Ewan Ingleby

The CPD needs of mentors in post‐compulsory Initial Teacher Training in England

This paper discusses the compulsory professional development (CPD) needs of mentors within post‐compulsory Initial Teacher Training (ITT) provision in England. The discussion applies the ideas of Weber, Foucault, Habermas and Bourdieu in interpreting the implications for post‐compulsory ITT mentor CPD training. The paper’s primary and secondary research findings appear to indicate that mentors within this field of education struggle to gain the professional acceptance that Weber has popularised. Alongside struggling to achieve professional recognition it can also be argued that post‐compulsory ITT mentors may not use the same ‘discourse’ or ‘way of talking’ about teaching as their mentees. This finding is relevant to the work of Foucault. The subsequent attempt to achieve ‘collaboration’ and the potential ‘contestation’ that may be experienced links to the work of Habermas and Bourdieu.

Asclepius or Hippocrates? Differing interpretations of post-compulsory initial teacher training mentoring

This article discusses qualitative research findings on mentoring within PCET ITT (post‐compulsory education and training initial teacher training). The article complements the findings of Tedder and Lawy (2009) and Ingleby (2010). The article develops Downie and Randalls consideration of the merits or otherwise of mirroring either ‘Asclepius’ or ‘Hippocrates’. Asclepius, the Greek god of healing is interpreted as being representative of ‘reflective practice’. Hippocrates, the Greek physician is regarded as personifying a rational audit‐driven culture within PCET ITT. The article argues that this latter characteristic has become part of PCET ITT mentoring. This article seeks to raise awareness of PCET ITT mentoring through relating primary research data to the work of Pierre Bourdieu and Michel Foucault. The research findings are based on questionnaire data that has been gathered from 80 PCET ITT students and their mentors alongside focus‐group data from eight mentors.

Robbing Peter to pay Paul: the price of standards‐driven education

This article presents research findings on mentoring within PCET ITT (Post‐Compulsory Education and Training Initial Teacher Training). The research has identified that mentors and mentees consider that the role of the mentor is unclear. Moreover, mentors are unsure of the aims of PCET ITT programmes. The inconsistency of mentor training programmes appears to be exacerbating this uncertainty. The consequence appears to be that the professional boundaries within the mentoring relationship are uncertain. The research findings are related to the work of Bourdieu, Foucault, Habermas and Weber. The research has been used to secure funding from ESCalates ‘Developing Pedagogy and Practice’ research grant scheme.

The house that Jack built: neoliberalism, teaching in higher education and the moral objections

The cumulative tale ‘the house that Jack built’ is used as an analogy for flawed theories. This paper considers how the marketisation of higher education in neoliberal countries like England is affecting teaching and learning in Higher Education Institutions. Neoliberal policy approaches resulting in the marketisation of higher education may also be considered as a ‘house that Jack built’. The policies are cumulative and they can be interpreted as being flawed due to their contradictory nature. The paper presents research findings revealing the impact of neoliberal agendas on teaching and learning in higher education in the UK. The content of the paper is relevant to other neoliberal contexts including the USA and Australia. The commodification of higher education has implications for the teaching relationship between academics and students as ‘student satisfaction’, ‘value for money’ and ‘critical pedagogy’ form part of the interplaying discourse in higher education.

Repositioning professionalism: teachers, mentors, policy and praxis

This article reflects on the interplay between the recommended policy of providing mentors for PCET ITT (Post-Compulsory Education and Training Initial Teacher Training) students and the praxis or application of this policy. The findings are based on questionnaire data that has been gathered from 80 PCET ITT students and their mentors alongside semi-structured interview data from eight mentors. The research has been funded by the UK Higher Education Academy via ESCalate’s Developing Pedagogy and Practice research grant scheme. There appears to be a repositioning of professionalism because the ideal of a mentoring relationship that is developmental may become in reality a process that is judgemental in nature. The research data sheds new light on the work of Michel Foucault by viewing PCET ITT mentoring through this theoretical lens.

The impact of changing policies about technology on the professional development needs of early years educators in England

This paper considers the implications of UK policy approaches to ICT (Information Communication Technology) in education by exploring the views of early years (0–8 years) educators about their ICT CPD (continuing professional development) needs. UK policy approaches to ICT may be visualised as a ‘house that Jack built’. The policies are cumulative and they can be interpreted as being flawed due to their contradictory nature. As ICT educational policies in the UK are shaped by politicians, the contradictory policy approaches are a consequence of different political ideals. Recent research has identified a significant gap in early years practitioners’ knowledge and their understanding of pedagogical practice in relation to technology. Attention is drawn to the importance of facilitating an innovative use of technology within pedagogy in early years. For this to happen it is important to facilitate CPD that responds to the needs of early years pedagogical practitioners. The paper explores how CPD can be developed in this area by reflecting on the views of selected participants about their technology CPD needs.

The Problematics of Mentoring, and the Professional Learning of Trainee Teachers in the English Further Education Sector

This paper, drawing on research carried out as part of a qualitative case study, explores the effectiveness of the mentoring of trainee teachers within the further education sector. Drawing on data collected through questionnaires and semi-structured interviews from mentors and mentees in a network of further education colleges in the North of England and from documentary analysis of the forms and reports that are produced by the mentoring process, the paper explores three key problematic issues: firstly, the ways in which mentors and mentees define and understand their roles; secondly, the extent to which both mentors and mentees find worth or value within their professional relationship; and thirdly, the processes by which these invariably informal relationships are established. The paper concludes by suggesting that the complexities and vagaries of mentor-mentee relationships that are outlined both in this and other research raise further questions concerning what mentees learn as a consequence of the mentoring relationship.

Developing reflective practice or judging teaching performance? The implications for mentor training

This article draws on reflections offered by 80 post-compulsory education and training initial teacher training (PCET ITT) mentors on a mentor-training programme that has been designed by a UK higher education institution and delivered to its four partner colleges since October 2009. The findings are based on questionnaire data that has been gathered from PCET ITT mentors alongside semi-structured interview data from eight mentors. The research has been funded by the higher education institution’s University Research Fund since July 2011. There appears to be a tension between the ideal recommendation from the mentors that the training programme ought to encourage the development of reflective practice as opposed to training the mentors to make ‘judgements’ on the teaching ability of their students.

Selected student and tutor perceptions of ICTs in further and higher education in England

By 2008 a total of 87, 339 students were studying on foundation degrees in the UK (Foundation Degree Forward 2009). This article reports on the views of selected students and academic tutors regarding ICTs (Information Communication Technologies) associated with the Early Years Sector Endorsed Foundation Degree (EYSEFD) in England. The students study part time at five further education (FE) colleges working in partnership with a UK higher education institution (HEI). The research project has gathered data on the views of students and programme tutors about ICTs since October 2009. Data has been gathered through questionnaires with students and focus group discussions with selected students and tutors about the perception of ICTs. A main finding is that the students in this study associate ICTs with computers and software whereas their academic tutors focus on the wider pedagogical learning associated with technology. The article discusses some of the debates that surround pedagogical practice and ICTs in further and higher education. The students’ association of computers and pedagogical best practice appears to reiterate current neoliberal educational values as opposed to reflecting the learning goals of their academic programme. This article presents the findings of this study and the conclusions that are drawn will be of relevance to those involved in the delivery and development of higher education in further education contexts.

Exploring the continuing professional development needs of pedagogical practitioners in early years in England

This article is based on quantitative and qualitative data that have been generated since 2009 on the study skills needs of early years practitioners working in England. The research has identified that developing information technology skills appears to be a particular professional development need for these practitioners. The practitioners are associated with six UK higher education institutions. The research data are from students and tutors associated with the Early Years Sector Endorsed Foundation Degree at these six higher education institutions. A main finding is that pedagogical practitioners in early years appear to lack confidence when they use information technology for learning and teaching activities with children aged up to eight years old. This suggests that there is a continuing professional development (CPD) need in this area of professional practice. The article’s theoretical content considers the implications of Janet Hale’s ‘curriculum mapping’ by developing the argument that the current standards-driven approach to education in early years in the United Kingdom and beyond may not be ideal in supporting the CPD needs of these pedagogical practitioners. This is because standards-driven education does not appear to be facilitating the reflective practice that might enable effective CPD.