The link between theory, practice and research in Initial Teacher Education (ITE) has been widely discussed in international literature (e.g. van Nuland, 2011; Valeeva & Gafurov, 2017; Marcondes, Leite & Ramos, 2017). However, more needs to be done as far as concrete examples of fostering these components in existing teacher education programmes. In general, there has been a growing recognition of the importance of the use of research to inform practice and to enhance teacher professionalism. In this context, the need to foster and sustain knowledge mobilisation and generation has been advocated through, for instance, developing an inquiry approach in ITE and to integrate research into practicum (e.g. Qvortrup, 2016, Flores, Vieira, Silva & Almeida, 2016). Change is a complex process. It requires time, energy, and commitment from the part of the various stakeholders. It also depends on institutional and professional conditions. As Ling (2017) suggests, looking at teacher education entails “an iterative process rather than a linear one and needs to be backwards, forwards, inside-out and outside-in somewhat simultaneously, because it is complex, recursive and has multiple layers” (p. 562). This paper aims to address the following research questions:

How do changes instigated by the Bologna reform have been managed ITE?

What does the analysis of student teachers’ practicum reports suggest?

What are the lessons learned and future directions of ITE 10 years after the implementation of the Bologna process?

This paper focuses on Initial Teacher Education (ITE) in Portugal after the implementation of the Bologna process 10 years ago. Changes in ITE curriculum and model have been introduced in 2008 and they have been adjusted in 2014. This paper looks at how changes have been instigated and dealt with and how the process of change has been managed by teacher educators in one institution, particularly within the practicum component. The practicum model in ITE aims to link teaching and research, theory and practice. The reflective component of the model is oriented towards student teacher professional development under a democratic view of education. The analysis of student teachers’ practicum reports shows that the model promotes reflective teaching towards learner-centredness, along with the development of professional knowledge and classroom research skills. Yet, the model entailed a number of dilemmas and tensions regarding the balance between university and school work, supervisory roles, the nature of inquiry, and the promotion of innovation in schools. Integrating teaching and research and promoting teaching practice as a space of transformation rather than a process of adaptation or of application of theory may well represent a move towards knowledge mobilisation and research-informed practice. The paper concludes with some lessons learned and possible directions in order to overcome the shortcomings of the model and to enhance its positive and innovative features. Data are drawn from various previous studies which included the analysis on student teachers’ practicum reports and analysis of syllabi.

This paper focused on the practicum model of ITE. It draws upon a transformative view of education, knowledge mobilisation and a research-informed pedagogical practice. The model was considered to be one of the most innovative but at the same time controversial features (see Flores et al., 2016 and Vieira et al., 2019) of the ITE programme in the post-Bologna context. Integrating research into teaching is a key strategy to prepare reflective practitioners, and to enhance the transformative potential of a practicum experience (Vieira et al, 2019). The model enables student teachers not only to mobilise different kinds of knowledge and to inform their pedagogical choices and decisions but also to foster the capacity to generate new knowledge. They are provided with opportunities to identify a specific problem in a given context as a starting point to develop their pedagogical project in which the research dimension is key. Because this model challenges previous conceptions and practices in teacher education, it raises issues and tensions whose resolution strongly depends teacher educators’ ongoing commitment to investigating and improving it. Teaching practice and research become two crucial elements which also need long term commitment requiring strong and more consistent collaboration between schools and universities. It is, therefore, argued that there is a need to reconsider the teacher education curriculum in order to respond to the increasing uncertainties and complexities of teaching in the 21st century, especially at a time when more pressure and demands are placed upon them in contexts marked by growing accountability and greater multiculturalism.

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