ABSTRACT

Despite attempts to define quality in initial teacher education (ITE), consensus remains elusive. Harvey highlights how, in higher education, there is confusion between quality, standards and quality assurance. Examination of the quality indicators in ITE reveals an over-emphasis on standards rather than its transformative potential. Original research into the ITE practice of five universities in different international settings analyses the quality discourses evident in stakeholder interviews, observations and documentation on the practice of teacher education; two examples are used as illustrative accounts. The analysis reveals how teacher educators adjust their practice to the different quality discourses. The discourses emerging from both universities and accountability mechanisms focus on measures of quality assurance, standards, or value for money, and underplay the transformational dimension of ITE. This presents a quality conundrum: indicators aimed at making ITE better actually make transformation more challenging. Without recognition of its transformative and educative potential, the contribution of university-based teacher education will likely remain under-recognised, under-valued and poorly understood.

摘要

尽管试图定义初始教师教育 (ITE) 的质量，但仍难以达成共识。Harvey 强调，在高等教育中，质量、标准和质量保证之间存在混淆。对 ITE 中的质量指标的检查表明，过分强调标准而不是其变革潜力。对五所大学在不同国际环境中的 ITE 实践的原创研究分析了利益相关者访谈、观察和关于教师教育实践的文件中明显的质量话语；两个例子被用作说明性账户。分析揭示了教师教育者如何根据不同质量的话语调整他们的实践。来自大学和问责机制的讨论侧重于质量保证、标准、或物有所值，并低估了 ITE 的转型维度。这提出了一个质量难题：旨在使 ITE 变得更好的指标实际上使转型更具挑战性。如果不承认其变革和教育潜力，以大学为基础的教师教育的贡献可能仍然得不到充分认识、低估和理解。