This paper considers the changes in the expectations of initial teacher education programmes in New Zealand. Current challenges are reflected in the priorities outlined by both the New Zealand Government and Ministry of Education with respect to 1) mitigating the inequities in educational and health and wellbeing outcomes for Māori, Pasifika and students from lower socio-­‐economic backgrounds, particularly in literacy; 2) ensuring that students who experience special educational needs reach their potential and can contribute fully within our society; and 3) raising science, maths, and technology knowledge and skills among our youth in support of the innovative and creative solutions we will need them to create to support improved health, education, social and economic outcomes for our nation’s long-­‐ term success. In its 2010 report, the Education Workforce Advisory Group Report to the Minister of Education noted “To ensure that the teaching profession can attract and retain high quality individuals, broad changes are needed in the way that the profession is perceived. Teachers cannot afford to be isolated practitioners working within a single classroom. If teaching is to be seen as a high status profession much greater emphasis is needed on continued learning by teachers within schools supported by clear and strong professional leadership and the sharing of effective practice across schools” (p. 2, b). By 2013, the Ministry of Education was calling for initial teacher education providers to ensure that new graduates were able to show “adaptive expertise”: Expectations of education systems are changing. We expect that all students will have the opportunity to develop the knowledge, competencies and values required to be successful in a world that is increasingly complex and uncertain. Teachers entering the profession need to have the knowledge and adaptive expertise to work effectively with an increasingly diverse student population (p. 3). This paper traces the shifts in thinking about teacher beginning competencies and dispositions that have led to the reconceptualization of the organizing principle of “adaptive expertise.”