Contemporary higher education today deals with a new spectrum of challenges giving relevance to the imperative to respond to new educational needs of the knowledge society (Miranda, 2007). Some may argued that the established approach to teaching in higher education, in relation to the knowledge society, reveals its insufficiency to prepare students with the skills to accomplish their professional achievement, and therefore to equip them with the skills to continue learning throughout life (Morgado, 2009; Santos, 2005). In developing graduates for the knowledge society lecturers in higher education institutions (HEI) may seek to strengthen links between research and teaching (Lopes et al., 2014). It is not only researchers who need to be involved with research since it is required in all kinds of jobs “to constantly follow new knowledge, understand phenomena with the aid of scientific thinking skills, and to be able to act as an active knowledge builder in society” (Murtonen et al 2008: 609).

Teachers and their education and training will have a central role in responding this desideratum. The main purpose of this paper is to understand what kind of knowledge, expertise and skills are consider relevant in initial teacher education (ITE) and the role of research in developing professional knowledge.

It seems to be widely accepted that teacher education and training have a key role in order to provide an adequate response to new challenges (Buchberger et al., 2000). Changes in society are leading to new expectations of the role of education which in turn is leading to new demands on the quality and competences of teachers. In this sense, and considering that knowledge is changing, school is changing, the teaching profession and the role of teachers is changing (Cornu, 2008), there is a need to rethink the purpose of teacher education in this new landscape. In fact, accordingly to Zeichner (2012), there is an “intense debate that is taking place in many parts of the world about the kind of teaching and teacher education that should define education in the twenty first century” (Zeichner, 2012: b).

A key issue is to know how teacher educators’ research activities empower or inhibit their teaching activity and students’ learning (Lopes et al., 2014). Besides having to deal with the demands that challenge every academic, namely teaching, research and scholarship, supervision and management, teacher educators also have to deal with the maintenance of standing and provision of service in a profession. In this scenario, teacher education plays a very significant role in increasing and assuring the quality of teachers (ATEE, 2006). An intensification of teachers’ workload and the pressure to achieve certain aims may encourage a paradigmatic orientation towards professional knowledge in which teachers’ welcome specific guidelines on the ‘right’ way of doing things (Burnett, 2006). However, in the current context, teacher education cannot be circumscribed to training technicians or transmitting knowledge but must be challenged to create it, promoting the relationship between teaching and research (Zabalza, 2004).

In order to avoid having teachers as simple technicians, teachers ought to be reflective about their teaching. In fact, we need ITE to be able to equip student teachers with the set of skills to continually inquire into their own teaching practice and into the contexts in which their teaching is embedded (Zeichner, 1987). This situation highlights the idea that ITE should allow student teachers to learn
to
be
thinkers
and
authentic
problem
solvers. This may be accomplished by rethinking the pedagogy of teacher education (Boyd, 2014) and by promoting meaningful interaction between learning and research.

ATEE (2006). The Quality of Teachers: Recommendations on the development of indicators to identify teacher quality. Brussels: ATEE. Boyd, P. (2014). Using ‘modelling’ to improve the coherence of initial teacher education. In P. Boyd, A. Szplit & Z. Zbróg (Eds.) Teacher Educators and Teachers Learning: International Perspectives, Cracow: Libron Buchberger, F., Campos, B. P., Kallós, D. & Stephenson, J. (2000). Green paper on teacher education in europe: High quality teacher education for high quality education and training. Umea: TNTEE. Burnett, C. (2006). Constructions of professional knowledge among student and practising primary teachers: paradigmatic and narrative orientations. Research Papers in Education, 21(3), pp. 315–333. Cornu, B. (2008). Being a Teacher in a Knowledge Society. Proceedings of the TEPE 2nd Annual Conference Teacher Education in Europe: mapping the landscape and looking to the future. Faculty of Education, University of Ljubljana, Slovenia. Lessard-Hébert, M., Goyette, G., & Boutin, G. (1994). Investigação Qualitativa - Fundamentos e práticas. Lisboa: Instituto Piaget. Lopes, A., Boyd, P., Andrew, N., & Pereira, F. (2014). The research-teaching nexus in nurse and teacher education: contributions of an ecological approach to academic identities in professional fields. Higher Education, 68(2), 167-183. Miranda, Eva M. (2007). Ensino superior: novos conceitos em novos contextos. Revista de Estudos Politécnicos, V(8), 161–182. Morgado, J. C. (2009). Processo de Bolonha e Ensino Superior num Mundo Globalizado. Educação & Sociedade, 30(106), 37-62. Retirado em Maio de 2014 de http://www.scielo.br/pdf/es/v30n106/v30n106a03.pdf Murtonen, M., Olkinuora, E., Tynjälä, P., & Lehtinen, E. (2008) ‘Do I need research skills in working life?’:university students’ motivation and difficulties in quantitative methods courses. Higher Education, 56(5), 599-612. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10734-008-9113-9. Zabalza, M. A. (2004). O ensino universitário: seu cenário e seus protagonistas. Porto Alegre: Artmed. Zeichner, K. (1987). Preparing reflective teachers: An overview of instructional strategies which have been employed in pre-service teacher education. International Journal of Educational Research, 11(5), pp. 565-575. Zeichner, K. (2012). Two Visions of Teaching and Teacher Education for the Twenty-First Century. Social Policy, Education and Curriculum Research Unit. North Dartmouth: Centre for Policy Analyses /UMass Dartmouth, pp. b - kk.