The aim of the symposium is to compare quality assurance methods in teacher education across the countries in Europe.  The symposium explores the following research questions:

RQ 1. What kinds of QA methods are used at a national level (e.g. accreditation, auditing or different combinations, national or international evaluations) and what kinds of consequences they have on objectives, contents and structures of teacher education, resources, and effectiveness? The analysis is based on national documents, policy papers and earlier research results. The focused interviews of key players on the TE policy level will provide information about the major strength and weaknesses of the methods.

RQ2.What kinds of QA methods (e.g. feed-back systems,  quality management procedures for teaching, research and societal interaction of TE programs) are used at a HE institutional level  (universities or other HE institutions) and what kinds of consequences they have on teacher education curriculum, organizational culture,  resource allocation and infrastructure, teachers’ professional development and their competences.  The analysis is based on descriptions analysis of selected case institutions, their documentations, and interviews of teacher educators and student teachers.

RQ3.How do national and institutional QA methods ensure teachers’ competences in certain critical areas such as active and collaborative learning and knowledge creation, ICT pedagogical applications, and inclusive education.

RQ4. How are QA methods applied to the continuum of teacher education as life-long learning?  How are teachers’ competences supported and promoted in induction phase and in-service training and what kinds of QA methods are used after pre-service TE?

These questions will be analyzed and elaborated in four national contexts: Sweden, Slovenia, Scotland, and Finland. The symposium is the first stage of a new international comparative study on Quality of Teacher Education (2010-).  Symposium describes initial results of national case studies, which create bases for the next step of the comparative international research project.