

'This volume is to be warmly welcomed and includes contributions by many of the leading teacher education researchers in Scotland. Teacher preparation and development have long been seen as a key element of Scottish society and culture. In the twenty first century we have seen very significant developments in the nature of that provision. These innovations are very well covered in this book but they are underpinned by some excellent historical scholarship. These elements are combined to create what will be the definitive account of teacher education in Scotland for many years to come.'

‘This book is an important addition to the study of teacher preparation providing an in-depth exploration of teacher preparation in Scottish education. It combines historical perspectives with discussions of current developments, analysing the challenges faced by teacher education. Teacher preparation in Scotland, unlike other systems in the UK, is solely university-based. The early chapters provide a historical overview of the place of the discipline of education in universities, the development of government policy on teacher training, the establishment of colleges of education and then and more recently in the 1990s, through a series of mergers, university-based teacher preparation. What will strike the reader is how many of the issues that teacher educators grapple with today are in evidence in earlier phases. The book provides a comprehensive coverage of current key issues from a Scottish perspective. Each chapter deals with a specific dimension and the book as a whole provides a comprehensive coverage of the current ITE landscape, highlighting some of the ongoing issues such as university programmes, partnerships and placements as well as innovative practice. The book reflects on the central question facing all teacher educators, where should teacher preparation happen, where do student teachers learn best? The book is an important reference work drawing on policy, research and the scholarly literature.’

‘There exists a sustained scrutiny on how well initial teacher education prepares individuals for the realities of life as a teacher. The contributions in this comprehensive overview of the history and development of teacher education in Scotland present an opportunity to reflect on all aspects of our system supporting teacher professionalism. Almost a decade on from ‘Teaching Scotland’s Future’, this collection provides essential reading, whatever your role or interest in the preparation of teachers, and offers a catalyst for an integrated approach to future change.’

Teacher Preparation in Scotland provides its readers with a comprehensive overview of the history and current arrangements for teacher preparation in Scotland. Each chapter builds the reader’s knowledge and the chapter sequencing ensures that the reader can make contextual links between the current teacher education programmes available and the history or why these programmes exist today… This book is a very readable overview of teacher preparation in Scotland, now and how today’s structures came to be. It will be a valuable reference text as Scotland embarks on teacher preparation in post pandemic times.

Teacher Preparation in Scotland… reflects on the perennial question facing all teacher educators, ‘where do student teachers learn best?’ and provides a comprehensive coverage of current key issues from a Scottish perspective with much use made of policy and where available, research. What will strike the reader is how many of the issues that teacher educators grappled in earlier periods, remain today. As a whole, this book is an important reference work drawing on policy, research and the scholarly literature to examine teacher preparation in Scotland.