"Teachers are the most important single element of the education system but what does it take to create high quality teachers in today's world? Around the world, countries are struggling to understand how to change their schools to meet global demands. International comparisons have shown that schools in Finland lead the league tables, but why is this, what new policies and practices in teacher education have they developed and how do they support the changes? A number of European and Asian countries also top the list when it comes to providing high quality teacher education, but there is little information about what and how they are doing the work and how they have made changes. The leading international contributors to this book describe the systemic policies and practices of teacher education in eight high-achieving countries and how they are dealing with teacher quality, equity, and the changing global society. Among the countries that are doing well - Finland, Singapore, the Netherlands, the UK, Hong Kong, Canada, Australia and the USA - there is an interesting diversity of policies and practices that support their changes in education, including: - emphasis on the preparation, induction, support and assessment of new teachers - focus on teacher retention, teachers' professional knowledge and continuing professional development - curriculum change and critical policies"-- Provided by publisher.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 173-193) and index.

The most wanted : teachers and teacher education in Finland / Pasi Sahlberg -- Quality teachers, Singapore style / Lin Goodwin -- Teacher preparation in the Netherlands : shared visions and common features / Karen Hammerness, Jan van Tartwijk and Marco Snoek -- Teacher training, education or learning by doing in the UK / John MacBeath -- Hong Kong : professional preparation and development of teachers in a market economy / Janet Draper -- Building capacity for sustained school improvement / Ben Levin -- Rethinking teacher education in Australia : the teacher quality reforms / Diane Mayer, Raymong Pecheone, and Nicole Merino -- Teacher preparation and development in the United States : a changing policy landscape / Linda Darling-Hammond -- Teacher education around the world : what can we learn from international practice? / Linda Darling-Hammond and Ann Lieberman.

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