Vicky Randall University of Winchester, UK Constructing Initial Teacher Education

Critical Incident ‘Initial teacher training is a complex system, with many contributors; where diverse policy and lack of shared vision can pose barriers to collaborative action among the stakeholders in order to effect change’ Mohan (2011)

What constructs are believed to be significant in the professional knowledge base of ITE and what meanings do they hold? What contribution does school and university contexts have in the preparation of beginning teachers? Does higher education have a role in the future of ITE? Research Questions

My Research Paradigm and Methods INTERPRETIVISM MIXED METHODS: QUALITATIVE AND PERSONAL CONSTRUCT THEORY APPROACH Semi-structured interview using a repertory grid SOCIAL CONSTRUCTIVSIM “Seeks insights rather than statistical perceptions of the world” (Bell, 2005: 7) “That our social world is produced and maintained between people in their on- going activities and interactions” (Cunliffe, 2008:201) QUALITATIVE “The world is too complex to be revealed as an object reality” (Denzin and Lincoln, 2000:25) POST-MODERN ONTOLOGY “A person’s processes are psychologically channelized by the ways in which he anticipates events” (Kelly, 1955). “A methodology involving highly flexible techniques with variable application (Pope and Denicolo, 2001)

What are Constructs? ‘Personal constructs have a bi-polar dimension which a person has created and formed into a system through which they interpret their experiences of the world’ (Fransella et al, 2004)

Literature Review Power / Knowledge: (Foucault) Policy: Subjected to a range of competing influences (Garratt and Foster, 2012); Private vs. public good and Neo-liberalism (Zeichner, 2010); ITE as a ‘policy problem’ (Cochran-Smith, 2005); ‘educational issue’ (Trowler, 2003) Ideology: ‘Illusions’ or ‘False truths’ (Marx); Ideology is a ‘truth representing a set of ideas about the social world’ (Foucault) The Content of ITE: ‘Craft’ (DfE, 2010); subject knowledge, knowing how to teach the subject matter, pedagogical knowledge, knowledge of self, social awareness and organisational competence (Darling- Hammond and Bransford, 2005 and Cochran Smith and Lytle, 2001). Compliance and Knowledge: Schon (1983), ‘Techno-rationality’; Heggarty (2000) ‘Standardising knowledge’; (Alphonce, 1999:16) ‘Pedagogic Technicians’; (Giles, 2010:1512) ‘pathic knowledge, knowledge which feels atmosphere, reads faces, and feels the mood of different situations’

Elements of Initial Teacher Education Time spent in school settings Time spent in university settings Are these two things alike, or are they different? “Elements are things or events which are abstracted by a construct and are seen as one of the formal aspects of a construct” (Kelly, 1955)

Results and Analysis Six participants across four UK universities Various years of experience and expertise 85 constructs of initial teacher education were elicited

Core ConstructsPeripheral Constructs  Inter-related thinking / Tips for teachers  Epistemology / Ontology  Delivery model / Empowering students  Theoretical / Practice  Own ideas / Follow and copy  Theoretical principles / New teaching skills  Challenging thinking / Accepting pedagogy  Personal ownership / Accepted  Deep understanding / Tokenistic  Developing student attitudes / Tips for teachers  Creative / Positivistic  Good teaching / Following teacher  Changing practice / Fixed ideas  Rooted knowledge / Free floating  Subject driven / Exploring concepts Interview 1

Core ConstructsPeripheral Constructs  Theoretical / practical application  Abstract / real life context  Learning connected / Unconnected  Thinking outside the box / Repetition  Artificial / Experience  Reproduction / Production  Breadth of practices / Same practices  Progression of learning / Isolated learning Required for teaching / Not required for teaching Experimental / Restricted model Predictable behaviour / Creative thinking Established environment / Certain something new Facilitated / Dictated Deep understanding / Techniques and tools Reflecting / No thinking Flexible knowledge / Fixed knowledge Interview 5

Organise the four areas in terms of importance for you (from most to least importance) - Philosophical perspectives - The knowledge base - Environments for learning - The teacher as a learner Activity

Participant Responses: ‘Individual Construct Print ’

Concluding Thoughts... Most of the constructs were about the teacher as a learner – how does this compare to the White Paper? Tensions and challenges existed from the participants in trying to articulate their responses; as Moore (2004) describes The university and school both had important but different roles in the preparation of teacher

References Alphonce, N. (1999) ‘Teachers, educational reforms and the credo of managerialism: from professionals to pedagogic technicians’, Delta, 51 (2), pp Bell, J. (2005) Doing Your Research Project: A Guide to First Time Researchers in Education, Health and Social Science, 4 th edition, Berkshire: Open University Press Burgess, H., Sieminski, S., & Arthur, L. (2006) Achieving Your Doctorate in Education, London: Sage Cochran-Smith, M. (2005) ‘The new teacher education: for better or for worse?’ Educational Researcher, 34 (3), pp. 3 – 17 Cochran-Smith, M., & Lytle, S. (2001) ‘Beyond certainty: Taking an inquiry stance on practice’, in Lieberman & L. Miller (Eds.), Teachers Caught in the Action: Professional Development That Matters, New York: Teachers College Press Cunliffe, A. (2008) in Thorpe, and Holt, R., (eds) The Sage Dictionary of Qualitative Management Research [online] of-qualitative-management-research/n95.xml (accessed, 1st March 2013) of-qualitative-management-research/n95.xml Darling-Hammond, L., & Bransford. J. (2005) Preparing Teachers for a Changing World: What Teachers Should Learn and be Able to Do, San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass Denzin, N. K., & Lincoln. Y.S. (2000) Handbook of Qualitative Research, 2 nd eds, London: Sage Department for Education, (2010) Importance of Teaching - The Schools White Paper 2010, CM7980, Norwich: Stationary Office Foucault, M., (1980) ‘Truth and power’, in C. Gordon (eds.) Power/Knowledge: Selected interviews and other Writings 1972 – 1977, Brighton: Harvester

Fransella, F., Bell R., & Bannister, D. (2004) A Manuel for Repertory Grid Technique, 2 nd eds., Wily: Sussex Furlong, J., (2008) ‘Making teaching a 21 st century profession: Tony Blair’s big prize’, Oxford Review of Education, 34 (6), pp Garratt, D and Forrester, G. (2012) Education Policy Unravelled, London: Continuum Giles, D. (2010) ‘Developing pathic sensibilities: A critical priority for teacher education programmes’ Teaching and Teacher Education,26, pp Heggarty, S. (2000) ‘Teaching as a knowledge - based activity’, Oxford Review of Education, 26, pp. 451 – 465 Kelly, G. (1955) The Psychology of Personal Constructs, 2 nd eds, London: Routledge Mohan, R. (2011) Teacher Education, New Delhi: PHI Learning Moore, A. (2004) The Good Teacher: Dominant discourses in teaching and teacher education, London: Routledge Pope, M & Denicolo, P (2001) Transformative Education Personal Construct to Approaches to Practice and Research, London: Whurr Publishers Trowler, P. (2003) Education Policy, 2 nd edn, London: Routledge Zeichner, K. (2010) ‘Competition, economic, rationalization, increased surveillance and attacks on diversity: Neo-liberalism and the transformation of teacher education in the U.S., Teaching and Teacher Education, 26, pp – 1552

Thank you for listening