In 2008, Hattie concluded that teacher quality is the key determinant of the variation in student learning and achievement, more than the quality of the curriculum, the learning methods used, parental support, or school characteristics. He does so on the basis of a large scale meta-analysis of educational effectiveness studies conducted in several countries. Hattie (2003) therefore suggests to “focus on the greatest source of variance that can make the difference—the teacher. We need to ensure that this greatest influence is optimized to have powerful and sensationally positive effects on the learner” (p. 4). Hattie’s conclusion lends support for the growing consensus that what and how teachers teach is an essential factor in optimizing student learning. However, the preparation of teachers has a long history of criticism. Growing recognition that teacher quality is significantly linked with (concerns about) the quality of schooling, generated a new wave criticism on the quality of teacher education in the early 1990s. In these debates, a central focus is the research itself and the ‘weight of evidence’ in teacher education as a field of inquiry. More specifically, whether there is a strong conceptual and methodological research base about how to prepare teachers, and if so, what this research base implies for teacher education practice and policy (Cochran-Smith & Zeichner, 2005).

This paper connects to this question and aims to provide both a balance and a perspective for research into pre-service teacher education. We conducted an extensive review of the research literature in order to map the empirical evidence on teacher education. At the same time, this study aims to present a program for future research in teacher education by identifying questions which need further study and suggesting directions for strong research designs to address these questions. This general interest is reflected in our two research foci. First, what research questions are being addressed in the research on pre-service teacher education (research question 1)? Second, what research approaches characterize the research on pre-service teacher education (research question 2)?

In our focus on the empirical research base in teacher education, we do not claim that all important questions in teacher education can be settled solely on the basis of empirical evidence (for an overview of this issue see e.g., Cochran-Smith, 2001). One of the problems in codifying and building the research base for teacher education is the lack of consensus about what counts as valid outcomes in teacher education and how to measure these. This issue is particularly complicated since normative, moral, and ethical aspects are inherent in any conceptualization of teacher quality. These aspects cannot be decided solely on the basis of empirical evidence but require a broader debate about the purposes and processes of schooling. However, establishing a “credible and versatile measure of teacher quality” (Blanton, Sindelar, & Correa, 2006, p. 115) is essential to demonstrating that teacher education is effective. It would also allow teacher education researchers to focus more specifically on establishing the relationships between the content, components, and conditions of teacher education programs and the competences of its graduates.

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