Current Challenges for Innovations in Teacher Education

Teacher education operates within a dynamic and evolving landscape shaped by societal expectations, policy reforms, and technological advancements. Recent global disruptions, including the COVID-19 pandemic, have both intensified long-standing challenges and introduced new demands for teacher preparation. This chapter presents a scoping review of research published between 2020 and 2024, focusing on how teacher education has responded to these shifts in selected national and regional contexts. By examining studies that address structural inequities, transitions to online and hybrid learning, socio-emotional well-being, curriculum revisions, trauma-informed practices, and teacher recruitment and retention, the chapter identifies emerging patterns and tensions in contemporary teacher education. Grounded in Bronfenbrenner's ecological systems theory, the analysis considers how institutional, policy, and societal factors interact to shape current transformations in the field. Rather than offering prescriptive solutions, this chapter aims to synthesize recent findings to deepen understanding of the ways in which teacher education is adapting to the complexities of contemporary and dynamic educational settings. Through this lens, we highlight both incremental adjustments and more substantial innovations that seek to address the evolving needs of teacher educators and students alike.