The effective development and education of teachers is central to the enterprise of education itself, and teacher education is currently viewed as a key educational priority issue at European Union level, requiring attention and further development as part of a broad approach to the raising of educational standards internationally. However, it is not easy for those interested in the subject - policy makers, teacher educators, other academic researchers, serving teachers and student teachers - to access the wealth of material already published on teacher education. Addressing this issue, this five-volume collection will for the first time bring together the most important papers and articles published between 1797 and 2005.

Comprising an introductory volume that provides a philosophical and historical foundation to the collection, this comprehensive work then presents four closely inter-related volumes focusing on issues within the field.