A Decade of Research on Teacher Education in Australia.

Overview & Synopsis

This paper reviews research that has been done in Australia on teacher education in the past decade. It presents some perspectives on the potential of that research to inform practice and to improve the process of teacher education. The research projects studied included preservice education, the induction of beginning teachers, and the professional development of experienced teachers through inservice education. The research methodology of the studies was empirical: personal observations, case studies, surveys, experiments, and action research. The reports are clustered under headings that describe the major theme addressed by the project: (1) perceptions of teaching as a career; (2) characteristics of teacher trainees; (3) the nature and impact of preservice programs; (4) skill and other components in preservice teacher education; (5) school experience--the supervisor and the practicum; (6) beginning teachers--provisions, concerns and attitudes; and (7) needs and provisions for inservice education. The type of research used in each project is described, and summaries of salient findings are presented. Over 100 references are included. (JD)