Research worldwide consistently shows that effective and quality teaching greatly impacts students' academic achievement (Burroughs et al, 2019; Kyriakides, 2013). Having enough adequately trained teachers, who are recognised as professionals and capable of acting with agency and autonomy, is important in ensuring that schooling contributes to ‘quality learning for all (Sayed et al, 2018). However, teachers can only be successful in their professional roles if they are sufficiently prepared through high-quality Initial Teacher Education (ITE),  which is a first step in what should be a continuous and integrated teacher professional development journey.

In Pakistan, ITE programmes have been critiqued for being predominantly theoretical with inadequate support provided to pre-service teachers to be innovative in their classroom practices and responsive to new challenges (Abd-Kadir & Hardman, 2013; Hardman et al, 2015; Mrutu et al, 2022; Opfer and Pedder 2011; Rizvi and Khamis, 2020). Relatedly, education systems around the world are increasingly shifting from knowledge-based to competency-based curricula aimed at student-centred learning,  requiring new ways of thinking about teachers’ pedagogical practices as well as their agentic role in the classroom (Benevot et al., 2023; Darling-Hammond et al, 2019; Priestly, Biesta & Robinson, 2016). Teacher professional development, and ITE in particular, must therefore adapt to contemporary education system challenges.  This requires a rethink of the current modalities of teacher preparation to empower and professionalise teachers to become agentive professionals, capable of understanding and interpreting the curriculum and appropriately responding to student learning levels and needs in uncertain and rapidly changing contexts (Priestly, Biesta & Robinson, 2016). The training provided to prospective teachers in Pakistan does not reflect a shift to a new form of teaching and learning to ensure equitable and quality learning outcomes (Nayar & Akmar, 2020; Koehler & Mishra, 2009).

In the above backdrop, an intervention-based research study, entitled: Equitable, Quality Teacher Professional Development for Empowerment: Delivering responsive and inclusive initial teacher education through Design Thinking, was undertaken at a private university in Karachi, Pakistan. The study explored how the Design Thinking model for teacher education, which centres on the agentic role of teachers in education innovation, can be adapted through initial teacher education in Pakistan, to improve the quality of ITE in the country. 

The Design Thinking Model (DTM), grounded in the tradition of participatory action research incorporates the strategies, steps, and processes of the Action Research Method, locating these in three distinct categories known as the cycles of TDM including “launching and exploration”; “Define, Generate and Making”, and “showcasing and rolling out”. A total of 18 participants of Initial Teacher Education Programme (1.5 years B.Ed.) were exposed to a 3-credit (48 contact hours) course on Practitioner Research Method, which essentially incorporated ideas and processes from Design Thinking Model (DTM) approach. During the course, the participants participated in several activities associated with various phases of DTM. The ITE students designed their prototype intervention (action research projects) using the Design Thinking approach. They went through the iterative process of planning (identification of the research problem through situation analysis, using a data-driven approach). They designed prototype solutions and pilot-test their proposed solutions and firm up their data collection plans (interventions, tools, and data generation strategies). They were assigned to schools where they carried out their action research with students/teachers, and other stakeholders (e.g., parents, caregivers, community members, headteachers, and education managers), depending upon the focus of their investigation, spanned over six weeks. The course faculty and mentors from the host schools closely worked with the students (e.g., planning instruction, non/participant-observation, feedback, etc.). The participants minutely document their reflections, observations, and other data collected from students (formative and summative assessment and achievement tests). Having completed data collection, they systematically and rigorously analyse their data and complete their practice (research) reports. Students' research reports were categorised into four subject-based clusters and put through a meta-analysis, aimed at distilling the key lessons learnt about what works, why, how, and under what conditions, through teacher-led pedagogical innovations supported by the Design Thinking Model.

The findings indicate that the use of effective, evidence-based pedagogical strategies, tested through iterative processes and supported by appropriate formative assessment practices, and attention to individual learning needs can significantly enhance students’ foundational learning outcomes. A central finding highlights empathy, a core principle of Design Thinking Model (DTM), as a recurring theme across all reports. ITE students consistently recognize the power of empathy in designing pedagogical interventions and innovations that respond to the diverse needs of learners. Prospective teachers view empathy as a critical tool for addressing issues related to equity and inclusion in learning contexts. Another key finding emerging from a close analysis of ITE students’ reflections suggests that engagement in practitioner research prompted them to renegotiate their professional identities—as teachers capable of diagnosing and solving their own classroom problems, experimenting with ideas, and learning from innovative practices as change agents. The ITE candidates further reflect on how personal factors (i.e., language expertise, content knowledge, and value orientations) and contextual variables (i.e., learners’ backgrounds, socio-cultural influences, and structural and material resources) either capacitate or constrain their efforts to bring about meaningful and sustainable improvements in teaching and learning practices and outcomes. Prospective teachers, with sufficient support by mentors during their placement in schools for teaching practice, can develop a mindset, which prompts them to be innovative in their classroom practices and responsive to new challenges. Conclusion To reflect on the implications of the study’s findings, initial teacher education needs to respond to contemporary needs and emerging opportunities and challenges brought by technological developments, particularly the growing influence of Artificial Intelligence (AI). This shift requires bringing reform in ITE policies and practices so that prospective teachers are equipped with new approaches to pedagogy in a changing context.

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