Skip to main content

Policy Problems: Policy Approaches to Teacher Education Research

  • Living reference work entry
  • First Online:
The Palgrave Handbook of Teacher Education Research
  • 41 Accesses

Abstract

For many years and for many nations around the world, teacher education has been a key site of educational reform and policy action. This chapter takes a critical approach toward understanding policy making and policy construction by taking a “problems” approach to policy analysis. The chapter identifies some key policy initiatives in teacher education and some contemporary policy “problems.” It concludes with a call for greater scrutiny of the justifications made for educational policy reform if we are to better understand the direction of teacher education in the years to come.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Acton, R., & Glasgow, P. (2015). Teacher wellbeing in neoliberal contexts: A review of the literature. Australian Journal of Teacher Education, 40(8), 6.

    Google Scholar 

  • Allen, R., & Allnutt, J. (2013). Matched panel data estimates of the impact of Teach First on school and departmental performance, DoQSS Working Papers 13–11, Quantitative Social Science – UCL Social Research Institute, University College London.

  • Allen, R., & Sims, S. (2018). The teacher gap. Routledge.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership. (2011). National professional standards for teachers. The Ministerial Council for Education, Early Childhood Development and Youth Affairs (MCEECDYA).

    Google Scholar 

  • Bacchi, C. A. (1999). Women, policy and politics: The construction of policy problems. Sage Publications.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Bacchi, C. A. (2009). Analysing policy: What’s the problem represented to be? Pearson Education.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bacher-Hicks, A., Goodman, J., & Mulhern, C. (2021). Inequality in household adaptation to schooling shocks: Covid-induced online learning engagement in real time. Journal of Public Economics, 193, 104345.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ball, S. J. (1993). Politics and policy making in education. Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ball, S. J. (2003). The teacher’s soul and the terrors of performativity. Journal of education policy, 18(2), 215–228.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ball, S. J. (2017). The education debate. Policy Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ball, S. J., Maguire, M., & Braun, A. (2011). How schools do policy: Policy enactments in secondary schools. London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bath, N., Daubney, A., Mackrill, D., & Spruce, G. (2020). The declining place of music education in schools in England. Children & Society, 34(5), 443–457.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bayrakdar, S., & Guveli, A. (2020). Inequalities in home learning and schools’ provision of distance teaching during school closure of COVID-19 lockdown in the UK, ISER Working Paper Series, No. 2020–09, University of Essex, Institute for Social and Economic Research (ISER), Colchester.

    Google Scholar 

  • Biesta, G. (2020). The future of teacher education: Evidence, competence or wisdom? Research on Steiner Education, 3(1), 8–21.

    Google Scholar 

  • Birchinall, L., Spendlove, D., & Buck, R. (2019). In the moment: Does mindfulness hold the key to improving the resilience and wellbeing of pre-service teachers? Teaching and Teacher Education, 86, 102919.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brady, J., & Wilson, E. (2021). Teacher wellbeing in England: Teacher responses to school-level initiatives. Cambridge Journal of Education, 51(1), 45–63.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Burdett, N., & O’Donnell, S. (2016). Lost in translation? The challenges of educational policy borrowing. Educational Research, 58(2), 113–120.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Burnett, B., & Lampert, J. (2016). Teacher education for high-poverty schools in Australia: The National Exceptional Teachers for disadvantaged schools program. In Teacher education for high poverty schools (pp. 73–94). Springer.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Callender, C. (2020). Black male teachers, white education spaces: Troubling school practices of othering and surveillance. British Educational Research Journal, 46(5), 1081–1098.

    Google Scholar 

  • Charlton, C. (2014, November 1). Teachers are lazy, often turn up late and can’t be bothered to set homework, says “superhead” sent into failing school. MailOnline. Retrieved from: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2816819/Teachers-lazy-turn-late-t-bothered-sethomework-says-superhead-sent-failing-school.html

  • Clarke, T., & Basilio, M. (2018). Do arts subjects matter for secondary school students’ wellbeing? The role of creative engagement and playfulness. Thinking Skills and Creativity, 29, 97–114.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cruickshank, K. (2004). Towards diversity in teacher education: Teacher preparation of immigrant teachers. European Journal of Teacher Education, 27(2), 125–138.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Darling-Hammond, L. (2000). Teacher quality and student achievement. Education Policy Analysis Archives, 8, 1.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Darling-Hammond, L. (2007). Race, inequality and educational accountability: The irony of ‘no child left behind’. Race Ethnicity and Education, 10(3), 245–260.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Department of Education (DfE). (2011). Teachers’ Standards Guidance for school leaders, school staff and governing bodies July 2011 (introduction updated June 2013, latest terminology update December 2021). London: DfE.

    Google Scholar 

  • Du Gay, P. (2006). Consumption and identity at work. Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Education Support (ES). (2020). Teacher Wellbeing Index 2020. Education Support.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ellis, V., Maguire, M., Trippestad, T. A., Liu, Y., Yang, X., & Zeichner, K. (2016). Teaching other people’s children, elsewhere, for a while: The rhetoric of a travelling educational reform. Journal of Education Policy, 31(1), 60–80.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • European Commission/EACEA/Eurydice. (2018). Teaching careers in Europe: Access, progression and support. Eurydice Report.

    Google Scholar 

  • Flack, C. B., Walker, L., Bickerstaff, A., & Margetts, C. (2020). Socioeconomic disparities in Australianschooling during the COVID-19 pandemic. Pivot Professional Learning.

    Google Scholar 

  • Foster, D. (2019) Initial Teacher Training in England, Briefing Paper No 6710, London” House of Commons Library. Available at: https://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/SN06710/SN06710.pdf

  • Foucault, M. (1980). Power/knowledge. Pantheon.

    Google Scholar 

  • Frankenberg, E., Taylor, A., & Merseth, K. (2010). Walking the walk: Teacher candidates’ professed commitment to urban teaching and their subsequent career decisions. Urban Education, 45(3), 312–346.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Geiger, T., & Pivovarova, M. (2018). The effects of working conditions on teacher retention. Teachers and Teaching, 24(6), 604–625.

    Google Scholar 

  • General Standards for Teachers in Scotland (GTC). (2021). https://www.gtcs.org.uk/professional-standards/professional-standards.aspx

  • Goepel, J. (2012). Upholding public trust: An examination of teacher professionalism and the use of teachers’ standards in England. Teacher Development, 16(4), 489–505.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Grek, S. (2009). Governing by numbers: The PISA ‘effect’ in Europe. Journal of Education Policy, 24(1), 23–37.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Guha, R., Hyler, M. E., & Darling-Hammond, L. (2019). The Teacher Residency: An Innovative Model for Preparing Teachers. (Education Working Paper: 19–185). Retrieved from Annenberg Institute at Brown University: https://www.edworkingpapers.com/ai19-185

  • Hambacher, E., & Ginn, K. (2021). Race-Visible Teacher Education: A Review of the Literature From 2002 to 2018. Journal of Teacher Education, 72(3), 329–341.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hanushek, E. A., & Rivkin, S. G. (2006). Teacher quality. Handbook of the Economics of Education, 2, 1051–1078.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hargreaves, A., & Fullan, M. (2015). Professional capital: Transforming teaching in every school. Teachers College Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Heinz, M., & Keane, E. (2018). Socio-demographic composition of primary initial teacher education entrants in Ireland. Irish Educational Studies, 37(4), 523–543.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hinds, D. (2019). Speech: Damian Hinds: speech at the Association of School and College Leaders’ annual conference 2019: 15 March 2019.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hulme, M. (2016). Analysing teacher education policy: Comparative and historical approaches. In Teacher Education Group (Ed.), Teacher education in times of change (pp. 37–54). Policy Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hursh, D. (2007). Exacerbating inequality: The failed promise of the no child left behind act. Race Ethnicity and Education, 10(3), 295–308.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jeffrey, B., & Troman, G. (2011). The construction of performative identities. European Educational Research Journal, 10(4), 484–501.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Katz, V. (2018). Teacher retention: Evidence to inform policy. EdPolicyWorks policy brief retrieved from: https://curry.virginia.edu/sites/default/files/uploads/epw/Teacher%20Retention%20Policy%20Brief.pdf

  • Kauffman, J. M., & Konold, T. R. (2007). Making sense in education: Pretense (including no child left behind) and realities in rhetoric and policy about schools and schooling. Exceptionality, 15(2), 75–96.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kempf, A. (2013). Colour-blind praxis in Havana: Interrogating Cuban teacher discourses of race and racelessness. Race Ethnicity and Education, 16(2), 246–267.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kenway, J. (2013). Challenging inequality in Australian schools: Gonski and beyond. Discourse: Studies in the Cultural Politics of Education, 34(2), 286–308.

    Google Scholar 

  • Klassen, R. M., Rushby, J. V., Durksen, T. L., & Bardach, L. (2021). Examining teacher recruitment strategies in England. Journal of Education for Teaching, 47, 163–185.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • la Velle, L., Newman, S., Montgomery, C., & Hyatt, D. (2020). Initial teacher education in England and the Covid-19 pandemic: Challenges and opportunities. Journal of Education for Teaching, 46(4), 596–608.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ladson-Billings, G. (2000). Fighting for our lives: Preparing teachers to teach African American students. Journal of teacher education, 51(3), 206–214.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lever, N., Mathis, E., & Mayworm, A. (2017). School mental health is not just for students: Why teacher and school staff wellness matters. Report on Emotional & Behavioral Disorders in Youth, 17(1), 6.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lifelong Learning UK (LLUK). (2009). Northern Ireland professional standards for teachers, tutors and trainers in the lifelong learning sector. LLUK.

    Google Scholar 

  • Maguire, M. (2017). Reforming teacher education in England – ‘An economy of discourses of truth’. In M. Peters, B. Cowie, & I. Menter (Eds.), A companion to research in teacher education (pp. 483–494). Springer.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Maguire, M., & de St Croix, T. (2018). Policy Imperatives. In M. Maguire et al. (Eds.) Becoming a Teacher: Issues in Secondary Education. McGraw-Hill Education (pp. 88–102).

    Google Scholar 

  • Maguire, M., & George, R. P. (2017). Reforming Teacher Education in England: Locating the Policy Problem. In T.A. Trippestad et al. (Eds.) The struggle for Teacher Education, International Perspectives on Governance and Reform, London, New York: Bloomsbury (pp.52–73).

    Google Scholar 

  • Maguire, M., Gewirtz, S., Towers, E., & Neumann, E. (2019). Contextualising policy work: Policy enactment and the specificities of English secondary schools. Research Papers in Education. https://doi.org/10.1080/02671522.2019.1601758

  • Menter, I. (2016). Introduction. In The Teacher Education Group (Ed.), Teacher education in times of change (pp. 3–18). Policy Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Merrow, J. (1999) ‘The teacher shortage: Wrong diagnosis, phony cures’ Retrieved from Education Week, http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/1999/10/06/06merrow.h19.html

  • Moore, A. (2004). The good teacher: Dominant discourses in teaching and teacher education. Psychology Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Neumann, E., Towers, E., Gewirtz, S., & Maguire, M. (2016). A curriculum for all? The effects of recent key stage 4 curriculum, assessment and accountability reforms on English secondary education. National Union of Teachers.

    Google Scholar 

  • O’Doherty, T., & Harford, J. (2018). Teacher recruitment: Reflections from Ireland on the current crisis in teacher supply. European Journal of Teacher Education, 41(5), 654–669.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • OECD. (2012). OECD calls for new approach to tackle teacher shortage. https://www.oecd.org/newsroom/oecdcallsfornewapproachtotackleteachershortage.htm

  • Opfer, D. (2011). Defining and identifying hard-to-staff schools: The role of school demographics and conditions. Educational Administration Quarterly, 47(4), 582–619.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Opfer, V. D., & Pedder, D. (2011). Conceptualizing teacher professional learning. Review of educational research, 81(3), 376–407.

    Google Scholar 

  • Orchard, J., & Winch, C. (2015). What Training do Teachers need? Why theory is necessary to good teaching. Impact No 22. Philosophical Society of Great Britain. London: Willey Blackwell.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ozga, J. (2000). Policy research in educational settings. Open University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pautz, H. (2012). Think-tanks, social democracy and social policy. Palgrave.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Perryman, J., Ball, S. J., Braun, A., & Maguire, M. (2017). Translating policy: Governmentality and the reflective teacher. Journal of Education Policy, 32(6), 745–756.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pink, W. T., & Noblit, G. W. (Eds.). (2008). International handbook of urban education (Vol. Vol. 19). Springer Science & Business Media.

    Google Scholar 

  • Professional Standards for teaching and leadership in Wales (HWB). (2017). https://hwb.gov.wales/professional-development/professional-standards#professional-standards-for-all-school-practitioners

  • Rogers-Ard, R., Knaus, C. B., Epstein, K. K., & Mayfield, K. (2013). Racial diversity sounds nice; systems transformation? Not so much: Developing urban teachers of color. Urban Education, 48(3), 451–479. https://doi.org/10.1177/0042085912454441

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Russell. (2019). Mental health and wellbeing among trainee teachers. https://www.bera.ac.uk/blog/mental-health-and-wellbeing-among-trainee-teachers

  • Ryan, M., & Bourke, T. (2013). The teacher as reflexive professional: Making visible the excluded discourse in teacher standards. Discourse: Studies in the Cultural Politics of Education, 34(3), 411–423.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sandbrook, D. (2017, November). The work-shy teacher who is a taste of what’s to come when the snowflake generation runs Britain. Daily Mail. Retrieved from: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-5060391/DOMINIC-SANDBROOK-Work-shy-teachersnowflake-generation.html

  • Scott, A., & Freeman-Moir, D. J. (Eds.). (2000). Tomorrow’s teachers: International and critical perspectives on teacher education. Canterbury University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • See, B. H., & Gorard, S. (2020). Why don’t we have enough teachers?: A reconsideration of the available evidence. Research papers in education, 35(4), 416–442.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sharp, C., Nelson, J., Lucas, M., Julius, J., McCrone, T., & Sims, D. (2020). Schools’ responses to Covid-19: The challenges facing schools and pupils in September 2020. NFER.

    Google Scholar 

  • Skourdoumbis, A. (2017). Re-casting teacher effectiveness approaches to teacher education. In M. Peters, B. Cowie, & I. Menter (Eds.), A companion to research in teacher education (pp. 347–358). Springer.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Smyth, J. (2010). Speaking back to educational policy: Why social inclusion will not work for disadvantaged Australian schools. Critical Studies in Education, 51(2), 113–128.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sykes, S. (2015, September 28). Are you one of the nation’s biggest sickie takers? Biggest culprits revealed. Daily Express. London. Retrieved from: https://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/608566/Sickiespulling-sickies-sick-days

  • Tatto, M. T. (2017). The role of comparative and international research in developing capacity to study and improve teacher education. In M. Peters, B. Cowie, & I. Menter (Eds.), A companion to research in teacher education (pp. 621–636). Springer.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Thomas, M. A., Rauschenberger, E., & Crawford-Garrett, K. (Eds.). (2020). Examining teach for all: International perspectives on a growing global network. Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tissot, S. (2007). The role of race and class in urban marginality: Discussing Loïc Wacquant’s comparison between the USA and France. City, 11(3), 364–369.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Torfing, J. (2009). Rethinking path dependence in public policy research. Critical Policy Studies, 3(1), 70–83.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Toropova, A., Myrberg, E., & Johansson, S. (2021). Teacher job satisfaction: The importance of school working conditions and teacher characteristics. Educational Review, 73(1), 71–97.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Towers, E. (2020). Why do Headteachers stay in disadvantaged primary schools in London? Leadership and Policy in Schools, 1–16.

    Google Scholar 

  • Trippestad, T. A., Swennen, A., & Werler, T. (2017). The struggle for teacher education. In T. A. Trippestad, A. Swennen, & T. Werler (Eds.), The struggle for teacher education. International perspectives on governance and reform (pp. 1–16). Bloomsbury.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Turner, K., & Theilking, M. (2019). Teacher wellbeing: Its effects on teaching practice and student learning. Issues in Educational Research, 29(3), 938–960.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wieneke, J., & Spruce, G. (2020). Tales of change: Effective professional development in the light of educational systems reforms in Austria and England. Arts Education Policy Review, 122, 4–18.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Worth, J., & McLean, D. (2020). The impact of Covid-19 on initial teacher training. Implications for teacher supply in England. NFER.

    Google Scholar 

  • Worth, J., & Van den Brande, J. (2019). Teacher Labour Market in England: Annual Report 2019. National Foundation for Educational Research.

    Google Scholar 

  • Worth, J., Lynch, S., Hilary, J., Rennie, C., & Andrade, J. (2018). Teacher Workforce Dynamics in England: Nurturing, Supporting and Valuing Teachers. National Foundation for Educational Research. The Mere, Upton Park, Slough, Berkshire, SL1 2DQ, UK.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zeichner, K. (2014). The struggle for the soul of teaching and teacher education in the USA. Journal of Education for Teaching, 40(5), 551–568.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Emma Towers .

Section Editor information

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2022 The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this entry

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this entry

Towers, E., Maguire, M. (2022). Policy Problems: Policy Approaches to Teacher Education Research. In: The Palgrave Handbook of Teacher Education Research . Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-59533-3_70-1

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-59533-3_70-1

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-59533-3

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-59533-3

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference EducationReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Education

Publish with us

Policies and ethics