International Teacher Education Conference 2014 1

International Teacher Education Conference 2014
NEW PATHWAYS IN INITIAL TEACHER EDUCATION
Dr Tim Lucas, Head of Programme PGCE Primary Part-time Route/School Direct Primary Lead, York St John
University, United Kingdom
t.lucas@yorksj.ac.uk
Keither Parker, Head of Programme PGCE Secondary/School Direct Secondary Lead, York St John University,
United Kingdom
k.parker@yorksj.ac.uk
Abstract
This paper outlines the response of a UK university to recent government initiatives to shift postgraduate initial
teacher education from a university to a school-centred model.
New partnerships have been established and existing ones redefined as both university and school based staff
have responded to the challenge to design new high quality teacher education programmes for both primary and
secondary student teachers.
The way in which expertise has been shared is discussed, together with strategies for effectively integrating
theory with practice. Consideration is given to the challenges this has presented to school staff as they shift from
predominantly teaching children to educating student teachers, and to university staff as they relinquish overall
control whilst maintaining responsibility for programme quality.
The paper concludes with a discussion of the tensions that have become apparent as the initial cohorts progress
through the year and the expectations of key players in the programme.
INTRODUCTION – CONTEXT OF INITIAL TEACHER EDUCATION
In England there has been much debate surrounding the most effective way to train teachers in recent years.
Much of the discussion has surrounded the respective merits of the key pathways into teaching; the traditional
university route where universities train teachers in partnership with schools; the school based route and
employment based route where training is done essentially ‘on the job’. In the last 30 years and particularly
most recently there has been an increase in employment based and school-based teacher training, though the
university route remains the most popular option. According to Smithers, Robinson and Coughlan (2012) there
were 37,340 recruits to initial teacher training in 2010-11, nearly four-fifths to university courses, 16.6% to
employment based initial teacher training programmes (EBITTs) and only 4.6% to school centred initial teacher
training schemes (SCITTs).
It is possible to become a qualified primary or secondary school teacher in England through a number of
different routes; taking a programme of initial teacher education (ITE) or initial teacher training (ITT) based at a
university, college or school in order to be recommended for qualified teacher status (QTS). QTS can be
recommended only by accredited providers of ITT, those universities, colleges or schools who demonstrate they
can satisfy the criteria for ITT set out by the NCTL (the National College of Teaching and Leadership, 2013), an
agency of the Department for Education. Accredited providers have been, and are still, inspected regularly by
Ofsted (Office for Standards in Education), an independent and impartial organisation who seek to ensure quality
and compliance with ITT criteria. The current framework for inspection is outlined in the Initial Teacher
Education (ITE) inspection handbook (Ofsted, 2014). The terms ITE and ITT are often used interchangeably and
there has been much debate about the implied difference between the terms teacher education and teacher
training. For the purpose of this paper the term ITE will be used.
Programmes of ITE can be undertaken at either undergraduate level with enrolment on, for example, a Bachelor
of Arts (BA) degree with QTS that is usually for 3 or 4 years, or at Postgraduate level, a one year programme of
study with QTS. This is typically either the Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) or Graduate Diploma
in Education (GDE) and is for those who already have a relevant degree and other necessary qualifications in
English, mathematics and science (at General Certificate of Secondary Education level). Some institutions offer
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