“Evidence-Based Teaching, Evidence-Based Teacher Education” (Quality of Teachers and Quality of Teacher Education)

Abstract

Worldwide, teachers are considered as the critical actor determining to a large extent the quality of education. In education, we observe a clear trend towards evidence-based teaching and learning approaches that build on available research evidence to ground educational practices. This trend seems not to be reflected in the way teacher education is being set up. Meta-analyses are critical as to the outcomes of teacher education. Dominant approaches also neglect new approaches towards teacher’s professional identity and do not respect the full complexity of the teaching and learning setting. The present article therefore centres on the urgent need to reconsider teacher training models that reflect a congruency with the way teachers are expected to teach (evidence-based) in their future practice. At the same time, it urges teachers to adopt a reflective practitioner approach and a “teacher as a researcher attitude” towards the efficiency and efficacy of their educational practices. In line with the debate pursued with this article, we centre on the critical issue of “outcomes” of teacher education and how this affects macro-level and meso-level perspectives on teacher education.