Selection and rejection in teacher education: qualities of character crucial in selecting and developing teacher education students

ABSTRACT

The focus of recent Australian political and media reports on the selection of candidates for initial teacher education programs has focused on the Australian Tertiary Admission Rank (ATAR) score as one of the key indicators of worth. This narrative study conducted in an Australian regional university focuses on the life stories of twelve pre-service teachers (PSTs) who received lower ATAR scores and who may well have been rejected by other universities. The PSTs’ narratives highlight that low achievement levels in the final years of schooling did not prevent them from being able to succeed in teacher education programs. We argue that high stakes tests as gatekeeping devices are simplistic measures that fail to recognise important qualities of character crucial to effective teaching. We suggest that qualities of character such as these are hard to quantify but are central to both selecting entrants to, and developing PSTs during, their teacher education programs.

KEYWORDS:

• Qualities of character
• teacher education
• selection
• high stakes tests
• quality teaching

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank the participants in the study for the giving of their time to contribute to this research. We would also like to thank the extended research team of Maxine Cooper, Nerissa Albon, Sharon McDonough and Robyn Brandenburg for their contribution and collegiality during this project.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the University of Ballarat Faculty of Education and Arts Research Committee – Small Research Grant [Internal Grant only - No Grant Number].

Notes on contributors

Amanda McGraw

Amanda McGraw is a Senior Lecturer who coordinates the Master of Teaching (Secondary) program at Federation University Australia. Her research interests include the teaching of reading in English, dispositions for teaching, and partnerships in teacher education.

Tim Fish

Tim Fish completed doctoral research involving a critical ethnographic study of disengaged young people in a rural alternative education program. He currently teaches in a pathway program.