EPLab
25/02/2026
The Future of Teaching: International Approaches to Pre-Service Teacher Development
Call for abstracts

NOVA University Lisbon (NOVA FCSH, with associated R&D units CETAPS, IFILNOVA & CLUNL) invites submissions for an international colloquium to be held in October 2026 on teacher education, with a particular focus on comparative perspectives between Portugal and countries with high-performing education systems, notably Finland, Singapore and Canada (Ontario), as well as other European countries.


The Conference aims to analyse and compare models of pre-service teacher education and to formulate evidence-based recommendations for improving the Portuguese system. The quality of any education system depends heavily on the quality of its teachers. Pre-service teacher education is therefore a strategic pillar in educational policy and in the construction of effective school systems.


Over the last two decades, Portugal has implemented several legal frameworks: Decree-Law no. 43/2007, Decree-Law no. 79/2014 and Decree-Law no. 9A/2025), moving towards Bolognatype structures. Despite important advances, there has been no systematic evaluation of the results of these curricular models and no structured benchmarking against international reference systems. At the same time, Portugal faces a chronic shortage of teachers, with projections pointing to tens of thousands of new teachers needed over the next decade, while current pre-service teacher education courses cannot meet this demand. Similar tensions exist elsewhere in Europe and beyond. By contrast, Finland, Singapore and Canada (Ontario) — and in some respects the United Kingdom, Ireland and Nordic countries more broadly — have developed models of pre-service teacher education often cited as examples of excellence, characterised by:


  • Rigorous selection processes and high academic standards;
  • Strong integration of scientific, pedagogical and practical components;
  • Early and wellstructured supervised teaching practice;
  • A robust research and innovation culture within teacher education;
  • Sustained mentoring and induction mechanisms.

Core Themes and Topics

The Conference will provide a forum for critical reflection and dialogue on these issues, bringing together researchers, teacher educators, policymakers and practitioners to discuss how comparative evidence can inform coherent, sustainable reforms of initial teacher education in Portugal and other contexts. Submissions may address, but are not limited to, the following areas:


  • Comparative analyses of initial teacher education systems;
  • Legislation and policy frameworks governing ITE;
  • Curriculum design: scientific, pedagogical, and practical components;
  • Integration of theory, practice, and research in teacher preparation;
  • Models of supervised practicum, clinical training, and school–university partnerships;
  • Assessment in ITE: scientific knowledge, pedagogical competence, professional readiness;
  • Mentoring and induction programmes for earlycareer teachers;
  • National accreditation and quality assurance systems;
  • Recruitment, selection, and professional standards for prospective teachers;
  • Innovative methodologies: lesson study, peer coaching, action research;
  • Responses to teacher shortages and workforce planning;
  • Institutional perspectives: teacher training universities, development schools, centres of excellence;
  • Case studies from Portugal, Europe, and international “high-performing” systems.

Contributions may be theoretical, empirical, methodological or policy-oriented, provided they engage critically with the issues raised above.

Formats

We welcome proposals in the following formats:


  • Individual papers (20 minutes + 10 minutes discussion);
  • Thematic panels (90 minutes; 3–4 coordinated papers);
  • Posters (research projects, case studies, or work in progress).

Submission Guidelines

  • Abstracts should be written in English or Portuguese;
  • Maximum 300 words for individual papers and posters; 800 words for panel proposals;
  • Include the author’s name, institutional affiliation, and email address;
  • All submissions will undergo doubleblind peer review;
  • Further details on submission procedures, important dates, and registration will be made available shortly on the conference website (under construction).

Important Dates

  • Abstracts submission deadline: June 1, 2026;
  • Notification of acceptance: July 6, 2026.

Expected Outcomes

The Conference will:


  • Serve as a public forum to discuss current issues in pre-service teacher education in the world today;
  • Collect contributions from international and national experts to refine and validate recommendations for the Portuguese pre-service system;
  • Foster international collaboration and networks in the field of teacher education.

Keynote Speakers

Auli Toom (University of Helsinki)

Jia Yi Chow (Nanyang Technological University)

Leslie Stewart Rose (University of Toronto)


More information about the keynote speakers is available here.

Executive Commission

Carlos Ceia (Convener) (CETAPS/EDUNOVA.ISPA)
Luís Manuel Bernardo (IFILNOVA)
Helena Topa Valentim (CLUNL)

Scientific Commission

Ana Gonçalves Matos <anagoma2@fcsh.unl.pt>
Ana Isabel Lemos do Carmo Pereira <anapereira@fcsh.unl.pt>
António Domingos <amdd@fct.unl.pt>
Carlos Ceia <cceia@fcsh.unl.pt>
Carlos Lindade <clindade@letras.up.pt>
Carolyn E. Leslie <cleslie@fcsh.unl.pt>
Christina Dechamps <cdechamps@fcsh.unl.pt>
Elisabete Maria Bailadeira Amiguinho Fiel <efiel@fcsh.unl.pt>
Helena Rocha <hcr@fct.unl.pt>
Helena Topa Valentim <ht.valentim@fcsh.unl.pt>
Lili Cavalheiro <lcavalheiro@fcsh.unl.pt>
Luis Manuel Bernardo <lm.bernardo@fcsh.unl.pt>
Matilde Goncalves <matilde.goncalves@fcsh.unl.pt>
Nadia Diogo Ferreira <nferreira@ispa.pt>
Noémia Jorge <noemia.jorge@ipleiria.pt>
Raquel Cardeira Varela <raquelvarela@fcsh.unl.pt>
Raquel Pereira Henriques <raquel.henriques@fcsh.unl.pt>
Susana Paiva Moreira Batista <susanabatista@fcsh.unl.pt>


Event supported by the Foundation for Science and Technology (Fundação para a Ciência e para a Tecnologia) of the Portuguese Ministry of Education and Science under the projects UID/04097/2025 (CETAPS), UID/03213/2025 (CLUNL) and UID/00183/2025 https://doi.org/10.54499/UID/00183/2025 (IFILNOVA).

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