Rethinking Teacher Education Through Signature Pedagogies

What makes teaching a profession—and how does initial teacher education (ITE) contribute to that status? One influential idea, introduced by Lee Shulman, is that professions are often defined by a signature pedagogy: a distinctive way of teaching that reflects the profession’s core values, alongside agreed knowledges and practices. If teacher education had such a pedagogy, could it strengthen claims to legitimacy, authority, and agency? And if so, what would it look like—and would it even be desirable?

This seminar explores these questions through findings from three research projects that examine teacher education at different scales: within a single institution across subjects and phases; across multiple institutions during a period of policy reform; and across diverse international contexts. Together, these studies shed light on whether a signature pedagogy for teacher education is desirable, if it exists, what form it might take, and how this could reshape our understanding of ITE—not only for educators, but also for policymakers seeking to influence it.

Speaker Bio:
Clare Brooks is a Professor of Education at the University of Cambridge. Her research focuses on how policy influences access to teacher education for isolated communities, and the implications for high-quality initial teacher education at scale. She takes up the role of Head of the Faculty of Education in October 2026.