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In this article the theme of individualisation of teaching is described and analysed. In the light of a fairly long tradition of a comprehensive school system embracing the idea of individualisation, we expected this to be an important aspect of ongoing changes in Nordic schools. Individualisation can be seen as continuity in the pedagogical ideas-at the same time the meaning of individualisation changes along with other changes in school and society. While in Sweden and Norway the appearance of self-regulatory individualised ways of working in the end of the twentieth century is quite strong, it is not so obvious in the other countries. In the article the theme of individualisation is treated from the perspective of each country. Based on these case descriptions, similarities and differences are discussed. Nordic Schooling and Teaching TraditionsDuring the twentieth century, connected comprehensive school systems were developed and expanded in all Nordic countries. A comprehensive school system in Nordic terms refers to a unified, unstreamed school system where all pupils, despite academic and economic backgrounds and resources, are enrolled in the same agebased school. The Nordic comprehensive model further implies both theoretical and practical training and should, in principle, provide the students with the same structural possibilities for learning in terms of teacher competence, class size, text materials and other sources for structural support. The comprehensive school system includes primary and lower secondary levels (1-6/7 and 7-9/10) in all five countries.

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In the United States, policy discussions of teacher education in relationship to teacher quality have tended to focus more closely around debates about the nature of teacher preparation and the need for quality teachers to possess advanced degrees or certification. The field is in need of an array of indicators À a set of powerful, well-researched indicators that can be applied to large public universities as well as small regional private colleges, from university-based programs to "alternative" programs and to more "hybrid" programs. These indicators need to be relevant for teacher certification across a variety of age-ranges and developmental stages. In this chapter, we build on a growing conversation about practice in teacher education and efforts on the part of researchers to identify key

Around the world, policy makers and teacher educators are paying increasing attention to how teacher candidates learn to teach in practice and how to ground teacher education more deeply in the