Teacher Training In Northern Ireland

This book addresses the history of teacher preparation in Northern Ireland, paying particular attention to the distinctive political and religious influences in the country and how these have impacted teacher education.

The educational implications of cultural pluralism attracted a good deal of attention in Western societies in the 1970s and 1980s, on the grounds of equality and human rights, maximising national talent, and maintaining social cohesion. Maurice Craft and the international contributors to this book highlight the potential of teacher education, and in this wide-ranging analytical review for its key role in providing for ethnic minority children, in respect of access and achievements, and also for all children to acquire informed and tolerant attitudes. This book makes an important contribution to a small but growing literature, concentrating on initial rather than in-service teacher education, and it brings together papers from experienced specialists from eleven countries worldwide: Australia, Britain, Canada, Israel, Malaysia, Northern Ireland, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, The Netherlands and the USA. The papers are concerned with the needs both of diverse classrooms and diverse societies, and also consider general principles and comparative perspectives. Of interest to the specialist and non-specialist alike, Teacher Education in Plural Societies: An International Review deals with an important and timely issue – how best to prepare teachers to meet the needs of both minority – and majority – culture pupils who are growing up in plural societies.

Dealing with all aspects of teacher education in the past 50 years the 13 books in this set, originally published between 1969 and 1996, discuss how the education system in the UK has changed; the impact of restructuring on teachers; teacher expectations around the world and other important topics in the sociology of education and teacher research.

This study of teacher preparation policy and practice in Ireland from Independence in 1921 to the present, highlights, within an international context, the extent to which the focus of preparation moved from nation-building until 1967, when free second-level education was introduced, to one concerned with improving the country’s human capital.