Kosovo’s overall political intentions in joining the European family drove the country to reform teacher education according to European benchmarks and reference points. Special attention was dedicated to improving quality in initial teacher education. However, initial teacher education “universification” occurred only in 2002, and institutions are still at a relatively early stage in their development in providing quality teacher education, as centres for high-quality scholarship, and promoting excellence. This dissertation’s main purpose is to examine how quality initial teacher education is manifested in Kosovo in the context of European initiatives for improving quality in initial teacher education. The study uses a qualitative research paradigm to investigate various facets and tensions that characterise teacher educators, management staff, and student-teachers’ understandings, conceptualisations, perceptions, cultures and assumptions, their knowledge base, values, and attitudes, experiences, and actions regarding quality initial teacher education and improvement process. The study combined various instruments and data sources to conduct the study, including, analysis of programme documents (n = 6), interviews with management staff (n = 6, 15 interviews), and teacher educators (n = 15, 28 interviews), and open questionnaire and group interviews with student-teachers (n = 303), over three phases. The study included two public initial teacher education institutions in Kosovo, including Big urban – Capital and Small urban. From the comprehensive theoretical framework, we developed an analytical framework considering the three main dimensions relevant for examining the manifestation of quality initial teacher education at the institutional policy and practice dimension (organisational culture, management practices, institutional policy for quality assurance, cooperation with schools, etc.); the teacher educator practice dimension (classroom practice, roles of teacher educators, disciplinary cultures, etc.); and the programmes design and delivery dimension (development of student-teacher skills, knowledge, and values, transversal and research skills, programme content, learning outcomes and their assessment, etc.). The findings demonstrate that Kosovo has undergone continuous education reform through European-led initiatives in efforts to improve quality in initial teacher education. Unavoidably, local stakeholder contradictions and one-sided efforts in translating and implementing European initiatives for improving quality in teacher education have led to problems; Kosovo’s initial teacher education remains isolated as a national/contextual concern. Our study shows tensions and contradictions in how quality initial teacher education is manifested under European initiatives. At the institutional policy and practice dimension, we found tensions and contradictions between (i) external and internal quality assurance policy and practice, (ii) European, national and institutional quality teacher education policies, (iii) the Bologna-inspired and institutional structures, and (iv) classic administration culture and new management culture. At the teacher educator practice dimension, we found tensions and contradictions between (i) Pedagogy and Subject discipline, (ii) teacher educator classroom approaches, strategies, and methodologies, (iii) Subject and Subject Didactics teacher educator practice and teacher educator professional development prospects, and (iv) functional and other roles of teacher educators. At the programme design and delivery dimension, the following tensions and contradictions were identified between (i) compartmentalisation of knowledge, skills and values development in programmes, (ii) surface convergence (surface Europeanisation) and programme implementation, and (iii) fragmented and integrated programming. We show that several contextual variables influence such tensions and contradictions, following (1) the changing role of initial teacher education, (2) missing organisational culture, (3) teacher educator tacit knowledge, (4) prospective teachers’ narrow goals and values, and (5) lack of reform ownership and donor dependency. In order to better understand, tackle, and scaffold stakeholder tensions and contradictions, we recommend that initial teacher education context needs to be reconceptualised and treated as a broader/extended and context-free ecosystem. We introduce shared education context taciticity as a novice notion to theorise an extended context of initial teacher education that can recognise all possible tensions and contradictions of stakeholder perceptions regarding quality initial teacher education for developing collective tacit knowledge towards a culture of quality in initial teacher education.
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