Different understandings of the relationship between teacher education and professional practice

In the Center for Didactic Methods and Approaches, VIA University College, we have developed a didactic model of reflection for teachers and managers with the purpose of reflecting on education, teaching, and explaining the educators’ educational paradigms. During the work, we found different understandings of the relationship between teacher education and professional practice. We found that this relationship may impact how a teacher or manager actually practices the profession of education, including the methods teachers employ to teach, the methods the student teachers employ to teach, and on the education totality. We also found that a lack of explanation of the educational paradigms to which teachers adhere may influence students’ optimal professional development.