"Teacher education in the UK: the peculiarities ofthe English - and of the Welsh, Northern Irish and Scottish!"
Ian Menter, Professor of Teacher Education, University of Glasgow
There have always been significant differences in the approaches to teacher education in the four parts of the UK. Since devolution under New Labour however, it does appear, at least on the face of it, that the approach in England is increasingly distinctive from the approaches in the three smaller jurisdictions. This presentation will draw from a range of research projects to examine what these differences are and to offer an assessment of their significance. As well as considering the possible reasons for the differences, including the different policy contexts that exist in each country, we will also reflect on whether the wider cultural positioning of education and of teachers may play some part in influencing the patterns of provision and practice. The presentation will conclude with a consideration of the extent to which policymakers and practitioners may benefit or learn from ‘home international’ comparisons of this kind.
Introduction
The theme of this conference – Development and innovation in ITE
Since moving to work in Scotland in 2001 after 26 years in English schools and teacher education institutions, I have become somewhat fascinated – if not obsessed – with what can be learned from looking at variations in policy and practice in IE across the four parts of the UK. I want to spend most of the next 45 minutes or so sharing some of that fascination – or obsession – with you. Indeed my objectives for this keynote are:
1. to encourage interest in and awareness of the power of ‘home international’ comparative studies in teacher education in the UK
2. to identify some of the key similarities and differences in approaches to ITE across the UK and to offer some tentative explanations for these patterns
My reasons for this interest are not just because of an intrinsic interest in ITE, but because of the belief that through examination of any nation’s approach to ITE you may actually gain wider insight into the whole of that country’s education system and indeed you may gain even deeper insights into the culture and values that prevail in that nation.
If that is one premise underlying what I have to say, there is a second one:
There is a profound connection between, on the one hand, policies and practices in teacher education, and, on the other hand, teacher supply and retention. This became deeply apparent to me during the 1990s when I was working in London at what was then the University of North London.
Two studies in particular that have fed my thinking about these matters are:
Convergence or Divergence? Initial teacher education policy and practice in Scotland and England – University of Paisley (now University of the West of Scotland), with Estelle Brisard and Ian Smith
Learning to Teach in post-devolution UK – a scoping study for the ESRC Teaching and Learning Research Programme – with Moira Hulme (Glasgow); Martin Jephcote (Cardiff); Pat Mahony (Roehampton); Anne Moran (Ulster)
In this talk I will start by suggesting what it is that characterises UK teacher education as a whole before then identifying some of the peculiarities in each country – and it is my view that while all four countries may be a bit peculiar the balance of evidence is that England is more peculiar than the others!
Home international comparative studies
The power of home internationals has been well demonstrated by amongst others David Raffe at the Centre of Educational Sociology at the University of Edinburgh. In a series of study that have focused particularly on 14-19, school/labour market transitions, Raffe and his colleagues have shown how
Standards in Teacher Education
The peculiarities of the English
Partnership
Diverse routes
Skills tests
And now the MTL
The peculiarities of the Scots
Induction
Chartered teacher
Scottish Teachers for a New Era
The role of the GTCS in accreditation and registration – maintaing quality or embedding conservatism?
The peculiarities of the Northern Irish
A divided society?
The two traditions
Problems of over supply
Structural reorganisation
The peculiarities of the Welsh
Implementing the seamless web – a systematic approach to Early professional development
Conclusions:
The significance of the policy context
This relates both to key political themes but also to the institutional arrangements for teacher education.
Why is there no TDA of Ofsted outside England?
Why does the English GTC have such limited powers, certainly in comparison with Scotland, but also increasingly by comparison with Wales and Northern Ireland.
‘Teaching as a research-based profession’ – what does it mean in the UK?
The invidious divisive effects of the RAE
1. The old and the new and the very small proportion of student teachers that are studying in institutions that receive funding for educational research
2. The tendency for
The need for more research – both national, home international but also international
Major studies:
The TEG resourceESCalate ITE Conference 16 May, 2008
University of Cumbria, Carlisle Campus
"Teacher education in the UK: the peculiarities ofthe English - and of the Welsh, Northern Irish and Scottish!"
Ian Menter, Professor of Teacher Education, University of Glasgow
Abstract
There have always been significant differences in the approaches to teacher education in the four parts of the UK. Since devolution under New Labour however, it does appear, at least on the face of it, that the approach in England is increasingly distinctive from the approaches in the three smaller jurisdictions. This presentation will draw from a range of research projects to examine what these differences are and to offer an assessment of their significance. As well as considering the possible reasons for the differences, including the different policy contexts that exist in each country, we will also reflect on whether the wider cultural positioning of education and of teachers may play some part in influencing the patterns of provision and practice. The presentation will conclude with a consideration of the extent to which policymakers and practitioners may benefit or learn from ‘home international’ comparisons of this kind.
Some References
Publications
Arnott, M. and Menter, I. (2007) ‘The same but different? Post-devolution regulation and control in education in Scotland and England’, European Education Research Journal, 6, 3, 250-265.
Brisard, E., Menter, I. and Smith, I. (2005) Models of Partnership in Programmes of Initial Teacher Education (A systematic literature review commissioned by the General Teaching Council Scotland), Edinburgh: GTCS.
Brisard, E., Menter, I. and Smith, I. (2006) Discourses of partnership in initial teacher education in Scotland: current configurations and tensions, European Journal of Teacher Education, 29, 1, 49-66.
Brisard, E., Menter, I. and Smith, I. (2007) ‘Researching trends in initial teacher education policy and practice in an era of globalization and evolution: a rationale and a methodology for an Anglo-Scottish ‘home international’ study’, Comparative Education, 43, 2, 207-229.
Hulme, M. and Menter, I. (forthcoming, 2008) ‘Learning to teach in post-devolution UK: a technical or an ethical process?’, Southern African Review of Education.
Mahony, P., Menter, I. and Hextall, I. (2001) ‘Just Testing?: an analysis of the implementation of ‘skills tests’ for entry into the teaching profession in England’, Journal of Education for Teaching, 27, 3, 221-239.
Menter, I. (2002) ‘Border crossing – Teacher supply and retention in England and Scotland’, Scottish Educational Review, 34, 1, 40-50.
Menter, I. (2008) Tradition, culture and identity in the reform of teachers’ work in Scotland and England: some methodological considerations’, Pedagogy, Culture and Society, 16, 1, 57-69.
Menter, I. Forthcoming (in press): ‘Teacher Education Institutions’ in Bryce, T. and Humes, W. (eds.) Scottish Education (third edition), Edinburgh: University Press
Menter, I. (2009, forthcoming) ‘Teachers for the 21st Century: what have we got and what do we need?’ in Cribb, A., Gewirtz, S., Hextall, I. and Mahony, P. (eds.) Changing Teacher Roles, Identities and Professionalism, London: Routledge/Falmer
Menter, I., Brisard, E. and Smith, I. (2006) Convergence or Divergence?: Initial teacher education in Scotland and England, Dunedin Academic Press, Edinburgh.
Menter, I., Brisard, E. and Smith, I. (2006) Making Teachers in Britain: professional knowledge for initial teacher education in England and Scotland, Educational Philosophy and Theory, 38, 3, 269-286.
Menter, I. and Hulme, M. (forthcoming, 2008) ‘Is small beautiful?: policy making in teacher education in Scotland’, Teachers and Teaching
Menter I., Mahony P. and Hextall I. (2004) ‘Ne’er the twain shall meet? The modernisation of the teaching workforce in Scotland and England’. Journal of Education Policy , 19 (2), 195-214.
Smith, I., Brisard, E. and Menter, I. (2006) ‘Models of partnership developments in initial teacher education in the four components of the United Kingdom: recent trends and current challenges’, Journal of Education for Teaching, 32, 2, 147-164.
Smith, I., Brisard, E., and Menter, I. (2006) Partnership in initial teacher education in Scotland 1990-2005: unresolved tensions, Scottish Educational Review, Vol 37, Special Edition, 20-31.
Websites
http://www.learningtoteach.org/
- The papers from four seminars held during 2006/07 are all available on this website. Additionally there is a compilation of information about ITE and EPD in each of the four countries, including hyperlinks to a range of policy documents.
http://www.tlrp.org/capacity/rm/wt/teg/
– This is a searchable database that includes full details (including abstracts) of 287 journal articles on research in teacher education carried out in the UK between 2000 and 2006.