Paper presented to the British Educational Research Association Annual Conference, University of Leeds, 13-15 September 2001

Pete Boyd
St Martin's College
Fusehill Street
Carlisle
Cumbria CA1 2HH

p.boyd@ucsm.ac.uk

ABSTRACT Initial Teacher Education (ITE) of secondary school teachers in Britain is now largely based on schools forming partnerships with Higher Education Institutions. Post-graduate trainee teachers spend two thirds of their 36 week course in schools. Given the slim financial rewards and the high cost in terms of teachers' time, schools have taken part primarily due to the widely claimed professional development outcomes for teachers. This paper is based on a single school case study with data collection by self-completed questionnaires and semi-structured interviews one year and five years after the commencement of the ITE Partnership. Through analysing the perceptions of teachers, with particular focus on the professional development outcomes and possible changes in professional culture, a clearer picture of the reality of their work with trainees is unravelled. Weaknesses were apparent both in the work between teacher and trainee and in the lack of collaboration between teachers. Despite the continuing enthusiasm of teachers, this paper challenges the view that the professional development outcomes and the effects on professional culture are sufficient or coherent enough to justify the school's continued involvement in the ITE Partnership in its current form.

Context and Methodology

A British Government policy shift (Department for Education [DfE] 1992) dictated that from September 1994 a minimum of two thirds of secondary teacher training must take place on the premises of schools. It also called for schools to become 'full partners of higher education institutions' (op cit p1) in the Initial Education of Teachers (ITE). The impact of this increased involvement in ITE on a school, and in particular teachers' views and experiences of this change, are the subject of the longitudinal case study on which this paper is based. This study originally began as a gathering of teachers' perceptions on the broad evaluation of the benefits or otherwise for the school of its involvement in the ITE Partnership. However in the second phase of data collection the question became more sharply centred on investigating the professional development outcomes of the Partnership for teachers in the school.

The key question is to what extent does working with trainees provide professional development for secondary school teachers? Previous work based on well-resourced partnerships (Benton 1990) or on large samples of self-completed questionnaires (Brooks 1997) provide a very positive view but this single school case-study looks in more detail at teachers' perceptions. The use of semi-structured interviews also allowed some consideration of a secondary but related question of how the presence of a group of trainees within the school might contribute towards the professional culture of the school.

The study involved data collection in 1995 during the first year of the new ITE Partnership arrangements and then a second period of data collection in 2000. In 1995 the six teachers (mentors) who worked closely with the trainees were interviewed and a self-completed questionnaire was used with all of the teaching staff (77% response). In 2000 a sample of 25 members of the teaching staff were interviewed and a modified version of the questionnaire was used (50% response). This paper refers in part to the questionnaire results but concentrates on the results of the semi-structured interviews completed in the second phase of data collection. During both phases of data collection a self-completed questionnaire was also completed by the trainee teachers then present in the school in order to provide some comparison with teachers' views.

The case study school itself is a medium sized co-educational suburban comprehensive with a mixed catchment in terms of social class and ethnic origin. The school makes a significant commitment to partnership in ITE by providing placements for about 8 trainee teachers at any one time as a major element of their one-year Post-Graduate Certificate of Education (PGCE) course. During the five years between the introduction of the ITE Partnership and the second phase of data collection in early 2000 the school had changed in some potentially significant ways although 74% of the original teaching staff were still in the school. There was a change, related to changes in the catchment area of the school, in terms of a lowering of crude GCSE exam results from close to the national average (for % of pupils obtaining 5 or more GCSE A-C grades) to around half the national average.

The general model for partnership in ITE in the UK developed, at least in part, from the Oxford Internship Model (see Benton 1990) and the attraction for schools to participate came from the claims made for the benefits of such a partnership. These potential benefits of partnership in ITE appeared to include professional development by teachers as well as a potential change in school culture in the form of increased collegiality (McIntyre 1992). Certainly the financial attractions, for the school, of involvement are not great (Shaw 1992). Other studies indicate that the costs in terms of teachers' time are large (Brooks 1997) and these findings are supported by the questionnaire results obtained from teachers within this case study school. In 1995 63% of teachers agreed, or strongly agreed, with the statement "Dealing with the student teacher adds to the workload of the already busy teacher" and the figure rose to 72% in 2000. A similar proportion of 64% agreed , or strongly agreed, with the statement "The cost to the school in terms of time put in by members of staff is high" and again this rose to 69% in 2000. An interesting aspect of the questionnaire results was the strong link identified between negative attitudes of a few teachers towards the ITE Partnership and negative attitudes towards the methods used in ITE, especially collaborative teaching.The qualitative data collected in January 2000 consisted of semi-structured interviews with 25 teachers in the school, this data proved to be useful because of the insight which it offers to the question of the professional development outcomes of partnership in ITE. These interviews also provided some suggestions as to the professional culture among teachers within the school and the ways in which ITE partnership may have contributed to increased collegiality.

One of the most important benefits claimed for partnership in ITE was that it contributes to staff development in a school (eg. Benton 1990, McIntyre 1993, Shaw 1992, Wilkin 1992). Kelly, Beck and Thomas suggest that "Staff development, whether of experienced or novice staff, has to be about individuals learning, that is changing their behaviour ..." (in Wilkin 1992 p173).

More specifically we can go on to define staff development in schools as teachers' learning which leads to improvements in children's learning. This working definition is not presented however as an interpretation of teachers' professional development as acquisition of top-down technical knowledge. Elliot (1991) points out that "For the reflective practitioner the acquisition of relevant and useful knowledge cannot be separated from the development of competence conceived as capacities for intelligent action in unpredictable and complex situations" (p313).

In constructing the case for a 'reflective practitioner' model for teachers' education and development Elliot places practical experience, and therefore mainly classroom experience, at the core of effective teacher education and development. In this model then the Partnership arrangements for ITE seem to have real potential for professional development of teachers as well as of trainees. Joyce and Showers note that "...a large and dramatic increase in transfer of training occurs when in-class coaching is added to an initial training experience of theory explanation, demonstrations, and practice with feedback" (1988 p72). The methods used in ITE such as collaborative teaching, joint planning, observation and feedback do appear to offer opportunities for in-class development by teachers as well as by their trainees.

Harland and Kinder put forward a typology of In-Service Training (INSET) outcomes including a tentative hierarchy.

They argue that 'the larger the number of these outcomes met - either as pre-existing conditions or as effects of the CPD activities - the greater the probability of a change in teaching behaviour' (p80). This provides a useful framework for consideration of the Continuing Professional Development (CPD) outcomes of ITE partnership identified in this study.

In response to the increased role of schools and therefore of teachers in ITE many schools joined a partnership with a local Higher Education Institution (HEI). Many teachers volunteered for the crucial role of mentor (a teacher who works closely with a trainee to provide training and support during school placements). The case study on which this paper is based was begun in September 1994 with the author newly trained as a mentor and working in the school concerned. This has some bearing on the first phase of data collection, teachers were being interviewed and completing questionnaires as part of a colleague's research project. Even five years later, in the second phase of data collection, the majority of teachers in the school knew the researcher as a colleague despite the fact that he had since moved to another local secondary school and then to an HEI to work as a PGCE tutor. Access to the school was based on the trust developed for a colleague who had worked at the school for a number of years.

The reality of partnership in ITE in secondary schools is that trainees work with the mentor but also spend a good deal of their time working with other teachers, who are not trained mentors, in the department and in the rest of the school. This has implications for the quality of the training process but more importantly, from the perspective of this study, it has significance for the potential professional development outcomes. The bulk of existing literature focuses on the professional development of mentors (e.g. Duquette 1998, Field & Philipott 1997, Graham 1997, Jones et al 1997, Stidder 1998) rather than other teachers involved. Where a broad assessment of the value to schools of Partnership in ITE has been attempted the data collection has focused heavily on the views of headteachers and ITE professional coordinators (Brooks et al 1997) rather than those of classroom teachers.

The sample for the teacher interviews in January 2000 was selected based on this reality that trainees work with a variety of teachers within the school. The sample included all of the seven mentors together with 16 teachers in their departments, some with more and some with less direct responsibility for working with the trainees. In addition the ITE professional coordinator and the Deputy Headteacher responsible for staff development were interviewed to provide some insight into their perceptions relative to the teachers. All of the teachers who were approached agreed to take part in the half-hour interviews which were recorded so that a full transcript could be prepared. The transcripts were analysed using qualitative data analysis software (ATLASti) in order to facilitate the coding and interpretation of the data produced.

Findings

In response to a very open initial prompt regarding the effects of the ITE Partnership teachers interviewed in 2000 showed a strong overall support for continued involvement of the school and referred to the reflection that working with trainees promotes.

The questionnaire results showed an overwhelming support for continued involvement in ITE Partnership even among those teachers whose personal involvement was small. This support was no less strong in January 2000 (85% wanted 'about the same' level of school involvement) than it had been in the first year of the partnership (77%). The strong and sustained support by teachers for the continuation of the ITE Partnership suggests that on the whole teachers' experiences of working with students are positive in emotional terms. This provides good evidence for positive 'affective outcomes' in the typology set out by Harland and Kinder (Figure 1). However whilst emphasising the need for positive affective outcomes in CPD where significant impact on practice is sought, it is also noted that "...increases in self confidence as an affective outcome may need to go hand in hand with increases in a sense of competence in new knowledge and skills" (Harland and Kinder 1997 p 75). The positive attitudes of the teachers towards the presence of trainees within the school does at least provide a promising context in which other professional development outcomes might be expected to arise.

The main body of the questionnaire consisted of an attitude scale in which the teachers were asked to respond to statements concerning the methods and the effects of ITE partnership. In the following comments the 'strongly agree' and 'agree' responses have been combined and expressed as a percentage with the January 2000 result given in parentheses. "Involvement in the scheme makes teachers look more carefully at their own teaching", the teachers appear to strongly endorse this effect in their response to this statement, 89% agree (83%). A related statement, "Our involvement causes teachers to focus on what happens in the classroom" also gained a very positive response with 80% agreeing (85%). This idea of reflective practice is central to the possible staff development potential of ITE involvement. The teachers in the school appear to agree with Wilkin that "It is difficult not to question your own practice when you are discussing the knowledge, skills or attitudes possessed by others" (1992 p179).

Clearly there do appear to be benefits of ITE Partnership in terms of increasing the reflection by teachers about their teaching. The link between the quality of training and the level of professional development outcomes for teachers becomes apparent. If teachers do model critical self evaluation having been observed by a trainee then this will tend to maximise the benefits to their own development. Unfortunately trainees are can be in awe of the teacher and they may find it difficult to view what they see very critically.

And so to some extent teachers are able to limit the professional development outcomes of their work within the ITE partnership, "As authority figures in the scheme...teachers themselves are under no external pressure to change, or appear to change, their practices or ideas: they learn only in as far as they are stimulated to question or develop their practices or to explore new possibilities." (McIntyre 1992 p272). The 'chameleon' effect, identified by teachers, contributes to the possibility of 'rose-tinted' reflection which may reduce the professional development outcomes for teachers.

Within this idea of being reflective some teachers expressed the view that being observed by trainees made you 'raise your game' and put them into situations where they were required to explain their own strategies, many of which were instinctive.

Many teachers considered that another effect of working with trainees was in the form of reminders about what constitutes good classroom practice. Examples included basic strategies such as learning and using pupil names, greeting pupils at the door and using active learning rather than using too much teacher talk. Teachers suggested that although they might demonstrate these strategies for the benefit of trainees they may well not adopt them for their own lessons in the long term.

Some teachers saw trainees as a source of ideas for teaching and learning although many of these ideas were again in the form of reminders. They consisted largely of strategies that the teachers were already aware of but did not choose to use; simple uses of ICT or use of artifacts within the subject are examples. Teachers felt that trainees had a clear focus on teaching and learning and the time to enable them to be creative and make good use of existing resources.

Some teachers considered that trainees tended to conform to departmental norms and so were not a good source of radically new ideas.

Overall the teachers' perceptions of reflection and ideas arising through their work with trainees provide some evidence of 'new awareness' outcomes in the Harland and Kinder typology (figure 1). The suggestion that the new awareness was largely in the form of reminders of basic good practice might be seen as a limitation on the value of the CPD outcomes but could also be argued to be of particular value precisely because of the focus on the fundamentals.

Many teachers saw the production of resources such as worksheets as a valuable contribution by trainees. These might form a source of ideas for activities or a different approach to a topic or might simply be a better quality adaptation of existing departmental resources. Teachers recognised that trainees had good access to ICT and above all had the time to produce effective resources. Worksheets and other resources were seen by teachers to be a definite mechanism by which practical ideas were transmitted from trainees.

In the Harland and Kinder typology (Figure 1) the term 'provisionary outcomes' is used to describe materials and equipment provided through INSET activities. The value of these worksheets in terms of supporting professional development outcomes may be viewed with considerable skepticism. Where worksheets are strongly linked to particular teaching strategies and form part of well-planned learning activities, perhaps linked to work in the HEI or forming part of a trainee assignment, then it seems reasonable to acknowledge their possible contribution. This would require more direct investigation beyond the scope of this study but the perceptions of teachers do provide some evidence of 'provisionary outcomes' within the Harland and Kinder typology (figure 1).

Teachers occasionally referred to their own professional development explicitly in relation to working with trainees. Examples include developing subject knowledge where a trainee has a gap, gaining confidence for working with other adults (such as support assistants) in the classroom and one example of trainees running a short software training session for teachers.

Teachers' questionnaire responses provided a positive view about effects within their department as well as effects on their personal development. "Involvement helps to develop ideas about teaching methods within the department" with 75% agreeing (66%). A related statement attracted a similar response with 75% agreeing (78%) concerning discussion of resources, "It increases the amount of discussion about teaching resources among teachers". However the interview data provided more insight into teachers' perceptions of these effects. Teachers felt that working with the trainees did not lead to a great deal of teacher talk and that it was often informal and in passing. This appeared to reflect a feeling of professional isolation among some teachers and they commented that they did not get enough opportunities to discuss teaching and learning with colleagues.

Perhaps surprisingly some teachers suggested that their work with trainees was largely independent of, and did not involve much liaison with the mentor apart from an occasional formal lesson report or brief informal comments.

The individualism of teachers (Hargreaves 1992), dictated by the classroom and timetable structure of secondary schools, did not appear to be significantly broken down through working with the trainees. Even those teachers who felt that they already worked collaboratively within their department did not think that the involvement with the trainees significantly increased the amount of teacher talk about teaching and learning. Overall teachers' comments gave little sign of significant increases in collegiality as put forward by McIntyre and Hagger "...it is through sharing problems of the content, management and assessment of intern's learning programmes that teachers incidentally learn to share their thinking about their own teaching" (McIntyre 1992 p276).

Collegiality, with frequent discussion of teaching and learning and sharing of ideas, has been identified as a characteristic of effective schools (Little 1982, NREL 1990). Some effects of ITE Partnership on informal discussion were identified by some of the teachers.

Teachers were clear that the ITT did not help, in a significant way, to form or develop links between different departments within the school. Balkanisation within secondary schools (Ball 1987, Hargreaves 1992), by which departments fail to share good practice with each other, did not seem to teachers to be weakened significantly by the presence of the trainees.

Collective impacts of INSET activities are termed 'Institutional Outcomes' in the Harland and Kinder typology (Figure 1). The teachers' perceptions suggest that elements included in this category such as consensus, shared meanings and mutual support are not likely to be achieved as significant outcomes of the ITE Partnership through the effect of increasing teacher talk and collaboration.

Teachers did suggest that a more positive tone might be adopted during informal discussions due to the presence of the trainees. This may be linked to increased job satisfaction through working with the trainees.

The very positive support in both the questionnaires and the interviews by teachers for continuing the Partnership does suggest that teachers do gain increased job satisfaction through working with the trainees. Research on the relationship between teacher mentors and trainees does suggest that it may act as a catalyst in individual experienced teachers' thinking leading to professional development (Tauer 1998). This supports ideas developed on the links between a teacher's personal and professional development (Hargreaves and Fullan 1992). The value of partnership to the school may then be complex and the connection that may be established from work with the trainees to changes in classroom practice will vary from one teacher to the next. For example 'motivational outcomes' is a category in the Harland and Kinder typology that concerns the enthusiasm to implement the ideas received during INSET activities. Many teachers are enthused by their work with trainees but what appears to be missing is the new knowledge and skills outcomes that Harland and Kinder identify as essential companions to motivation if the latter is not to become short-lived or superficial (1997 p75).

Teachers were generally dismissive about the partnership with the HE institution.

Aspects of the Partnership framing the teachers' activities and experiences did however arise during the interviews with some of the mentors. Two of the mentors did show some enthusiasm about the value of the training days that they take part in at the HEI. A specific ITE activity involving watching and discussing a video of teaching with trainees was mentioned by one mentor as being very valuable and useful in her work with Newly Qualified Teachers (NQTs) in the department. Another mentor commented that the completion of the trainees' assessment reports was thought provoking. Guidelines on good practice form the HEI were also mentioned by a mentor...

Mentors did appear to be getting more explicit 'professional development' from the partnership than were other teachers. However their views of outcomes arising from their work with the trainees in the classroom and the department, which appear to have the greatest potential for professional development, were not significantly different from other teachers. The questionnaires indicated a high level of interest among teachers in taking part in training related to the work with trainees, this level of interest was still high even after five years of Partnership.

These explicit links with the HEI and with explicit INSET as part of the ITE Partnership, even in the context of the needs of the trainees, appear to be the missing element for teachers. The 'Value Congruence Outcome' category in the Harland and Kinder typology (Figure 1) is held by these authors to be a crucial factor in successful CPD in terms of classroom implementation, relating to the need for teachers and CPD providers to reach a shared view of good practice. ITE Partnership is complex and its primary aim is the effective education of the trainees, but within the collaborative partnership framework it is reasonable to view the role of the HEI as including the provision of INSET to schools. The perceptions of teachers indicate that achievement of value congruence is highly unlikely given their lack of engagement with the HEI. From a professional development perspective the trainee must be viewed as part of the process rather than as a provider, teachers working with them are in need of further input, from the HEI or elsewhere, in order to make effective use of the opportunities provided.

In summary then the teachers' perceptions appear to convey that working with trainee teachers within the ITE Partnership did make them more reflective and provide ideas and opportunities for professional development. However they also suggested considerable limitations to these positive effects. The reflection appears to be 'rose-tinted' and largely related to reminders, the ideas provided being at the level of new worksheets. The apparent lack of professional interactions with peers created by the ITE Partnership, its failure to develop a more collaborative environment, is also disappointing. In relation to Harland and Kinder's typology the professional development outcomes which appear to be missing or weak include information, institutional, value congruence and knowledge and skills outcomes.

Given the nature of British secondary schools these findings are perhaps not surprising, Denscombe sums up the possible response of teachers to their working environment. "Indeed the prevailing circumstances of secondary schooling, with non-voluntary clientele, rigid time-tabling, poor staff-pupil ratios and the closed classroom set-up, provide the work context explaining the characteristic concerns of classroom teachers - their concern with control, immediacy, individuality and autonomy" (1980 p290). It seems that the apparent opportunities offered by the ITE Partnership to break down some of these barriers are not being developed except, perhaps, through the individual motivation of a small number of teachers and especially those acting as mentors.

Implications

The views of the co-ordinator of ITE within the school and the Deputy Head responsible for staff development appeared to be a little more optimistic about professional development outcomes of the ITE Partnership than the teachers themselves. The work with trainees was seen as having helped the teaching staff as a whole to become more familiar and confident in lesson observation and giving feedback. This was seen as having eased the recent introduction of peer observation within the school.

The senior management team of the school seemed willing to continue with the ITE Partnership provided that teachers' support for involvement remains high. The teachers' perceptions do however appear to raise some questions for the school;

• How might the ITE Partnership be developed in order to contribute more fully to creating a focus on teaching and learning within the school?

• How might the school develop teacher / trainee training activities in order to increase professional development outcomes for the teachers?

• How might communication within departments be developed to increase discussion of the trainees' progress?

• How might the trainees' presence in the school contribute to sharing of good practice between departments?

• How might the school make more use of the HEI staff and resources to support professional development within the context of ITE?

In developing the ITE Partnership in order to increase and broaden the professional development outcomes the school would need to take into account the ownership of the development. The 'incidental' nature of working with trainees may be a crucial element in its potential for contributing to professional development of teachers (McIntyre 1992 p281). The 'locus of control' (Higgins and Leat 2000) may need to remain with the teachers and departments rather than moving towards a central managerial model with its associated problems of contrived collegiality (Hargreaves 1992).

Implicit within these questions is the challenge to HEIs to develop the quality of training during the school-based element of ITE courses. The question of resource base, raised earlier with regard to the well-resourced schemes on which the partnership model was based, becomes central. Edwards sees the development of effective collaborative partnerships as feasible but warns that "Such a partnership won't be cheap. It offers none of the simple accountability attractions of clear role definitions and responsibilities. It is not easily enacted. Furthermore, it requires that the learning of the partners involved in student training be as demanding as that required of the students" (1995 p608).

This study has focused on the school and the teachers' perspective and so, in the absence of improved funding, it raises some doubts about the value of ITE Partnership for the school. The school might consider developing the work with trainees in order to raise the priority of professional development outcomes for teachers. As Barber noted in the mid nineties, "...virtually none of the whirlwind of reforms that has swept through education in Britain in the last decade has given priority to teachers, their professional skills or their professional development" (1995 p75). The school might consider, as an addition or even as an alternative to the ITE Partnership, adopting more direct ways of harnessing teachers' enthusiasm and expertise to share good practice, to work together in classrooms, to provide school-based professional development and to develop a more collaborative professional culture.