ABSTRACT
This chapter is the first part of the study's empirical findings. It analyses how teacher education is defined and consolidated in the making of EU decisions and which changes this process implies for teacher education policy and practice in Europe. The first section traces how teacher education policy developed as part of EU policy cooperation in the broader area of education and training, providing a historical overview from 1957 until 2018. After identifying the main trends characterising European thinking in teacher education, three fundamental policy trends are explored, namely the continuum of teacher education, the development of teacher competence frameworks, and the role of teacher educators. Finally, the chapter examines the mechanisms, processes, and key agents of Europeanisation disseminating relevant policies in the European Teacher Education Area.
