Dimensions of Quality in Teacher Knowledge

Abstract

In the media, in government and in research literature there is a strong view that we need high quality teachers. In Australia, the Federal Minister for Education, Science and Training recently made her government's views clear: “I am committed to ensuring that every child in Australia, wherever they attend school, have access to a high quality education, with high quality teachers in a high quality environment” (Bishop, 2006). In the United States of America, a recent report from the new Commission on the Skills of the American Workforce identified the need to recruit more high quality teachers as a key component in a recommended revamp of the US education system (NCEE, 2006). The official documents associated with the No Child Left Behind Act in the US also have a focus on improving teacher quality (U.S. Department of Education, 2007) in addition to a major concern with ensuring that “highly qualified” teachers are available in all classrooms. And the vision of the United Kingdom Department for Education and Skills is that its recent National Strategies will “transform the quality of learning and teaching to benefit all children and young people in all phases and settings” (U.K. Department for Education and Skills, 2006, Purpose vision and strategic aims para. 2).