Improving Initial Teacher Education in Australia

Abstract

Initial teacher education (ITE) programs are subject to agencies which shape and define them through regulatory accreditation processes (Lloyd, 2013a, 2013b). This chapter argues that the design of ITE programs needs to build the Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) capabilities (Mishra & Koehler, 2006, 2008) of future teachers. After establishing that there are both accountability and improvement agendas, this chapter outlines the Teaching Teachers for the Future (TTF) Project, which involved all 39 Australian Higher Education Institutions providing ITE programs in Australia. The TTF Project was a 15 month long, $8 million project, funded by the Australian Government's ICT Innovation Fund which adopted an approach reflecting an improvement agenda. The TTF Project is discussed in terms of the TPACK conceptualisation guiding the project, and the research and evaluation of that project. The TTF Project's key outcomes are summarised, and these inform the presentation of solutions and recommendations.