Developing a framework for initial teacher education: route map or reflective tool?

Knight, Rupert; Sullivan, Stefanie

Abstract

Initial Teacher Education (ITE) is inherently complex. Challenges include the uncertain nature of teacher knowledge, the need to learn in both practical and theoretical contexts and the developmental journey of the beginning teacher. While one response to this complexity is greater standardisation, another is to foster thinking, autonomous professionals. Attempting to reconcile these tensions and provide a coherent ITE experience, one School of Education introduced an overarching framework of strands of content and phases of the training year. Beginning teachers, from both Primary and Secondary one-year postgraduate teaching routes, shared their experiences of this framework in a series of focus groups at different points in their training. Responses suggest that the framework does provide a valuable guiding structure and stimulus for reflection, though potential for use in school and in the latter stages of the course is yet to be completely fulfilled. In view of the individual trajectories of the beginning teacher, it is argued that future development might focus more on the framework’s value as a reflective tool in both university and school settings, rather than as a formal route map for teacher learning.

Citation

Knight, R., & Sullivan, S. (2022). Developing a framework for initial teacher education: route map or reflective tool?. Journal of Education for Teaching, 48(2), 146-158. https://doi.org/10.1080/02607476.2021.1985938

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: May 26, 2021
• Online Publication Date: Oct 2, 2021
• Publication Date: Mar 15, 2022
• Deposit Date: Jul 25, 2024
• Journal: Journal of Education for Teaching
• Print ISSN: 0260-7476
• Electronic ISSN: 1360-0540
• Publisher: Routledge
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 48
• Issue: 2
• Pages: 146-158
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/02607476.2021.1985938
• Keywords: Education
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/7785492
• Publisher URL: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/02607476.2021.1985938