Established and evolving ways of linking to practice in teacher education: Findings from an international study of the enactment of practice in teacher education

Abstract

Worldwide, teacher educators and policymakers call for teacher preparation that is more deeply linked to practice. Yet, we know little about how such linkages are achieved within different international programs. We examine the degree to which programs provide opportunities to learn that are grounded in practice. We report on survey data (n = 486 teacher candidates) from five pro-grams in Finland, Norway, California, Chile, and Cuba, and observation data from the methods courses (n = 104 hours) in six programs in Finland, Norway, and California. Using an analytical framework decomposing the conception of ‘opportunities that are grounded in practice’ in teacher education, this article provides evidence regarding the successes—and challenges—concerning incorporating practice in teacher education. These findings suggest that some ways of linking to practice in teacher education seem to be established, while others are still evolving.