This paper presents the major findings of a longitudinal study of teachers' professional identities in the early years of teaching. It analyzes key influences upon the ways in which new teachers' identities are shaped and reshaped over time. Through their own perceptions, analyses of the school cultures in which they work and their pupils' views it reveals how the interplay between contextual, cultural and biographical factors affects their teaching practices. Teachers' personal and professional histories and pre-service training, alongside issues of school culture and leadership, emerge as stronger mediating influences (than previous literature suggests) in determining the kinds and relative stability and instability of professional identities which teachers develop in the early years of teaching and thus the kinds of teachers they become and their effectiveness.

The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted education at all levels in various ways. Institutions and teacher educators had to quickly respond to an unexpected and 'forced' transition from face-to-face to remote teaching. They also had to create learning environments for student teachers doing their preparation in the light of the requirements of teacher education programmes and the conditions in which both universities and schools had to operate. This paper provides a review of the literature on online teaching and learning practices in teacher education. In total, 134 empirical studies were analysed. Online teaching and learning practices related to social, cognitive and teaching presence were identified. The findings highlighted the need for a comprehensive view of the pedagogy of online education that integrates technology to support teaching and learning. The implications of this study for the development of online teaching and learning practices are discussed. Suggestions for further research are also examined.

This paper focuses on the national, institutional and pedagogical responses as a result of the closure of schools and universities in March 2020 in Portugal. It includes a brief description and analysis of the initiatives and responses to the crisis as well as the difficulties, the challenges and the opportunities. The paper concludes with the discussion of the implications for teaching and teacher education in such uncertain times, particularly in regard to the role of practice as well as issues of mentoring within the context of a practicum as a 'real practice' versus 'an ideal(ised) practice'.

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Drawing upon empirical data, this article explores the ways in which school culture and leadership impact on new teachers' learning in the workplace. The study was carried out over a two-year period and involved a cohort of 14 new teachers and 18 elementary and secondary schools. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with the new teachers and headteachers and a questionnaire which was also administered to all staff in each of the schools. Findings suggest the key role of school culture and leadership in (re)shaping teachers' response to the institutional and situational constraints of the workplace and their learning and socialization process at school. Implications for induction and the role of schools in fostering teacher professional growth are discussed.

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A review of articles published in Assessment and Evaluation in Higher Education, over the last eight years (2006-2013) on assessment in higher education, since the introduction of the Bologna process, is the subject of the paper. The first part discusses the key issue of assessment in higher education and the method used for selecting articles. The second part presents results according to the main emerging themes arising from data analysis: assessment methods, modes of assessment and assessment related to a given teaching and learning method. The paper concludes that the foci of the studies are aligned with assessment practices other than the written test, in accordance with a learner-oriented perspective. Although the implementation of the Bologna process has had different kinds of impact in different European countries, the review shows that the use and effects of a diversity of assessment methods in higher education have been investigated, particularly those pointing to the so-called alternative methods. Implications of the findings are discussed.