Many countries offer different educational pathways to qualify vocational teachers for work in schools. This article reports on a comparison of teacher preparation in two different programmes that qualify vocational teachers in Norway. Given the lack of a quantitative framework for measuring professional preparation among vocational teachers, the…

The aim of the study informing this paper was to investigate pre-service teachers' (PSTs') approaches to task design, posing the research question: How do pre-service teachers respond when they are asked to design an exploratory task using GeoGebra for 8th grade students? The research study and this paper focus on the PSTs' design stories rather…

In the current study, we address calls for research on the complex nature of integrations of pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) components. This is a multiple case study of six middle school pre-service teachers (PSTs) as they taught science in their school practicum. We investigated the nature of PSTs' integration between knowledge of students'…

Climate change adaptation is a notorious example of a wicked problem. Teachers need to have extensive knowledge to design high-quality education that addresses the wickedness and contributes to wicked problem-solving. The components of the knowledge basis for teaching climate change issues can be highlighted with the Pedagogical Content Knowledge…

Given the crucial role that teacher education programmes play in developing teacher-students' assessment literacy, this study investigates all the course syllabi (n = 278) in primary and secondary-school teacher education programmes offered by three universities in Norway. This study aimed at identifying: (1) the assessment patterns, (2) the…

In recent decades, most Nordic countries have seen reforms in their teacher education programme, giving rise to an ongoing debate on these programmes' content, structure, and quality. As part of a recent reform of teacher education in Norway, new Master's-level programme have been introduced to educate teachers for grades 5-10, whereby pre-service…

Purpose: The study explored how PSTs perceived a learning design, using a decision simulator, a self-reflection guide and a peer mentoring guide as tools to mediate reflections on approaches to the teacher's role. The individual characteristics of PSTs were also considered, including role clarity, self-efficacy and affective commitment, as…

Background and Purpose: Acknowledging that it is critical that researchers design and implement studies that examine teaching as a complex phenomenon (Strom and Martin [2017]. "Becoming-teacher: A Rhizomatic Look at First-year Teaching. Rotterdam: Sense Publishers), the objective of this study was to examine pre-service teachers' (PSTs')…

In line with international debate, there is a discussion in Norway on developing teacher education by moving from a more experience-based to a research-based approach. This ongoing change presents a challenge, not only for the development of teacher education but also for teachers working as mentors in school placements. The aim of this study was…

Because most real-life foreign language speech is naturally unpredictable, spontaneous speech should be practiced in the foreign language classroom. Student teachers of English as a foreign language (EFL) may benefit from practising methodology for spontaneous speech practice. This article reports the findings for a study into EFL student…

This article reports on how a pedagogical entrepreneurship approach combined with fundamental elements of mathematical modelling may be used to strengthen students' development of mathematical literacy in upper primary school. This is done first through a review of the relationship between pedagogical entrepreneurship in mathematics, mathematical…

This study examines newly qualified teachers' (NQTs) understandings of research-based teacher education practices by looking at two cases in Finland and Norway. The NQTs were interviewed after they had finished their master's degrees and before they started their careers. The results of the individual semistructured interviews and a thematic…

Most Norwegian preservice teachers are required to perform assignments relating to digital competence during their education. In this article, one such mandatory student assignment is used to explore students' interpretations of digital teacher competence. In a study programme for future primary and lower secondary school teachers, second-year…

This article presents a case study aiming at deepening the understanding of action research as a tool in professional development in pre-service teacher education. The case is the practice of action research in a teacher education programme for secondary school teachers in Norway. While there has been limited research on consequences of inquiry,…

Extensive research studies have been conducted on school leadership internationally, but few studies have focused on placement schools. In placement schools, student-teachers are to experience teaching and learning in a variety of contexts, and to participate in school life in a way that is structured and supported. In Norway, school principals…