School-based Initial Teacher Training Research Articles

Exploring career changers’ experiences in a school-based initial teacher education programme for science teachers in England

This study explores the provision of a school-based initial teacher training programme in England, focusing on the perspectives of trainee science teachers who have transitioned from other professions into teaching. Data was gathered through questionnaires, on-site observations of training activities, and individual semi-structured interviews. The results of a thematic analysis shed light on various pedagogical approaches within the programme that were recognised as effective in reshaping participants’ teaching orientations and developing student-centred pedagogies. These approaches include experiential learning, modelled activities and the exchange of experiences. Participants also highlighted areas with room for improvement, particularly in enhancing the provision of constructive feedback and guided lesson planning. The study has implications for practical applications aimed at enhancing pedagogy within education programmes, to better facilitate the transition of career-change teachers into the teaching profession.

Critiquing the “National Standards for School-based Initial Teacher Training Mentors” in England

PurposeIn 2016, the National Standards for School-based Initial Teacher Training (ITT) Mentors were published in England. The purpose of this paper is to critique these standards through a comparison of how others have framed and defined the role of the mentor, drawing on equivalent standards already published in nursing (2008) and social work (2012).Design/methodology/approachAn analysis of three sets of professional standards was conducted by adapting the “constant comparison” approach in which the researchers sought to combine a form of inductive coding with comparison across the texts. This enabled the identification of a number of common themes and omissions across the three sets of standards.FindingsThe analysis revealed the ITT mentor standards provide a comparatively limited account of the role of the mentor, particularly in relation to the process of assessment, the power dynamics between mentors and student teachers, and the school as an institutional site for professional learning.Originality/valueThe study’s originality lies in the inter-professional comparative analysis, which revealed a number of potentially contentious issues not immediately apparent from a close textual analysis of the ITT mentor standards.

Beginning teachers’ perceptions of mentors and access to communities of practice

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore beginning teachers’ perceptions of the role of the mentor in the early stages of developing a professional identity. The beginning teachers in the authors’ study are defined as having been awarded qualified teacher status at the end of an initial teacher education programme or having completed their first term as a new teacher with responsibility for a class of pupils. Design/methodology/approach The research design was a qualitative, inductive study. The concepts of communities of practice, legitimate peripheral participation and power dynamics within a community underpinned this study. The data set was collected over a period of 18 months, through six focus groups and 40 questionnaires with beginning teachers across 34 schools altogether. The data set was analysed using interpretive phenomenological analysis (IPA). Findings The findings indicated that the ways in which mentors use their power to recognise (or not) the legitimacy of beginning teachers as being part of the school community influences the development of beginning teachers’ professional identities. The thematic analysis of the data indicated the different types of support that mentors may provide: “belonging”, “emotional”, “pedagogical” and “space”. Research limitations/implications Further research into how mentors perceive their role in supporting new entrants into the profession is needed. Originality/value These findings are pertinent in England, as the increase in school-based initial teacher training provision will intensify the role of school mentors. These findings will be of value to other countries that are moving towards an increase in school-based teacher training.

Changing Implications of School-based Initial Teacher Training in England: The Dynamics of ‘a Craft’ and ‘a Profession’

Changing Implications of School-based Initial Teacher Training in England: The Dynamics of ‘a Craft’ and ‘a Profession’

Learning from School-based Teacher Training: Possibilities and constraints for experienced teachers

This article presents findings from a study of teachers' development conducted in a large English 'comprehensive' school during a period of intense educational reform. In particular, it considers the ways in which experienced teachers contributed to and claimed benefit from a new national system of school-based initial teacher training (ITT). In addition to outlining the professional development possibilities for experienced teachers involved in school-based ITT, the article highlights a range of factors that appeared to constrain this development. By drawing on the English experience, the paper considers the implications of recent Danish policy related to school-focused teacher education, both in terms of the potential benefits for experienced teachers from involvement in such training, as well as more generally in terms of the quality and appropriateness of such forms of teacher preparation.

Student Teachers' Perceptions of School-based Mentoring in Initial Teacher Training (ITT)

In recent years school-based mentoring has become an increasingly important aspect of the process by which student teachers begin to learn how to teach. This article reports secondary PGCE students' evaluations of their school-based mentoring experiences. The data were collected via in-depth interviews with 16 student teachers and self-complete questionnaires completed by 224 student teachers from four different training courses in central and northern England in 1999. The main findings are that: (1) student teachers consider mentoring to be a, if not the, key aspect of school-based ITT; whilst (2) student teachers' accounts of their school-based experiences suggest that teacher-mentors are not always successful in creating conditions for effective student teacher learning.

Child Protection Training in School-based Initial Teacher Training: A survey of School-centred Initial Teacher Training courses and their trainees

This paper explores the coverage and effectiveness of child protection training within school-centred teacher training courses in England in the immediate aftermath of the new requirements for all teacher training courses. Three methods are described: a postal questionnaire, structured interviews with all responding course managers, and more open discussions with students on two of these courses. Comparisons with child protection training by higher education providers revealed similar problems in finding time for even the minimum coverage required by recent government circulars. Coverage was patchy with serious quality assurance issues and little use was made of schools' own Designated Teachers for child protection. From this material, examples of good and bad practice are summarised. Finally two groups of trainees who were interviewed revealed hazy understanding of their professional roles, and their personal experiences of child abuse were both very varied and inadequately addressed by their courses. The paper concludes by reiterating the need for a full evaluation of the effectiveness of child protection training within teacher training.

School-based Initial Teacher Training: Squeezing a quart into a pint pot or a square peg into a round hole?

This article provides a comparative study of the time demands created by basing initial teacher training (ITT) in secondary and in primary schools. It has been written in response to Cross's study of primary ITT ( Mentoring & Tutoring , 7(1)) and makes use of findings from a survey of secondary ITT in which the author was involved. Although the two studies on which this article is based are different in their scope, scale and methodology, their findings regarding the central importance of time to the viability of school-based ITT are remarkably consistent. Both highlight the way in which successful training depends on mentors giving far more than the official minima of mentoring time to which student teachers are entitled by courses. They also demonstrate the tension which exists between 'school time' (i.e. the timetable) and the time requirements of ITT.

Learning to Teach or Learning to Manage Mentors? Experiences of school-based teacher training

In the late 1990s teachers acting as mentors play a key role in initial teacher training (ITT). This article reports the findings of a study which examined student teachers' perceptions of 'good' practice in mentoring. Given that certain parallels have been drawn between the nineteenth-century pupil-teacher scheme and school-based ITT, the work of Lave and Wenger (1991) who see apprenticeship as central to learning was used as a framework for analysing the data. The study highlighted the significance of the affective in student teachers' school-based learning. But it also highlighted the significance of the affective in mentors' practice: e.g. mentors' feelings of vulnerability. The way in which students responded to mentors in this respect - how far they were able to 'manage' their mentors - ultimately contributed to the success of students' placements. The article concludes that the possession of mentoring skills alone will not guarantee that students receive appropriate support.

In the Lion's Den? Pupils and school-based initial teacher training

Although school-based initial teacher training (ITT) has been studied extensively, little attention has been paid to the subject of this paper: its impact on pupils. The findings reported here are part of a larger investigation into the costs and benefits of ITT in secondary schools. This paper explores the implications of school-based ITT for pupils from the perspective of four groups of teachers: two groups with formal mentoring responsibilities; class teachers with no designated role in the mentoring processes and headteachers. Their views on matters such as effects on pupil discipline, pupil motivation, curriculum continuity and parental perceptions of a school are examined. Received wisdom on some of these topics is cast in an unexpected light by the results reported here.

Partnership in Teacher Training: mentors’ constructs of their role

Summary Secondary school teachers, trained as empowered mentors, were asked about their new role 2 years after the introduction of school-based initial teacher training (ITT). Kelly's repertory grid encouraged the development of personal constructs. The mentors demonstrated deep structure constructs which would not have been easily recognised by university tutors making relatively brief school visits. It is concluded that the mentors have reached a stage where continued experience in the role will not, per se, lead to improved skills. A number of tensions within the role were highlighted, most of which are inherent in the school-based model, but some of which attach specifically to empowerment. Support for mentors not recognising such ambiguities is important. Mentor empowerment does appear to be a viable model of mentoring in school-based ITT, but continued training and changes in the type of support available is necessary. The place of appropriate theory at all stages of professional development was recognised.

School-based initial teacher training — Some primary perspectives

(1993). School-based initial teacher training — Some primary perspectives. Education 3-13: Vol. 21, No. 3, pp. 51-53.