Michael Tedder

The pursuit of 'excellence': mentoring in further education initial teacher training in England

Mentoring has become established as a central feature of initial teacher training programmes in English further education (FE) yet there remains a lack of clarity within the sector about what mentoring should mean. The direction of government reforms has been to make mentoring part of the formal assessment of trainee teachers against national standards, and the Office for Standards in Education (Ofsted) inspection reports emphasise an approach to mentoring that is target‐driven and judgemental. Official rhetoric uses the language of ‘excellence’ or ‘best practice’. However, mentoring literature reveals a range of possible models, and research into mentoring practices within colleges suggests there is a diversity of ideas and approaches, many of which emphasise the developmental character of good mentoring. In this paper we analyse some of the tensions and uncertainty that surround mentoring and reflect on their significance for teachers and managers in the development of initial teacher training in the sector.

Meeting standards: teacher education in the further education sector. What of the agency of teacher educators?

Abstract This paper is a research-informed response to the paradigm shift that has taken place in the world of teacher education for the further education sector in England during the last few years. We begin by outlining the various changes that have taken place in terms of regulation of the sector and show how this has impacted upon the agency of those who have been involved in the ‘delivery’ of a curriculum based on a set of new and prescribed standards. Making use of a life history approach, we compare and contrast two very different stories: one of a lecturer new to teacher education and the other of a lecturer who has been involved in teacher education for more than 25 years. Drawing upon these two cases we show that the myriad changes and prescriptions introduced into the further education sector have not closed down the achievement of agency of those involved in teacher education programmes. Rather, the changes have transformed the ways in which their agency can be articulated.

Mentoring and individual learning plans: issues of practice in a period of transition

This article draws upon research undertaken with 28 teacher education mentors, managers and trainee teachers within the SW Centre for Excellence in Teacher Training (CETT) in 2008, following the introduction of the new revised Lifelong Learning UK (LLUK) standards. The first part of the article locates and contextualises the policy context in relation to the school and further education (FE) sectors. Two separate and distinctive models of mentoring practice are delineated, the first model as a source of formative support for trainee teachers, and the second model as a tool for the assessment of competence. The article concludes by suggesting that the danger and indeed unintended consequence of separating out these functions of mentoring is that an unnecessary dichotomy is created that dislocates coherent teacher practices from one another. It argues that what is needed is a sustained period of stability in the sector. This would leave a space for CETT professionals and others to promote those practices that will make a difference not only to the work of teacher educators but to the work of staff and students.

Beyond compliance: teacher education practice in a performative framework

In the last ten years teacher education in the further education (FE) sector has witnessed a substantial reform of teacher training with the introduction of qualifications designed to meet the professional needs of people in different teaching or training situations across the sector. The assumption of the new system is that workforce issues and problems can be resolved through the regulation and control of teacher performance using documented ‘standards’ and with subject‐specific mentoring. Using data from a research study, the authors argue against the performative nature of the reformed system and in favour of pedagogical mentoring to support professional formation and development throughout the sector. The aim of the paper is both to exemplify the performative shift in the FE sector as part of a broader move in the sector towards increased control, surveillance and accountability as well as to demonstrate opportunities within the reformed structure for a new and critical engagement in policy and practice.

Learning journeys: student teacher stories of professional formation

In this paper we describe findings from a research project in the South West of England that enquired into the impact of the changing requirements of programmes leading to teaching qualifications in the FE sector. We utilise the metaphor of ‘learning journey’ as a heuristic to discuss the professional formation of student teachers in training. In so doing, we challenge oversimplified models and assumptions of progress and learning as a linear progression by demonstrating the complexity of student transitions during professional formation.

Appraisal and Professionalism in Colleges

Abstract This paper argues that the scheme of appraisal agreed between NATFHE and college employers is capable of implementation in a developmental manner that is compatible with the ideal of further education teaching being a professional practice. It outlines a case study of the innovation of one appraisal scheme at a College in the south west, identifying the key elements of the scheme that give it a developmental emphasis and some elements which inhibit it.