International Teacher Education Conference 2014 1

International Teacher Education Conference 2014
It is essential to develop highly effective selection and recruitment procedures to identify potential high quality
teachers who will have the knowledge, understanding and pedagogical skills to further develop the quality of our
education system; improve pupil achievement and thereby improve our rankings in international league tables.
Barber and Mourshed (2007) suggest that getting the right people to be teachers is a feature of high performing
schools internationally, ‘the quality of an education system cannot exceed the quality of its teachers’ (2007:13).
At York St John University (YSJU) both the university and schools work together within the recruitment
process. Potential applicants apply via a website – UCAS Teacher Training (Universities and Colleges
Admissions Service). Here a candidate is able to choose a course and provider according to subject and age
group. A preferred route for either a teaching programme at a university or college or a training programme
based in school is decided upon. The candidate is then able to choose up to three suitable courses based upon the
training provider or region which is most appropriate for them.
At YSJU school partnership staff have always had a role in the recruitment of candidates for teacher training
programmes as this has been considered an important element of partnership and collaboration. For primary
PGCE programmes this has involved school staff attending interview days at the university and interviewing
candidates alongside university staff.
On the secondary university-based PGCE programme, which deals with smaller numbers, interview days are
held in both partnership schools and at the university to ensure that candidates are introduced to the professional
environment they hope to be a part of right from the start of the training process. The morning of the interview
day is in school where candidates typically have a tour of the school and opportunities to liaise with staff and
pupils whilst seeing the school in operation. Candidates also undertake a short teaching task; have a staff
interview, with a panel made up of school and university staff and also a pupil panel interview, giving pupils the
opportunity to have a voice on the selection of future student teachers and teachers. The afternoon of the
interview day is at YSJU where candidates undertake a group activity and skills related tasks. As such the
secondary PGCE selection and recruitment procedures, implemented in 2007 and revised annually, provided a
model that supported the Department for Education (DfE) plans set out in the White Paper (2010) and Training
Our Next Generation of Outstanding Teachers: Implementation Plan (2011).
As employers of newly qualified teachers, schools have a critical
interest in initial teacher training, and should play a greater role in leading
the recruitment, selection and training of teachers (DfE 2011:11)
Hence with the introduction of School Direct the Teaching Schools/Alliances have supported this model for
secondary PGCE recruitment, not least because they were involved in developing it many years ago as YSJU
partnership schools. The key change has been that applications for the PGCE are now accessed by both the
Teaching School and university who collaborate to shortlist candidates for interview.
However, whilst not unused to engagement in the selection process of students to the profession; schools have
found themselves in a new situation with School Direct of assessing the potential of candidates with the
realisation that they may well be employed within the schools and alliances for a substantial period of time. It is
hoped that heavy investment in the training at this stage will reap rich dividends in the future.
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