Through the lens of feedback literacy: A scoping review of empirical research on teacher educators’ feedback practices in initial teacher education

Teacher educators’ feedback literacy is pivotal in initial teacher education (ITE), where feedback supports learning while modelling professional practice. This scoping review synthesises empirical research on educators’ feedback practices. Using a refined Teacher Feedback Literacy framework as a retrospective analytical lens, the review maps 16 studies to examine how practices are operationalised across micro-, meso-, and macro-levels. Findings reveal a pronounced micro-level orientation focused on crafting clear feedback inputs. Within ITE’s meta-didactic context, this emphasis serves both as instructional support and as professional modelling. While valuable meso-level designs often exist in isolated courses, the lack of strategic macro-level feedback design constrains pre-service teachers’ opportunities to engage with feedback as a systemic practice. Furthermore, macro-level engagement predominantly involves collegial development through self-studies. The review calls for longitudinal research that leverages ITE’s reflexive culture to reposition feedback as a collectively modelled, systemic capability.