Abstract

Initial teacher education is a key factor in the teaching and learning process. Previous studies on educational policies evidence some deficiencies in the quality of teacher training programs in Spain, both in primary education and secondary education. In 2008, Spain participated, along with 16 other countries, in the Teacher Education and Development Study in Mathematics (TEDS-M), an international comparative study which examined how different countries prepared their prospective teachers to teach mathematics in primary and lower-secondary school. The Spanish participation in the study was limited to future primary teachers; but, what is the situation of initial education for future secondary mathematics teachers in Spain? In this paper we present an analysis of initial training programs for future mathematics teachers in secondary education in Spain. First, we study the main characteristics of initial teacher training programs in other countries: organization, structure, duration, access requirements, and professional standards. Next, we analyzed the Spanish situation, starting with a brief historical review of the previous model, and continuing with a detailed description of the current approach. The results show clear differences when comparing Spain with other countries, and indicate the need of introducing measures in order to overcome the current deficiencies of teacher training programs and contribute to the improvement of its quality.