In December 2005, the General Teaching Council for Wales, acting on behalf of the General Teaching Councils' (GTCs') Five Nations Group, commissioned the National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) to conduct research into the contents of the standards and routes to teaching qualifications in the UK nation states and the Republic of Ireland, in order to provide evidence on the comparability of the different systems to enable the GTCs to work towards greater equivalence. Reported findings include: (1) Teaching qualification standards in the five countries are similar in content, pitch and demand, but different in terms of presentation and supporting guidance provided; (2) All five countries offer undergraduate and postgraduate courses, though the nature of the courses differs; (3) Academic entry requirements are consistent, but there are differences in the terminology for the programmes of teacher education, the qualification to teach and academic qualifications awarded; and (4) In England, Northern Ireland and Wales, trainee teachers' qualifications allow them to be employed in the primary or secondary sector. A number of issues emerged which teacher educationalists, policy makers, and the GTCs of the five nation states may wish to consider in the future. The report suggests that standardisation of the ways that the standards are presented, entry requirements and quality assurance mechanisms would reduce system difference and encourage swifter mutual recognition of teaching qualifications in the five countries. (Contains 144 footnotes.) [This study was commissioned by the General Teaching Council for Wales (GTCW), acting on behalf of the General Teaching Councils' Five Nations Group (comprising the General Teaching Councils for England, Scotland and Northern Ireland, the Teaching Council (Republic of Ireland), the Department of Education and Science (Republic of Ireland), the Department for Education (Northern Ireland), the Department for Education and Skills (England), the Scottish Executive and the Welsh Assembly Government).]