In this article I seek to explore how teacher education policy has been shaped and influenced by
political interventions. The main focus is on the UK, but I argue that this approach to teacher
education as a 'policy problem' is part of a wider global phenomenon. Part of this discussion
necessarily needs to differentiate between what has been happening in different parts of the UK,
for in spite of the globalising influences, there appears to have been some divergence between the
trajectories of the four jurisdictions in relation to developments in teacher education. In drawing
on recent developments in 'clinical practice' within teacher education, I draw attention to the
importance of a research oriented approach to teacher education.