Abstract
Abstract
 We describe basic concepts of contemporary teacher education from a psychological perspective, typified with examples from teacher education programs run at the University of Münster, Germany. After describing the context of teacher education in Germany, criteria are discussed which guide the selection of psychological contents to be included into teacher education curricula. Furthermore, three curriculum components are discussed that help to adopt a psychological perspective on instruction at school. Classroom videos reduce the distance between psychological knowledge suitable to guide teacher behaviour and examples of how teachers actually behave during class. Students’ small-scale classroom research projects bridge the gap between theory and practice, and curriculum components focussing on individual differences help to raise awareness for diagnostics, individual aid, and inclusion. Finally, psychology’s role in teacher education is discussed with regard to relevant content knowledge and methodological knowledge teacher education curricula might benefit from. 
 
 Key words: teacher education, video-based instruction, evidence-based teaching, inclusion
Highlights
IN GERMANYContemporary teacher education in Germany is a complex system. Germany is a federal republic comprising 16 states, each with its own parliament, legislation, and government
We describe basic concepts of contemporary teacher education from a psychological perspective, typified by examples from teacher education programs run at the University of Münster, Germany
The diversity and abundance of psychological knowledge potentially relevant to teachers call for well-founded criteria in selecting psychological contents for teacher education curricula
Summary
Contemporary teacher education in Germany is a complex system. Germany is a federal republic comprising 16 states, each with its own parliament, legislation, and government. Students study three subjects: the two school subjects they intend to teach at school including subjectspecific didactics, and the third subject, educational sciences, which comprises contributions from pedagogy, psychology, and sociology. During their school-based traineeships, students teach under the supervision of experienced teachers, and they teach independently in part. Psychological research is able to contribute to the majority of competences, methods, and foci mentioned in the national standards, psychology’s actual involvement in teacher education programs depends on their interests, teaching capacity, and standing within a given university. Psychology offers ca. 12 of 33 courses in which students are supervised during their 6-month school internship in the Master’s phase as well as preparation courses in research methods for about one third of the Master’s students in all teacher education programs at the University of Münster
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