Ian Menter

A Guide to Practitioner Research in Education

a guide to practitioner research in education. Book lovers, when you need a new book to read, find the book here. Never worry not to find what you need. Is the a guide to practitioner research in education your needed book now? Thats true; you are really a good reader. This is a perfect book that comes from great author to share with you. The book offers the best experience and lesson to take, not only take, but also learn.

The same but different? Post-devolution regulation and control in education in Scotland and England

When ‘New Labour’ came to power in the United Kingdom in 1997, one of their first major initiatives was to establish new devolved political institutions in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Drawing upon developments in education in Scotland and England, this article explores some aspects of ‘regulation’, ‘autonomy’ and ‘control’ in the post-devolution context. The purpose of the article is to assess the ways in which New Public Management have influenced education policy in the two countries. Aspects of the governance of education are examined in the two national contexts. The ‘modernisation’ of the teaching profession is examined as a particular case, as well as more general aspects of governance. A number of similarities and differences in the two countries are identified. The themes that best demonstrate these similarities and differences are privatisation, performativity and the policy process. The conclusion seeks to identify the extent to which developments in either or both countries can be attributed to the global neo-liberal agenda.

Building dams in Jordan, assessing teachers in England: a case study in edu‐business

This paper describes, in the context of one highly circumscribed element of English educational policy, namely, Threshold assessment, the ways in which the boundaries between the public and the private have become increasingly porous and blurred. In this context, some consequences and implications of private sector involvement in public education are explored. Points of articulation between the specific issues we have encountered in our recent research project The impact of performance threshold assessment on teachers’ work (ESRC R000239286), and more general debates about public/private policy relationships, are discussed. The paper concludes with some general observations about the nature of those debates and the issues we have encountered.

Research capacity building in teacher education: Scottish collaborative approaches

This paper examines the context for education research, including teacher education research, in Scotland. Concerns about research capacity are shared with other parts of the UK, but the distinctive context for teacher development and engagement in practitioner research create fertile ground for developments in teacher education research. Schemes such as ‘Research to support Schools of Ambition’ provide evidence of a shared commitment to teacher research. The national project, ‘Applied Education Research Scheme’, funded by the Scottish government and the Scottish Funding Council, included a thematic network on learners, learning and teaching. Drawing on activities of this sort, the paper suggests that a key element of effective capacity building lies in collaborative approaches.

Teaching Practice Stasis: racism, sexism and school experience in initial teacher education

Abstract This paper is concerned with the school experience component of initial teacher education (ITE). School experience (or teaching practice, as it is more commonly known) is widely recognised as particularly influential in the professional socialisation of student teachers. I draw on recent field‐work which I have carried out in order to explore some of the tensions and contradictions which characterise both my own and others’ experiences of working in ITE. By using aspects of ‘race’ and ‘gender’ as ‘sociological indicators’ I seek to discover the extent to which school experience can play a part in the preparation of teachers who are reflective, critical and enquiring. The conclusions I reach are not encouraging. Teaching practice is characterised by ‘stasis’, a strong tendency for those most closely involved to avoid conflict or confrontation. Even mild criticism of existing classroom practices is avoided. To the extent that approaches to the appraisal of practising teachers are based on similar ‘...

Models of partnership developments in initial teacher education in the four components of the United Kingdom: recent trends and current challenges

In discussion of policy and practice on partnership between higher education providers and other stakeholders in initial teacher education (ITE), one significant approach has been to stress the desirability of developing models which are truly collaborative. This paper first discusses the ‘collaborative’ model within a range of ‘ideal typical’ models. The authors then draw on a commissioned literature review of models of partnership in ITE to analyse the recent policy contexts for partnership developments in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales, arguing that these have presented very significant barriers to the development of collaborative models. The paper concludes that, while the collaborative model may remain a very attractive ‘ideal typical’ approach to partnership, it may be necessary to consider alternatives unless the principal barriers to its progress can be addressed.

Developing a ‘clinical’ model for teacher education

This paper reports on the introduction of a ‘clinical model’ of teacher education at the University of Glasgow in 2011. The account is set against the backdrop of a review of major contemporary developments in teacher education. The common focus in this work is on such themes as the key function of the practicum, on ‘teaching schools’ and on the roles and responsibilities of the various players in teacher professional learning. The context for reform of teacher education in Scotland is described, showing how the opportunity for a radical intervention arose. The distinctive features of the Glasgow model are set out and a summary of the findings of the internal evaluation carried out at the University is offered. Issues identified include challenges of communication, the nature of professional learning and the cultural embeddedness of existing practices. In the light of this initiative, the paper then reviews insights gained concerning the relationship between policy, practice and research in teacher education, before concluding with comments on the future of research in teacher education.

Making Teachers in Britain: Professional Knowledge for Initial Teacher Education in England and Scotland.

There is an apparent contradiction between the widespread moves towards a uniform and instrumentalist standards‐based approach to teaching on the one hand and recent research‐based insights into the complexity of effective pedagogies. The former tendency reflects a politically driven agenda, the latter is more professionally driven. Tensions reflecting such a contradiction are evident in the debates over initial teacher education (ITE) policy and practice in many parts of the world. This article examines aspects of ITE policy in two contiguous parts of the United Kingdom, England and Scotland. The authors draw on a comparative study carried out during 2002–2004, particularly on an analysis of key contemporary policy documents, in order to consider some of the similarities and differences that are apparent in these two countries. It is argued that while features of national culture, tradition and institutional politics have a significant role to play in the detail of the approaches taken, there is nevertheless evidence of significant convergence between both countries in one aspect of the determination of initial teacher education, the definition of teaching through the prescription of standards, which set official parameters on professional knowledge required for entry into the profession. This, it is suggested, reflects trends associated with neoliberal ‘globalisation’.

Imaginative projects: Arguments for a new teacher education

Abstract In this article we consider the current situation in teacher education in Britain. We examine the nature of the crisis in supply and some of the responses to this crisis from governmental and other quarters. These responses share a common fault, a failure to give serious consideration to questions of quality in teaching. Having critically scrutinised the ‘alternative routes’ to teaching which have now been introduced we move in conclusion to outline some principles and a structure for ensuring the maintenance and development of quality in teaching in the years which lie ahead.

Processes of middle‐class reproduction in a graduate employment scheme

Teach First is an educational charity that places graduates to teach in ‘challenging’ schools for two years. It is marketed as an opportunity to develop employability while ‘making a difference’. In this paper, I examine the process of class reproduction occurring in this graduate employment scheme through examining the discourses used in Teach First marketing and by Teach First participants. I begin by arguing that the Teach First participants interviewed as part of an evaluation were predominantly middle‐class, and possessed social and cultural capital which had facilitated their access to the Teach First scheme. I then illustrate three processes of middle‐class reproduction within Teach First. The first is the accumulation by participants of additional social and cultural capital. The second is the reproduction of middle‐class values and stereotypes of the working‐class other, and the third is the obscuring of middle‐class advantage through discourses of ‘natural ability’. I conclude that although well‐intentioned Teach First participants worked extremely hard to combat educational disadvantage, their actions were twisted by class forces, and resulted in the reproduction of middle‐class privilege.