Tony (University of Glasgow, UK) Townsend 
International Perspectives on Teacher Education 

This book explores major factors impacting on teacher education in recent times. It uses examples from a broad range of international contributors who compare larger countries such as the USA, England and Australia with their smaller partners: Canada, Scotland and New Zealand, demonstrating the substantial differences existent in all three cases. They also contrast the approaches of the countries that are members of the European Union with those that are not and discuss the special circumstances of developing countries, using Malawi as a case study.

The international dimension of the book allows it to address the impact of globalisation on teacher education, with attention given to subjects such as the implications of rapid technological change, the movement of teachers and students on a global level and the drive to improve standards in various parts of the world. The book asks key questions, such as whether teaching is a craft or a profession and whether teacher educators view themselves as practitioners or researchers. The question of how the profession is viewed from outside is also addressed, highlighting the lack of trust displayed by politicians and communities towards both teachers and teacher educators. The final chapter looks to the future, and considers strategies for dealing with it.

This book was originally published as a special issue of the Journal of Education for Teaching.