The focus in professional learning is often on formal activities such as workshops, conferences and courses. There is also a tendency to focus on formal programmes of coaching and…
Abstract
Purpose
The focus in professional learning is often on formal activities such as workshops, conferences and courses. There is also a tendency to focus on formal programmes of coaching and mentoring in teacher education. Emphasising the formal activities means that everyday informal learning in educational settings is overlooked. Informal coaching and mentoring could be utilised to support teachers' career-long professional learning.
Design/methodology/approach
This is a conceptual paper which draws on the author's research and seeks to expand what is considered as professional learning within teacher education – namely, informal coaching and mentoring. To understand how to support this professional learning, the lens of social practice is used with an emphasis on learning environments and learning practices.
Findings
Coaching and mentoring can be identified in informal encounters in the staffroom, school corridors and many places and situations. Findings are presented in relation to the importance of informal learning from and with colleagues and the role of headteachers.
Originality/value
More attention has been paid to informal learning, but there is still a need for what could be termed an “informal turn”. Understanding that informal coaching and mentoring afford professional learning opportunities to the teachers who both provide and receive coaching and mentoring can help to support their learning. Recommendations are provided on how educational settings can facilitate and support these professional learning opportunities while preserving their informality.
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The purpose of this paper is to introduce this special issue focussing on the mentoring of beginning teachers which supports the professional learning of not only mentees but also…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to introduce this special issue focussing on the mentoring of beginning teachers which supports the professional learning of not only mentees but also mentors. The paper identifies the varied aims of beginning teacher mentoring programmes, some of the reasons for mentoring and an introduction to the six research papers published in the issue.
Design/methodology/approach
The papers in this issue examine different perspectives relating to the mentoring of student teachers and newly qualified teachers (NQTs). Different types of mentoring relationships are examined in various international contexts. The research, from Australia, the Republic of Ireland, Malta, Norway, Scotland, the USA and Wales, addresses the challenges that can occur in mentoring relationships, and enables us to better understand the professional learning that takes place in successful mentoring relationships.
Findings
The authors of the papers delineate how critical reflective practice, inquiry into professional practice, collaboration and professional learning for both mentees and mentors are key aims for many mentoring programmes. The six studies used different methods to investigate external and/or school-based mentoring programmes for student teachers and NQTs.
Research limitations/implications
A snapshot of current research into professional learning is provided with most studies being small qualitative ones. However, common themes can be identified across countries and contexts. The authors of each paper outline the implications for teacher education for their own contexts, as well as for international contexts.
Originality/value
Teacher education programmes employ mentoring pairs and triads in order to develop particular traits and reflective practices in teachers. Research shows how mentor programmes provide classroom experience and professional learning for student and NQTs as well as professional learning for teacher mentors. University tutors play a key role in supporting not only the mentees and mentors but also the mentoring relationship.
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Scotland's Teacher Induction Scheme, which covers new teachers in the state sector, was introduced in 2002, before which there was a 2-year probation period. This chapter covers…
Abstract
Scotland's Teacher Induction Scheme, which covers new teachers in the state sector, was introduced in 2002, before which there was a 2-year probation period. This chapter covers teacher probation prior to 2002; the components of the Teacher Induction Scheme; allocation of induction year teachers; the Standard for Full Registration; support and professional learning and tensions in the scheme, namely mentors' dual support and assessment roles, the vulnerable position of induction year teachers and the role of universities in teacher induction. While there have been some minor changes to the Teacher Induction Scheme and the Flexible Route (originally called the Alternative Route) to Registration, there has not been an official review or overhaul since their introduction in 2002. Therefore, this chapter concludes with suggestions on possible future developments.
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This introductory chapter provides an explanation for and overview of this edited collection, including a brief synopsis of the themes which are developed in its chapters. Themes…
Abstract
This introductory chapter provides an explanation for and overview of this edited collection, including a brief synopsis of the themes which are developed in its chapters. Themes include the contested site of teacher preparation, whether it should take place mainly at university or in schools and whether the emphasis should be on the academic discipline of education or on the practical elements of teaching. A second theme relates to the impact of education policy on teacher preparation; in particular, the devolution of powers from the UK Parliament and Government to the Scottish Parliament and the Scottish Executive (now Scottish Government). In this devolved context a new curriculum framework covering those aged 3–18 years, called Curriculum for Excellence, was introduced in 2010 and recently a Scottish solution to teacher shortages has been to create online and distance learning routes into teaching. A third recurring theme in the book is the review of all forms of teacher education led by the former Chief Inspector of schools, Graham Donaldson. This review resulted in a seminal report, ‘Teaching Scotland's Future’, and its 50 recommendations included many related to teacher preparation and induction. This collection also shines a light on some hitherto neglected areas of teacher preparation, including the Episcopalian Teacher Training College and the preparation for English Language teachers.
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The purpose of this paper is to explore how the induction of new teachers might be regarded as a form of apprenticeship in which informal support (on‐the‐job learning) plays an…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore how the induction of new teachers might be regarded as a form of apprenticeship in which informal support (on‐the‐job learning) plays an important role alongside formal continuing professional learning (off‐the‐job learning). The sample teachers are part of the Teacher Induction Scheme in Scotland, which provides a reduced teaching workload during the induction year, so that new teachers have time to develop their practice through continuing professional learning and development activities.
Design/methodology/approach
A sequential mixed methods study was undertaken, with two online questionnaires sent to 167 new teachers and two sets of semi‐structured interviews with ten new teachers.
Findings
The findings highlight the importance of a reduction in teaching hours and the significance of informal learning for new teachers. Furthermore, while an induction scheme framework with reduced workload is important, new teachers need supportive colleagues to learn from and with during their first year of teaching.
Research limitations/implications
This study only involved new teachers who had completed their initial teacher education at one Scottish university. Policy makers and school leaders could do more to recognise, value and encourage informal work‐based learning and collegiate support for new teachers.
Originality/value
The paper provides a deeper understanding of the nature of informal learning, often characteristic of the apprenticeship model, in the context of a formal induction scheme. It highlights that more than a formal induction scheme on its own is needed to support teachers in their transition from student teacher to qualified teacher. The paper draws attention to the need for policy makers, local authorities and schools to be more supportive and responsive to the learning and development needs of new teachers when implementing an induction scheme for new entrants.
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This chapter critically examines the provision and underlying partnership structure of a range of online and distance teacher preparation courses introduced in Scotland from 2014…
Abstract
This chapter critically examines the provision and underlying partnership structure of a range of online and distance teacher preparation courses introduced in Scotland from 2014 to 2018. These courses reflect a period of teacher shortages and were developed by Universities in partnership with local authority employers, particularly in rural areas. This chapter explores the geographic and policy context before analysing the national and local policy drivers that led to the expansion of online and distance provision. The structures of a range of programmes introduced by the University of the Highlands and Islands, the University of Aberdeen and the University of Dundee are considered in detail. This is reflected against the national policy drivers of teacher shortages in rural areas, the challenges of recruiting secondary science and technology teachers and the introduction of national funding from the Scottish Government for ‘New Routes into Teaching’. The Government aim of recruiting highly qualified graduates into teaching as a career is contrasted with the local requirement to support a wider more equitable access to a teaching career, for people already committed to living in rural Scotland. This chapter concludes with an analysis of the processes and technology utilised in these programmes before considering the future of online and distance teacher preparation in Scotland.
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Stephen J. Mckinney and Roger Edwards
The history of the Episcopal Training Institution is an under researched area of teacher education in Scotland. The College was opened in Edinburgh in 1850 and initially trained…
Abstract
The history of the Episcopal Training Institution is an under researched area of teacher education in Scotland. The College was opened in Edinburgh in 1850 and initially trained male students. After 1867, the male students transferred to Durham and the College trained female students. The students were trained to teach in the Episcopal schools throughout Scotland. These schools were predominantly established for the children of the Episcopal denomination or they were mission schools that educated the poor. The College struggled to recruit sufficient numbers of students in the early twentieth century and the College closed in 1934. A very small number of Episcopal schools still exist in the twenty-first century Scotland.
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This chapter attempts to conclude this periodised collection by contemplating the future of Initial Teacher Education (ITE) in Scotland over a timeframe of the next 10–20 years…
Abstract
This chapter attempts to conclude this periodised collection by contemplating the future of Initial Teacher Education (ITE) in Scotland over a timeframe of the next 10–20 years. It develops a framework of antecedents of change drawn from the accounts, analysis and milestones presented in the preceding chapters. Five main wellsprings of change are articulated reflecting how teacher preparation has been cast and influenced by politics, economic circumstances, changes in the sociocultural order, important shifts in the intellectual climate together with the decisions and actions of institutional or individual actors. Using the framework, three scenarios for the future of teacher education in Scotland are sketched out in brief. Futurologists and strategic thinkers have used the development of scenarios as a technique or method to contend with multiple conceivable possibilities and to contain the unpredictability of possible futures. The scenarios presented in this chapter are offered as a stimulus for future-orientated thinking and action. The final section highlights dimensions of ITE that are tangibly within the reach of teacher educators in forging a future in which Scotland remains, in a context of global comparison, a jurisdiction providing ITE of the highest quality.