Increasingly, in Scotland there is an expectation of teachers to fulfil a social contract in education to close the poverty-related attainment gap and meet the needs of the range of learners in a diverse 21^st century Scotland (General Teaching Council for Scotland, 2021). Using Goodwin’s five domains of knowledge (Goodwin, 2010, 2019), we explored pre-service teachers’ understanding and conceptualisation of becoming a teacher.

This study was carried out with pre-service teachers based at a Scottish Higher Education Institution (HEI) offering initial teacher education (ITE) at postgraduate (Masters) level (Scottish Credit & Qualifications Framework level 11). Participants included those seeking to qualify as teachers in the primary-school or secondary-school sectors (working with children aged 4-11 or 12-18 respectively). An anonymous online questionnaire, available for completion by all entrants and all those successfully completing the programme, was used as a convenient way of collecting data. The data was analysed using thematic analysis methods for qualitative questionnaire data.

On entry to the ITE programme, there was a range of depth of understanding across the five domains. On finishing the programme, this range persisted. In some cases, pre-service teachers articulated an understanding of what the knowledge domain was about, with some knowledge domains developed to a greater extent than others. For example, the majority of exiting students who completed the questionnaire demonstrated understanding of contextual knowledge but only within the context of the school and local community (i.e. “immediate and proximate” Goodwin (2010, p. 24)). Only a small number demonstrated a broader understanding of the inclusion of political, historical, structural and cultural context.

This study provides thought-provoking data for those involved in ITE as we consider the extent to which we prepare pre-service teachers for the complex demands of achieving equity and social justice through education.

In today's evolving world, the development of students as thinkers is key. In supporting this goal, intentionally incorporating instruction of higher-order thinking (HOT) has been proven to be essential. However, this complex instruction requires wide and deep teacher knowledge. This knowledge goes beyond merely presenting HOT assignments, as has often been the emphasis in professional development (PD). Research shows that when aimed at teaching diverse-students, teachers must have specific knowledge regarding thinking-difficulties and how to support students after identifying difficulties. Without this, mostly stronger-learners benefit from HOT learning, despite evidence that low-achievers are especially benefitted thereby.

This study addresses this gap by examining 115 teachers' analysis of HOT instruction and providing insights regarding (a) thinking-difficulties teachers identify and anticipate; (b) supports teachers offer for assisting students with their thinking-difficulties; and (c) knowledge sources teachers rely on when identifying student-difficulties and when suggesting supports.

The study found that while teachers were rather competent at creating HOT tasks, over half the teachers struggled to address student thinking-difficulties. Teachers' knowledge of student thinking-difficulties was limited, but also it was not highly accessible nor prioritised by them. Teachers' repertoire of supports for thinking-difficulties was also limited, with a majority explicitly stating they do not know how to support students through HOT difficulties. While teachers had wide knowledge of creating and evaluating HOT tasks, teachers' knowledge, of thinking-difficulties and of supports, was either lacking or based almost entirely on personal-experience.

This study has significant educational implications. Familiarity with HOT thinking difficulties, knowing how to seek and identify them, and of course knowing how to address them, must be explicitly taught. It is essential knowledge teachers must develop through PD in order to effectively teach HOT with diverse students.

*The full paper elaborates on the thinking-difficulties identified and the supports suggested by teachers (in preparation).

The objective of this study was to identify the professional knowledge needs of teachers in Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) through a case study. ESD is increasingly important in global educational discussions due to its relevance for the planet’s future. The Teacher Professional Knowledge in Contexts (TPKinCs) model by Grangeat and Hudson (2015) was used to understand the contexts and beliefs shaping teachers' professional knowledge, with Lange's (2008) definitions and approaches to ESD providing additional support.

A case study was conducted with a Senegalese teacher (Subject 1), who is male, with a seventeen-year experience teaching mathematics and physics. The teacher was interviewed, and the responses were transcribed and analyzed using the theoretical frameworks. Three main themes emerged: the teacher’s characterization of ESD and his view of nature; his perceptions of the teaching profession, other teachers, students, and himself; and his practices and emphasis on community. A table cross-referenced these themes with the TPKinCs model.

The results show that the teacher’s approach is influenced by ongoing ESD and SDGs training, admiration for UNESCO, and religious and other beliefs, shaped by his contexts. While Subject 1’s teacher pedagogical knowledge aligns with the United Nations' vision of lifelong learning and quality education, updated knowledge and progressive pedagogical strategies could be envisioned in matters as gender equality, views on nature, and evaluation methods. Continuous teacher training on ESD can also help develop teacher professional knowledge related to the specific aspects of this field.

In conclusion, although the TPKinCs model offers a useful framework, the study highlights the need for longer duration and direct classroom observation to better assess alignment between the teacher's practices and discourse, as well as a larger sample to better capture the diversity of teacher profiles and needs.

This paper presents the findings of a scoping review of longitudinal research on teaching 1970-2023 in the context of Teachers Professional Journeys (TPJ): The First Decade (2024-2030) study (Author et al, 2024). TPJ, a nationally funded study, is an accelerated longitudinal mixed-methods study focused on understanding the dynamics of teacher learning and development during their first decade teaching in the context of the wider education system at primary, post primary and further education (FE) sectors in Ireland. The study followed the PRISMA guidelines (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis) for scoping reviews using these five steps: scoping, searching, screening, data extraction and data analysis (Page et al., 2021). The following bibliographic databases were searched from 1970 to 2023 (published in English): Web of Science, EBSCO and Scopus. Longitudinally-designed studies of teachers and teaching at primary, post-primary and further education and training sectors were included in the initial search with the final set of studies for full text review comprising longitudinal studies 2010-23 involving three or more time points of data collection. Longitudinal studies focused only on initial teacher education were not included. Criteria for data extraction were refined through discussions between the research teams and informed by the larger goals of the study. Two reviewers then worked independently to extract data from the 207 included studies. Findings indicate a somewhat broadly focused literature with studies focused on teacher journeys encompassing (i) describing the self as teacher (teacher identity, knowledge, beliefs, experiences or practices) (ii) appraisal of self as teacher (autonomy, efficacy and job satisfaction), (iii) Impact of teacher professional learning and career experience, (iv) national priorities/policies and (v) teacher supply. Findings under these five headings are discussed along with the scoping review’s overarching finding, that is, the now burgeoning longitudinal literature in teacher education.