The practical training of student teachers in New Zealand : an historical and critical survey

Central to educational progress or even to the maintenance of an existing school system is a constant supply of adequately trained teachers. At no time has this been more apparent than at present whether we look overseas at Britain or America or at New Zealand where shortages of personnel are also acute.
The personal development and calibre of its teachers, the ideals they pursue and the training the recieve constitute the foundation upon which any system must be based. Included factors are:- the supply of entrants, the selection from these of applicants whose personal qualities are capable of modification and growth; the extension of their knowledge both academic and professional as well as the training that is undertaken in the schools.
It is to a survey of this last-named field of practical training that the following thesis is devoted. By a study of the background and development of teacher education in New Zealand from its origins in Britain upto the present, and through a critical review of the present system is it possible to drawn conclusions and make suggestions of value in future training in New Zealand?