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Key Features of the Integration in Pedagogical Education and Teachers’ Professional Development in China. Education & Pedagogy Journal. 2023;2(6):5-20. DOI:

Introduction. In the current conditions of increasing globalization processes and digital transformation in all spheres of human activities, once-and-for-all education no longer meets society’s requirements for the quality of teaching personnel. In this context, integration in teacher education and professional development of teachers becomes one of the necessary and inevitable tasks of reform and modernization of the education system worldwide, largely due to the growing popularity and demand for the modern educational idea of lifelong learning. The practice of separating the idea of lifelong learning from the system of teacher education has hindered the effective improvement of the quality of teaching personnel. By the end of the XX century, however, China had already begun a comprehensive study of different systems integration, the process of teacher education, and professional development. Since then, there have been some experiences of integrating professional teacher education and development at the level of theory and practice, which need to be generalized and reflected upon. Objective. This study aims to analyze the status of integration trends in modern teacher education and professional development in China, characterize its main features, and identify the main problems. The materials of this study include academic papers on the problem area of the study (mainly Chinese scholars) and regulatory documents approved at the state level on education in China. The following research methods were used: Analysis of academic papers and documents on Chinese education policy, a study of the experience of integration into the teacher education system and professional development of teachers in China, synthesis, and generalization. Results and Discussion. Integration in the system of teacher education and teacher professional development in China enables the rational and reasonable design of the objectives and content of education at all stages of teacher professional development, maintaining its continuity and integrity, optimizing the use of educational resources and teaching materials, and promoting the improvement of the quality of teaching staff. Local authorities, higher education institutions, and teacher professional development institutes are the participants and subjects of this integration and contribute to its implementation in teacher education and professional development. This integration is mainly reflected in the integration of learning objectives, curricula, educational institutions involved in teachers’ professional development, and their certification, as well as in the assessment of educational resources. In the near future, the main tasks of integration in teacher education and teacher training processes in China will remain the promotion of productive professional communication, interaction, and cooperation at all levels of teacher education and among the various subjects of teacher education, the strengthening of the continuity of the goals and content of education, and the improvement of the quality of teachers working in the teacher education system. Conclusion. The main feature of integration in teacher education and teacher professional development in China is to focus on eliminating and reducing gaps in the professional teacher education process and promoting teachers’ continuous professional development. Integration as a resource for improving the quality of teacher education and development can be demonstrated mainly at the levels of the goals in the academic disciplines syllabuses and teacher education programs, educational institutions, teacher certification, and evaluation of educational resources and teaching materials. Eliminating and minimizing the problems and gaps of the above introduction requires further theoretical and empirical research.

Keywords: pedagogical education in China, Chinese teachers, integration, integration in pedagogical education, integration in teacher professional development