This seminar examines the alignments and tensions between teacher education research, policy and practice. This is the sixth seminar in a series of eight public seminars on 'Future directions in teacher education research, practice and policy'. The seminar series is organised by the Department of Education. Diane will analyse the ways in which teacher education has been conceptualised at various points in time during the past 50 years highlighting the related knowledge bases for teaching and the policies driving accountability regimes during that time. Then she will go on to focus on the current policy moment which is positioning teacher education as a policy problem requiring a national solution and large-scale reform agendas. Diane will also consider future opportunities for teacher education researchers in terms of research in, on and for teacher education. Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial-Share Alike 2.0 UK: England & Wales; http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/uk/