‘What Did You Learn at School Today?’: school-based and higher education-based primary student teachers' thinking

Abstract

Primary teacher education in England and Wales has become increasingly school-based, but we have little evidence of how this change affects student teachers' learning. Fourteen school-based ‘articled teachers’ and 21 higher education-based Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) students, all training to become early years teachers, were interviewed about their teaching at the start and end of their courses; at each point the Articled Teachers had spent about 75% of their time in schools and the PGCEs about 45%. The two groups raised very similar concerns at the start, with management issues predominating. The PGCE students' final concerns showed moderate changes including increased attention to children's learning. The Articled Teachers' concerns showed no changes apart from a decline in self-evaluation. It is argued that the PGCE students conformed to a standard pattern of student teacher development but the Articled Teachers did not. It is suggested that the Articled Teachers' failure to develop may have been due to a lack of reflection, and that their teacher mentors may not have taught them how to reflect. The implications for the future are discussed