Educators and policymakers worldwide are reimagining teacher preparation through the lens of the science of learning and development (SoLD). This blog series, based on insights from EdPrepLab’s World Café webinars, highlights global strategies for aligning teaching practices with what we know about how students learn best.

Global teacher shortages have focused world attention on recruiting candidates by increasing the attractiveness of teaching as a career. But ensuring a teacher for every classroom oftentimes obscures a significant concern beyond the quantity of teachers—that of teacher quality. There is consensus that quality education depends on quality teachers, but less consensus about what quality means.

Well-prepared teachers possess deep understanding of learners (capacities, cultures, contexts), pedagogy and content, and approaches for creating supportive learning environments. They consistently apply their knowledge, skills, and understandings to uplift and reach every child. These teachers attend closely to learners’ multiple diversities and strive for equitable outcomes for all their students.

While the vision of well-prepared teachers who are available to every student and attend to diverse needs is the ideal, realizing it requires sustained support and systemic investment. This intersection is underscored by a recent Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) study of teachers in 55 education systems, which emphasizes that quality teachers must be continuously supported toward equitable and excellent practice through ongoing opportunities for growth. This enables them to continuously improve and helps sustain them in the profession.

Preparing and supporting equitable educators, especially those who are new or early in their career, was the focus of an EdPrepLab World Café where expert educator-scholars from China, Scotland, Singapore, and the United Arab Emirates came together to share experiences and advice. As practices from the different contexts were discussed, four powerful understandings emerged that are key to supporting teacher learning and development for equitable practice, regardless of career stage or national context.

1. A clear vision of and for teachers. Professor Ee Ling Low, based in Singapore, described “values-based teacher education” that centers students, the profession, and the community. Values ensure that preparation stays focused on the humanity of teaching—teaching someone versus teaching something. This focus subsequently shapes “the personhood of the teacher” and their ongoing development needs. Similarly, Professor Aileen Kennedy emphasized the importance of teachers and teacher educators being clear about “what and why we are teaching,” guided by “the discourse of equity” in Scotland’s teaching standards. In China and the UAE, respectively, national coordination to advance equity and “equity case discussions” affirm the primary goal of education. Simply put, supporting equitable educators starts with a deliberate focus on equity.
2. Systems of support. Effective teacher development relies on structured, systemwide supports that are intentionally designed to build educator capacity at every level. Dr. Haiyan Qian described systemwide infrastructure in China where supports are provided to all teachers at the national, provincial or state, city, and school level. All four contexts have structured induction in place, typically a yearlong program with mentors guiding new teachers’ transition into the classroom. Additional structured supports include courses to strengthen skills in areas often challenging for new teachers, such as classroom management, racial literacy, reduced teaching hours, and professional learning communities. Supporting equitable educators requires concrete systems and structures for learning.
3. A culture of continuous, inquiry-driven learning. This approach empowers teachers to take ownership of their development and grow collaboratively. In Glasgow, teacher educators are encouraging student teachers’ agency and responsibility for their own learning, “shifting … orientation from rewarding performance to … prioritizing learning.” Professor Asma Khaleel Abdallah shared that inquiry, through action research, for example, is encouraged among UAE teachers, and “early teachers should be empowered to ask about anything” to deepen their understanding. In China, teacher candidates may have multiple mentors who can support their development in specific areas, such as subject teaching. China’s Master Teacher Studios also provide collaborative learning spaces for teachers to work with an expert teacher and peers on a specific project. Supporting equitable educators means enabling their collaborative and collective learning.
4. Differentiated, career-stage supports. Finally, meeting the learning needs of teachers calls for differentiated supports tailored according to the career stages of teachers. This assumes that teachers’ needs and concerns evolve as they gain experience, face new challenges, or aspire to grow. As such, learning supports cannot be standardized but must also shift responsively. Stage-based supports address specific needs but should also recognize the accomplishments of teachers—both novice and experienced—and celebrate the growth of all teachers situated at different points along a career-long path. Supporting equitable educators requires meeting the unique needs of individual teachers.

These four key understandings align with principles of the Science of Learning and Development (SoLD) that illuminate the equitable practices and dispositions teachers can enact to support deep, meaningful, and joyful learning for diverse learners. Ultimately, the quality of the learning supports teachers are provided will determine the quality of the learning their students receive.

A. Lin Goodwin (葛文林) is the Thomas More Brennan Professor of Education at the Lynch School of Education and Human Development at Boston College.