The Symposium is a collaboration between researchers from the European University Alliance Circle.U (https://www.circle-u.eu), specifically its Teacher Education Network (TENet), incorporating academics from the University of Belgrade, King’s College London and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin.

As many other fields in education, in teacher education the role and shape of research is a matter of discussion - specifically, its place and extent in university curricula as well as in professional teacher development (cf. Gerheim 2022, Bergmark 2023). In recent years, as Research-Based Learning (RBL) has been increasingly added as a key feature in pre-service and in-service teachers’ professionalisation across different international contexts, various formats of integrating this approach in teacher education have been established and researched (cf. Brew & Saunders 2020, Raberger et al. 2026). Challenges and benefits have been identified, yet success often depends on how RBL as a fundamental principle within teacher education can be embedded within teacher education programmes and adapted to the various study contexts, to the target groups, their teaching experience, attitudes towards teacher research and other aspects (cf. Thiem et al. 2023). In addition to the development of relevant skills, knowledge and competences, student and teacher research into practice adds valuable perspectives and insights for academics in the field of education, as well as new topics and trajectories for scientific research in the field. In consequence, there remains a need to address the following question: How can research-based learning in teacher education be flexibly designed to cater to various groups of teacher researchers in specific settings, such as undergraduate students at the beginning of their studies, more experienced graduate students, as well as teachers who are teaching every day, taking into account their various backgrounds, needs and objectives?

In this symposium, we collect answers to this reseach question offering four contributions that exemplify different formats in pre-service teacher education (Stadler-Altmann, Lenge, Budjevac) and in-service professional development (Saunders). All four contributions are united by the goal of fostering an inquiry mindset, while differing in instructional design, in how they establish a connection between theory and practice  and how they  use different modes of mentoring and collaboration.

Methodologically, the four papers use various qualitative approaches, depending on the contexts researched. Set in the context of a teacher education program in Italy, Stadler-Altmann investigates the effects of integrating RBL in the curriculum with a closer look at teaching research skills and assessing RBL through the analysis of students’ posters, exams, and master’s theses. Lenge uses a theoretical approach, exploring the benefits and challenges posed to such open research areas as “student research spaces”, expanding on her literature-based descriptions with reflections about cases from her Berlin university’s context. Drawing on survey data from student teachers from the Circle.U Teacher Education Network, Budjevac presents findings of a collaborative study into student research, which involved student teachers as co-researchers, with the co-researchers particularly benefitting from their scaffolded experience. Finally, Saunders’ paper discusses results and insights from the Goethe-Institute's German teacher professional development program used worldwide, with data from participants from various countries, focusing on the groups’ heterogeneity and salient mentoring practices.

The four contributions thus present research results within their respective contexts, considering the various needs and motives, experiences, self-images, institutional access, mentoring offers, and curricular availability of research-based learning in their specific stages of professionalization within teacher education.

Bergmark, U. (2023). Teachers’ professional learning when building a research-based education: Context-specific, collaborative and teacher-driven professional development. Professional Development in Education, 49(2), 210–224. https://doi.org/10.1080/19415257.2020.1827011 Brew, A. & Saunders, C. (2020). Making sense of research-based learning in teacher education. Teaching and Teacher Education. An International Journal of Research and Studies (87): 1-11. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2019.102935 Gerheim, U. (2022). Undergraduate Research in Teacher Education. In H. A. Mieg, E. Ambos, A. Brew, D. Galli, & J. Lehmann (Eds.), The Cambridge Handbook of Undergraduate Research (pp. 431–438). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Raberger, J., Darmawanti, I. & Froehlich, D. E. (2026): Research-based learning and the development of an inquiry habit of mind in teacher education: A systematic literature review. In: Zeitschrift für Bildungsforschung. DOI: 10.1007/s35834-025-00526-0. Thiem, J., Preetz, R., & Haberstroh, S. (2020). 'Warum soll ich forschen?'-Wirkungen Forschenden Lernens bei Lehramtsstudierenden. Zeitschrift für Hochschulentwicklung, 15(2), 187-207.