How is impact defined in initial teacher education policy in Australia?

ABSTRACT

In Australia and globally, there is a push for accountability systems that focus on impact on student learning as an indicator of teacher quality. Therefore, how the impact is defined in Australian policy documents in teacher education must be made clear before it can be enacted in practice. This study uses Foucauldian archaeology and associated discourse analysis techniques to trace impact through three Australian policy documents. Findings reveal that the evidence base for prioritising impact in the recent lexicon of Australian initial teacher education (ITE) policy is based on specific and shifting ways of thinking around the concept, with only certain voices being heard in the debate. The authors recommend ways for thinking about impact more holistically and using broader sensibilities.

KEYWORDS:

• Impact
• initial teacher education
• discourse analysis
• foucault
• policy

Disclosure statement

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

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Theresa Bourke

Terri Bourke is an Associate Professor at Queensland University of Technology and researches professional standards, professionalism, accreditation processes and diversity in education.

Mary Ryan

Professor Mary Ryan, Executive Dean of Education and Arts at Australian Catholic University, researches pre-service teachers’ epistemic reflexivity and their enabling and constraining conditions. Her research is in the areas of teachers’ work in, and preparation for, diverse classrooms, reflexive learning and practice, writing pedagogy and assessment and reflective writing.