Preparing Future Teachers for Democratic Resilience: Professional Responsibility in International Teacher Education

The project PREP-TE connects researchers from Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin as part of the Berlin University Alliance (BUA), and the University of Melbourne to explore the role of teacher education in sustaining democratic societies. It focuses on strengthening future teachers’ democratic resilience and professional responsibility, examining how teacher education can prepare them to foster participation, critical engagement, and ethical responsibility in increasingly complex social contexts.

Across many democratic societies, education systems face growing challenges, including polarization, misinformation, and declining trust in institutions. Schools play a key role not only in transmitting knowledge but in shaping citizens capable of critical thinking, dialogue, and responsible participation. Hence, teacher education is crucial in preparing future teachers for this task. However, research suggests that fostering professional responsibility remains underdeveloped in teacher training.

The workshop will create a structured dialogue between German and Australian teacher educators to develop a joint research agenda. It aims to compare contexts, identify shared challenges, and explore innovative approaches to strengthening democratic resilience in and through teacher education.

On this basis, PREP-TE will align research interests, build a shared framework, and identify areas for collaboration, aiming at further international funding und research. Thereby, the collaboration will also strengthen long-term academic exchange between BUA institutions and the University of Melbourne.