Stories from the Third Space: Teacher Educators’ Professional Learning in a School/University Partnership

Abstract

In this chapter, the authors, as teacher educators, present a narrative account of the professional learning they gained from their involvement in a school-university partnership, which focused on the provision of the professional experience component of an undergraduate initial teacher education (ITE) course. The authors outline the context and aims of this ‘third space’ partnership, then recall significant events/moments that triggered deep reflection and learning about what it is to be a teacher educator involved in collaborative partnerships with schools to provide innovative professional experiences for pre-service teachers. They found that the collaborative nature of the partnership helped them to reassess the purposes of professional experience in ITE, and their role in its provision. The collaboration was generative in terms of the structure and organisation of the practicum, the pedagogical strategies developed, and the professional relationships that were established. The authors argue that, despite the challenges, school-university partnerships are essential to the successful implementation of productive and sustained professional experience for pre-service teachers.