The quality conundrum in initial teacher education

ABSTRACT

Despite attempts to define quality in initial teacher education (ITE), consensus remains elusive. Harvey highlights how, in higher education, there is confusion between quality, standards and quality assurance. Examination of the quality indicators in ITE reveals an over-emphasis on standards rather than its transformative potential. Original research into the ITE practice of five universities in different international settings analyses the quality discourses evident in stakeholder interviews, observations and documentation on the practice of teacher education; two examples are used as illustrative accounts. The analysis reveals how teacher educators adjust their practice to the different quality discourses. The discourses emerging from both universities and accountability mechanisms focus on measures of quality assurance, standards, or value for money, and underplay the transformational dimension of ITE. This presents a quality conundrum: indicators aimed at making ITE better actually make transformation more challenging. Without recognition of its transformative and educative potential, the contribution of university-based teacher education will likely remain under-recognised, under-valued and poorly understood.

KEYWORDS:

• Initial teacher education
• quality
• quality conundrum
• standards
• accountability
• transformation

Highlights

• Quality indicators for initial teacher educations tend to focus on standards rather than seeing quality as educational transformation.

• There is a quality conundrum for teacher educators: that indicators attempting to make quality better can make the transformational potential more challenging.

• University-based teacher educators work adaptively to make the quality conundrum work for their students.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Clare Brooks

Dr. Clare Brooks is Pro-Director for Education, and the Professor of Education at UCL Institute of Education. Her background is in geography education and in initial teacher education, until recently leading the Centre for Teacher and Early Years Education, and in role as Head of Curriculum, Pedagogy and Assessment department and Head of Initial Teacher Education.