This article discusses the issues of academic education of foreign language teachers in three different educational systems. It presents them in the context of education culture and school culture, showing their influence on the way of organization and realization of education processes. School and education in general, including university preparation for the teaching profession is a place of developing so-called social capital. Reflection on the way these processes operate plays a key role in the planning and implementation of effective educational activities, using the so-called good practices of each of the systems. In the comparative research, the teacher training programmes in Iran, Germany and Poland are subject to comparative analysis against the framework of European standards for teacher education.