The purpose of this study is to disclose the types and content of dilemmas teacher educators in Turkey faced with as well as the strategies they used to cope with them. Additionally, the findings were compared with datasets from Israel and The Netherlands in order to make cross-cultural comparisons. The findings indicate that teacher educators are concerned with improving their pedagogy and professionalism in teaching for teaching, with a prime concern for being an initiator of learning. The comparison of the findings reveals that the theory–practice-related dilemmas are among the most prominent across contexts. Furthermore, the comparison's findings reveal that while Israeli and Dutch educators express a preference for the involvement of their students as a strategy to cope with their dilemmas, Turkish educators seem to be coping with them either on their own or by seeking advice from their colleagues.

This article explores the challenges experienced by teacher educators promoting reflective practice in a large group setting, using reflective verbalisation as an organising framework. This study undertaken in a university in the Republic of Ireland. The findings reveal that the participants indicated that their experience of the module enabled them to use a reflective approach to new situations which arose in their classrooms. In addition, the participants indicated that the module had facilitated their capacity to reflect on and develop their own ideas about teaching and curriculum. However, participants did not feel that the module allowed them to explore with staff and fellow students specific curricular and/or classroom issues which they were experiencing in the practicum.

This article uses previous research on beginning English teachers’ major concerns to frame the exploration of concerns faced by four beginning teachers. This article seeks to expand on that research by examining the concerns faced by four beginning teachers and considering the implications of those concerns for teacher preparation. The author concludes that in addition to those identified by the previous research, the four beginning teachers in this study dealt with adjusting to the teaching profession, accepting their students, and managing their emotions.

In this article, the authors are interested to know whether male and female students in the Netherland perceive the curriculum differently. The following research question was guided this study: Can gender-specific student factors be identified in relation to the initial teacher education curriculum that leads to the differences in the dropout rate? The authors found gender differences in student factors as well as in the way male and female students perceive the curriculum. Concerning the student factors, males and females differ in professional motivation and expectations concerning the curriculum at the start of their training and after two-and-a-half years.

In this article, the authors present the mentoring relationship of two teachers at an urban elementary school in Paphos, Cyprus. The authors present how the mentoring relationship of two teachers resulted in the provision of a more inclusive education, not only regarding the two teachers involved in the mentoring relationship, but in the school in general. The data analysis led to the following two assertions: a) the mentoring relationship helped the new teacher to develop more inclusive practices, and b) the mentoring relationship helps in the development of a culture of cooperation between the new teacher and his or her mentor but also helps in the expansion of this relationship throughout the whole school.