ABSTRACT
The focus of this review is the initial teacher preparation for reading instruction. In the period from 1995 to the present there has been a great deal of activity surrounding both this topic and initial teacher preparation in general. It is difficult to pinpoint the causes and reasons prompting this activity, and there appears to be a cycle of criticism followed by innovation and research activity relating to some basic unresolved tensions surrounding teaching (Openshaw and Ball, 2008: 156). These tensions give life to debates addressing unresolved questions such as:
Is teaching a practical task centred on classroom management or is it a learned profession?
How should teaching candidates be inducted and where?
What precise mix of knowledge, qualities, and skills might be required of future teachers?
Should the professional or the academic aspects of teacher education programmes predominate?
Who should exercise ultimate control of teacher education curriculum and programmes?
How can the teacher supply be maintained both cheaply and efficiently?
(Openshaw and Ball, 2008: 156)
