Research in Education : Teacher Training Issues

At a global level, governmental and public institutions are making, through performance improvement plans, concerted efforts to meet the needs of their education systems in certain key areas by looking for relevance and efficiency. One of these key areas is related to academic training programs targetted at teachers and professors. In this respect, special attention is being devoted to the tertiary education level (also referred to as the third stage or postsecondary education). Teacher training for primary and secondary levels are included in the main focus of the Training of Trainers procedure, which refers to providing new trainers with the background knowledge, skills and practical experience to enhance their role. This book includes varied research articles associated to the initial training of teachers in a wide range of areas and developed by groups of researchers linked to one of the abovementioned plans in a Chilean university. It is a small sample of the results that have facilitated these types of initiatives as well as the establishment of stable and cooperative research nuclei of work in areas such as educational vulnerability; family, school and community; citizen education; and even didactic strategies applied to science and mathematics.