In 2023 a Deans of Teacher Education panel was held at ECER in Glasgow. This six member panel was composed of deans and leaders of teacher education from around the globe, inculding Scotland, Ireland, USA and Australia. The panel discussion focused on current challenges for teacher education and how the deans can work collectively and collaboratively to influence policy and decisionmaking relating to teacher education, at a time when it is under increased scutiny and challenge in many systems. The session was very well attended and attracted local media interest. 

This proposal builds on the success of this initial session, seeking to advance the discussion, involve more deans from across the ECER community and become established as an annual feature in the ECER programme for Network 10. It will be coordinated and chaired by Margery McMahon with inputs from deans attending ECER in Nicosia. This will draw from ECER members who are also members of the Global Deans of Education Network and the U21 Deans of Education group.  

The workshop will focus on key themes for teacher education including teacher recruitment and retention; curricula for teacher preparation; accreditation, scrutiny and inspection of teacher education. Selected case studies will be introduced by participating deans outlining how these issues are being addressed in their contexts. These will be used to facilitate dialogue and interaction amongst attendees.

New contacts and collaborations was an important outcome of the 2023 deans' session and a goal of the 2024 session will be to formalise this further through an ECER specific Deans of Teacher Education group, aligned with Network 10. The establishment of such a fora will be an important development enabling the deans to use their voice and position to advocate further for teacher education.

Kennedy, A. , Beck, A. and Shanks, R. (2021) Developing a context-appropriate framework for measuring quality in initial teacher education. Scottish Educational Review, 53(1), pp. 3-25. Menter, I., The Palgrave Handbook of Teacher Education Research. London: Palgrave Macmillan. McMahon, M., (2023) ‘Teacher Education Reform in Scotland’ in Craig, C., Mena, J., and Kane, R., (Eds). ISATT Yearbook: Volume 1 Approaches to Teacher Education. United Kingdom: Emerald Group Publishing Limited.