Teacher education in Ireland and Western Europe: A comparative analysis.

It is not an easy task to provide a succinct overview of key features and trends in pre-service teacher education in Western Europe. Formal teacher education is deeply rooted in most European countries dating from the late eighteenth or early decades of the nineteenth century. Education systems and teacher education have been shaped by the historical, political, economic, cultural, religious and linguistic differences which have characterised the independent nation states of Europe. This has given rise to great diversity and variation of approach in teacher education. Yet, despite the diversity shaped by historical circumstances, there is also a growing commonality in the issues and trends emerging in the different Western European systems. The paper will be primarily concerned with these general trends, while recording the caveat that the generalisation cannot do full justice to the rich tapestry which exists in European teacher education. Limitations of time and space also necessitate concentration on teacher education for the mainstream primary and secondary schools