Pre-service teacher education programmes (Pre-STEPs) lay the foundation for preparing future teachers, contributing to improved teaching practices, student success, and socio-economic growth. While high-performing countries in international large-scale assessments prioritise teacher preparation, Pre-STEPs face criticism for their limited impact on equipping teachers for contemporary challenges. Empirical evidence suggests minimal differences in student outcomes between teachers with and without Pre-STEP qualifications, particularly in developing contexts where subject knowledge is often deemed sufficient for teaching. Notably, studies on Pre-STEPs from the Global South are scarce, necessitating further exploration of their effectiveness. This study maps and synthesises global evidence on Pre-STEP models followed by evaluating Pakistan’s Pre-STEP models to assess their impact on teacher competence, classroom practices, and student outcomes. The study will address critical gaps by providing evidence on Pre-STEPs’ effectiveness in Pakistan, informing context-sensitive programme designs, and guiding policy decisions on teacher education quality. It will also explore how Pre-STEPs influence both cognitive and non-cognitive learning outcomes, laying the groundwork for future research in developing contexts.
Bio: Aisha Naz Ansari graduated from Aga Khan University, Institute for Educational Development (AKU-IED) in 2023 with an MPhil in Education. Prior to that, she completed her B.Ed (Hons.) at Sukkur IBA University in 2020, receiving a Gold Medal.
Between 2023 and 2025, Aisha worked as a Research and Teaching Associate at AKU-IED, contributing to large-scale studies, systematic reviews, and co-teaching three graduate courses. She subsequently served as a Research Specialist at AKU-IED, working on two large-scale studies and additional systematic reviews. In parallel, she has contributed to the Evidence Synthesis Infrastructure Collaboration (ESIC) as a working group member. Recently, she was recognised as an Associate Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, UK.
She has published over 30 research articles, systematic reviews, and research blogs in both national and international journals and prestigious forums. Her research interests include systematic reviews, teacher education, educational technology, public-private partnerships, and classroom teaching and learning.
Aisha is currently a PhD student at the School of Education, Durham University, United Kingdom, under the NINE DTP Scholarship.
