Equality of Educational Opportunity in Initial Teacher Education

Abstract

The issues that are now informing policy making in initial teacher education no longer seem to give the prominence to equality of opportunity that was formerly the case. In light of this development a small scale research project was undertaken, gathering data from course providers (in a University Department of Educational Studies and partner schools) and students. The perceived meaning of the term ‘equality of educational opportunity’ was investigated, together with the policies and practices in initial teacher education which were suggested as being likely to lead to positive achievements. No simple ways forward are suggested, but a number of potential action points are explored throughout the article.