'I think a Lot of Staff are Dinosaurs': Further education trainee teachers' understandings of pedagogic relations

Abstract

Following the Kennedy Report, the lifelong learning Green Paper and the 1999 White Paper Learning to Succeed , post compulsory education would appear to be at the forefront of Labour's education and training policies. This article examines the way trainee teachers at an English university understand the lecturer's role within the pedagogic, curricular and policy context of post-16 learning. It locates these understandings by comparing them with those held by more established staff as well as setting them against the policy context of further education. It seeks to explore the social justice implications of these differing interpretations. The article is based on research with a group of trainee teachers completing a one-year teacher training course. Their perceptions are analysed and compared with findings from interviews with staff based in further education colleges responsible for teaching practice.