David Spendlove

Partnerships in pedagogy: Refocusing of classroom lenses

Current models of initial teacher training (ITT) in England include substantial elements of school‐based experience developed in collaborative partnerships with local schools involving university tutors working with experienced classroom teachers. Balance in such partnerships has been characterised as trainees focusing on day‐to‐day pragmatics of working in classrooms whilst engaged in school experience, while their higher education institution (HEI) elements provide theoretical bases to underpin school based activities. Within such partnership arrangements, development of pedagogic beliefs and expertise is achieved by a complex network of experiences. Within the context of this paper this element of pedagogic development is shown to be less well supported than other aspects of trainee teachers’ professional preparation. This paper, using cultural historical activity theory (CHAT), focuses on a small‐scale research project in which mentor and trainee dialogue is examined. The paper concludes that CHAT analysis makes a valuable contribution to our understanding of how to resolve some of these issues within teacher training partnerships.

Shifting codes: education or regulation? Trainee teachers and the Code of Conduct and Practice in England

In 2009, the General Teaching Council for England (GTCE) introduced a revised Code of Conduct and Practice (2009) for registered teachers. The code also applies to all trainee teachers who are provisionally registered with the GTCE and who could be liable to a charge of misconduct during their periods of teaching practice. This paper presents the results of a small-scale piece of research that utilises Q-methodology to ascertain trainee teacher alignment with the code. Our research concludes that trainee teachers in the sample have a high degree of homogeneity in relation to prioritising specific areas of the code, namely those pertaining to ethical behaviours. They do not prioritise those areas of the code relating to classroom-based skills which they have yet to develop. The paper questions the efficacy of a code which represents an aggregate of a code of conduct, a code of ethics and a set of standards for practice.

The Identification and Location of Critical Thinking and Critiquing in Design and Technology Education

This chapter considers how critical thinking and critique are an essential part of design and technology education. By drawing upon a theoretical framework of three main theories, critical theory, critical pedagogy and critical design, the chapter will explore how engaging in a process of critical thinking leading to critique facilitates agency and self-understanding when engaged in design activities.

Developing a Deeper Understanding of Design in Technology Education

The fundamental position for this chapter is that design is central to being human—everyone designs and engages in the process of designing. However, design is different in different contexts. While designing is an innate capacity, it is also a disciplined activity system located in industry, commerce, the arts and education, and has multiple definitions and uses. Common across contexts is that all design should be creative (though not all creativity involves design). Design also involves riskiness and uncertainty, and is an integral aspect of a sustainable economy, ethical lifestyle and the shaping of communities. While such views of design represent empowering learning opportunities for children associated areas such as creativity, riskiness and uncertainty have become increasingly marginalised in educational contexts demanding ever-greater accountability in terms of productivity and performativity. An opportunity does, however, arise when considering future-focussed technology education programmes that value ‘design thinking’ and how this can contribute to students’ learning and ‘being’.