Advancing Quality Cultures for Teacher Education in Europe: Tensions and Opportunities

Abstract

The recent reform of initial teacher education policy in Portugal was developed in the context of implementing the Bologna Process and the broader European Union work programme of “Education and Training 2010”. This keynote highlights the links of this reform with the policy guidelines of these European processes; it also compares this reform with the changes other European member states are making following the Bologna Process concerning the degree structure of teacher education programmes. The Portuguese teacher education reform is integrated in a career-long professional development perspective and particularly emphasises: a research-based level of qualification; a professional qualification where the learning outcomes are those required by the renewed role of the teacher; a teaching qualification acquired in the teaching context with supervised practice, internship and early career support (induction) periods demanding mutual-benefit partnerships between higher education institutions and schools; quality development and quality assurance measures. However, the transformation of this written reform into innovative practices of policymakers, of teacher education institutions and of teacher educators and mentors, as well as of the main stakeholders constitutes a great implementation challenge which is benefitting from the support stemming by European cooperation.