Surveying the wreckage: The professional response to changes to initial teacher training in the UK

Abstract

From September 2013, the UK government has shifted the balance of initial teacher training (ITT) provision from higher education to ‘School Direct’, a school‐centred and employment‐based route. The National Association for the Teaching of English has conducted an online survey of professional opinion on these changes. 730 individual educators completed the survey; 382 supplemented their responses with written comments. These responses reveal considerable doubt as to whether a school will be able to resource key elements of teacher training. The majority of respondents fear that the quality of trainees' subject knowledge, understanding of educational purposes and processes, and classroom preparedness will all decline. Trainees will be less well tutored and mentored and an impoverished overall experience of teacher education may affect morale. Employers will find difficulty in filling posts appropriately and the national/regional balance of job supply and demand will be affected. Regional provision of ITT will be more variable and worse overall. Many respondents believe that University‐led training allows trainees to reflect on and learn from multiple teaching placements through contact with their tutor, their peers, and other learning communities. A wise educational policy would not destroy a teacher training culture that has developed over many decades.

Teachers’ views on recognising and using home languages in predominantly monolingual primary schools

“…If preservice training does not incorporate such preparation, teachers' experience and expertise regarding teaching children who use EAL are arguably left to chance. If training has a localised focus, in either university-based programmes (see Murakami, 2008) or the School Direct pathway (school-based training (Hodgson, 2014)), teachers may be more likely to develop expertise for one geographical context. This may reduce the chances of pedagogies considered successful in one context (i.e.…”

Chapter 2: The changing scene – local authority support for SEND and inclusion matters: a case study of a schools led partnership

“…There is some evidence (Universities UK, 2014) that HEIs may experience increasing difficulty in finding quality school placements for trainee teachers as partnership schools engage further in School Direct. On the other hand, the capacity for schools to act as lead providers and to resource key elements of ITE has also been questioned (Hodgson, 2014). Chapter 4: Autism: enhancing whole school practice and the skills and understanding of the workforce…”

Chapter 3: Teacher education and SEN – policy landscapes and impetuses

“…There is some evidence (Universities UK, ) that HEIs may experience increasing difficulty in finding quality school placements for trainee teachers as partnership schools engage further in School Direct. On the other hand, the capacity for schools to act as lead providers and to resource key elements of ITE has also been questioned (Hodgson, ).…”