This paper engages with the double meaning of ‘good’ in English. ‘Good’ can refer to the morally
correct choice, and it can also refer to high quality. The question then becomes whether these types
of ‘good-ness’ refer to the same thing in teacher education. Theoretical treatments of moral goodness
in education highlight morality as a social fact that changes with the times. In contrast, goodness
as quality is tested and measured through international comparisons which increasingly define
what counts as ‘quality’. In available research accounts of Russian education and Scottish education,
different kinds of ‘good-ness’ emerge, with the risk that they conflict. The conclusion reflects on how
we might and should prepare teachers for different versions of goodness and their contradictions.