Teacher Education has always been a

Teacher Education has always been a site of ideological struggle and more recently also of
political tension. Teacher quality and the relationship with student achievement has become a political
focus for many nations. Research is clear that teachers do make a difference and quality teachers can
assist in ensuring that students achieve quality outcomes. The challenge facing us at present is how to
sustain and grow quality teachers in an era of diminishing resources and competing imperatives. In order
to sustain quality teacher education for the future it is necessary to shift teacher education from being
viewed as a problem to being viewed rather as the solution. This address considers what the current
teacher education problems are and poses a number of key questions about the nature and shape of
quality teacher education. Finally by drawing on the Massey University experience, suggestions are
made about the elements of teacher education that are both future-focused and sustainable.