ABSTRACT
Changes in the global and Malaysian education scenario have made the teaching profession more challenging, especially in the 21st century. As teacher quality is crucial in preparing students for a society very much influenced by the fourth Industrial revolution, there is a need for policies and strategies which focus on strengthening teacher education, in order to produce teachers of great quality. In Malaysia, various efforts were undertaken to address the question of teaching profession. One such effort is the Malaysian Education Blueprint (MEB, 2013–2025). Within the blueprint, shift four aims at transforming teaching into the profession of choice. This chapter begins by exploring teaching as a profession of choice in Malaysia and why it has relevance to teacher education. This chapter then explores pre-service and in-service teacher education programmes and the important aspect of continuous professional development for teachers in Malaysia. This chapter then highlights past research on teacher education programmes and its major findings. Next, this chapter illuminates challenges facing teacher education and the future directions teacher education programmes could adopt to prepare teachers to manage changes and challenges in the 21st century.
