Michele Lloyd

Change in Teacher Education : interpreting and experiencing new professional roles

Summary In this paper we consider the effect of moves by the British Government to make initial teacher education (ITE) in England and Wales more school‐based (Blake, 1993). To monitor the impact of this shift towards school‐based training we conducted a fine grain study of what was happening on the ground within the one‐year Secondary School‐Based Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) at the Chichester Institute of Higher Education (ChIHE). * Data were gathered from questionnaire surveys and interviews. Findings from our regional case study indicate that while school‐based ITE programmes may offer student teachers greater insight into school life, this should not be at the expense of developing students’ analytical and theoretical understanding of education and schooling promoted within higher education‐based work. *At the time the research was conducted, the Institutes name was the West Sussex Institute of Higher Education, hence interviewees refer to ‘WSIHE’ and ‘West Sussex’.

Smoke and Mirrors U.K. Newspaper Representations of Intimate Partner Domestic Violence

News media are in a position to project certain perspectives on domestic violence while marginalizing others, which has implications for public understanding and policy development. This study applies discourse analysis to articles on domestic violence in two U.K. national daily newspapers published in 2001-2002 and 2011-2012 to evaluate evidence of change over a 10-year time span. The research examines how discourses of domestic violence are constructed through newspaper representations of victims, predominantly women, and perpetrators, predominantly men. Although one of the newspapers adopts a respectful position toward women, the textual and visual techniques adopted by the other reveal a tendency for blaming the victim and sexualizing violence related to perceptions of “deserving” or “undeserving” women victims.

The Role of the Higher Education Tutor in School-based Initial Teacher Education in England and Wales

Abstract Recent changes in teacher education in England and Wales have led to an increased concentration on the role of the school in the process of training teachers. There have been interesting developments in mentorship arrangements, often involving training for teachers who will take more responsibility for the supervision of trainees in school. What has been less discussed is the future role of higher education (HE) in the training of teachers and, more specifically, the role of the higher education tutor. This article presents an analysis of the role of the tutor set in the policy context of initial teacher education in England and Wales. Contrasts are drawn with international developments in teacher education, where the direction of policy is towards the involvement of higher education rather than away from it. The selection, induction, career development and the capabilities of teacher educators are considered. A case study of tutor roles on a secondary Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE)...

Researching School-Based Teacher Education

Part 1 Introduction: the policy context for school-based teacher education. Part 2 Issues and processes: crossing academic communities - clarifying the conceptual landscape in initial teacher education benchmarking the competences pedagogical content knowledge - what do mature students bring to teaching? transition to mentoring - issues in primary initial teaching training further professional encounters - students and their school tutors initial teacher training and partnership - a management perspective long memories - lessons for the induction and support of student teachers in schools primary school-based teacher education in France value conflicts in school-based initial teacher education. Part 3 Case studies: planning for a partnership in the primary sector - a Welsh perspective new partnerships in schools - comparing teaching practice supervision in Accredited Assessment Schools (AAS) and Professional Development Schools (PDS) the developement of professional competences change in teacher education - interpreting and experiencing new professional roles the theory practice gap explored - the views of the art and physical education the mentoring process in initial teacher education - the respective roles of personnel in a pilot school-based scheme managing time within the initial teacher training partnership - Chenderits first year as an internship school comparing HEAPs with SAPs - initial teacher education in the secondary secotr an evaluation of Nene Colleges PGCE pilot project 1993-94 externally enforced change - the experience of students and mentors during the pilot year of a post - 9/92 school-based course stringing along - untying the knots in a college-school PGCE teacher training network. Part 4 Conclusion: policy, market and school-based training.

Women’s Experiences of Domestic Violence and Mental Health: Findings From a European Empowerment Project

Objective: Research shows that women experiencing domestic violence and mental health problems often fall into gaps in services between support for domestic violence and support for mental health. This article reports on an action-research project adopting a strengths-based approach to recovery funded by the European Commission. Multimethod research was carried out in 5 European countries examining how interconnections of domestic violence and mental health impact the lives of women, how their lives can be improved by empowering strategies, and how service providers’ professional learning can be developed. Women survivors’ strengths and posttraumatic growth in the context of domestic violence remains a considerably underresearched area and the study provides new insights into adopting a strengths-based framework. Method: Free training programs were designed, delivered, and evaluated for 2 groups of participants (n = 136) pertaining to women service users and mental health service providers (men and women) working with abused women. Results: Program-evaluation data gained through surveys and focus groups showed that women participants reported growth in self-esteem and coping skills, whereas professionals felt better equipped to address the tandem issues of domestic violence and mental health. Conclusion: Findings extend current knowledge about the barriers and facilitators to empowerment and strengths-based recovery perspectives, professional learning, and offer a more nuanced understanding of women’s agential ability for posttraumatic growth.

'Superteachers': The Views of Teachers and Head Teachers on the Advanced Skills Teacher Grade

The introduction of the Advanced Skills Teacher (AST) grade was proposed in the 1997 White Paper Excellence in Schools (DfEE, 1997). The proposal was based on the assumption that skilled, experienced teachers are the key asset of schools. Advanced Skills Teachers, the White Paper contended, would not only provide the best quality education for pupils but also help colleagues by sharing their expert knowledge and skills. ASTs would not leave the classroom as a result of gaining promotion. The proposal was designed to reward high-quality teaching skills per se. ASTs, it was argued, would have a key role in raising standards through their support of trainee and newly qualified teachers. The proposals drew furious responses from all the teacher and head teacher unions. The responses are well represented by the 2 March news release from the National Union of Teachers, which argued that ‘schools are dependent on a highly qualified, motivated team working as one. ASTs are a potentially divisive imposition’ (NUT, 1998). The NASUWT saw the government as adopting a ‘sticking-plaster approach which would do little to motivate and reward good classroom teaching’ (NASUWT, 1998). The press release of the Professional Association of Teachers (PAT) argued that schools already had Heads and deputy Heads to develop and spread good practice, and that rewarding a small minority of ASTs would not attract new recruits to the profession. PAT’s view was that the emphasis should be on developing good salary levels for all teachers (PAT, 1998). The National Association of Head Teachers (1998) criticised the proposals for:

Mentoring in action on a primary PGCE course

Abstract School‐based mentors are taking increased responsibility for the initial training of student teachers as a result of government policy to lengthen the proportion of time students spend in school during their training. The role of the mentor is critical in the development of a partnership model of initial teacher education (ITE), involving close collaboration between higher education institutions (HEIs) and schools. This article draws on our research into the practice of mentoring on the one‐year Primary Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) at the Chichester Institute. Through observations of mentoring sessions at school we analyse the process of mentoring in action. Drawing on mentor observations and interviews with mentors, students and college (link) tutors we examine the diverse nature of mentoring and identify some of the common qualities of good mentoring practice.