Purpose This systematic review examines the role of lesson study (LS) in pre-service teacher education by synthesising findings from 37 empirical studies published between 2010 and 2024. It investigates how LS has been conceptualised, implemented and evaluated within initial teacher education (ITE) contexts, emphasising its contributions to teacher preparation. Design/methodology/approach The review systematically analysed 37 peer-reviewed empirical studies, mapping thematic trends across diverse educational and cultural settings. It also examined methodological approaches used in these studies, identifying the prevalence of qualitative research designs and the emerging use of mixed-method approaches. Findings The review emphasises core roles of LS in supporting pre-service teacher development, including promoting collaborative learning, fostering reflective practice, enhancing lesson planning and connecting theory with practice. LS is shown to be adaptable across different subjects and institutional contexts, although challenges such as time constraints and coordination difficulties still exist. The findings also indicate that LS research is becoming more diverse in methodology, with newer studies employing mixed-method approaches. Originality/value This study provides a comprehensive review of LS research in pre-service teacher education, emphasising its importance in offering structured opportunities for inquiry, observation and feedback. It highlights LS as a practice-based method that enhances teacher preparation and proposes future research directions, including the adoption of digital LS models, investigation of school-university collaborations and involvement of broader stakeholders.
Almacioglu et al. (Sat,) studied this question.