Towards initial teacher education quality: Epistemological considerations

Abstract

Initial Teacher Education quality is often judged through the auspices of audit-style mechanisms designed to facilitate the identification of matters pertaining to the ‘readiness’ of student teachers to enter the world of the classroom as fully qualified. In this regard, quality of programmes is often determined by the knowledge and skills student teachers demonstrate. Whilst ontological aspects are not necessarily elided, they are often ignored in favour of such epistemological matters. While such knowledge-based positions do not describe the totality of ITE quality evaluation they do predominate. This paper identifies a tripartite heuristic for the identification of ITE epistemology that explicitly refers to, and is requiring of, ontological matters in the development of student teachers: identifying teaching, doing teaching, knowing teaching. Whilst it is the result of a Scottish project, Measuring the Quality of Initial Teacher Education (MQuITE), its emphasis is notable for other countries.

Keywords:

• Initial teacher education
• quality
• epistemology

Acknowledgements

This paper is an extension of a conference paper given by the authors: Adams, P. & McLennan, C. (2019, November 20–22). Towards initial teacher education quality: epistemological considerations. Scottish Educational Research Association 44th Annual Conference, Edinburgh. Link: https://strathprints.strath.ac.uk/id/eprint/71238

The authors would like to thank Karsten Kenklies and David Lewin for their insightful and helpful comments on earlier drafts of this paper.

Disclosure statement

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

Notes

1 For further information on ITE in Scotland, see: General Teaching Council Scotland (GTCS) (2013); General Teaching Council Scotland (GTCS) (2012); Education Scotland (2018).

Additional information

Funding

This article forms part of the Measuring Quality in Initial Teacher Education project, funded by the Scottish Government.

Notes on contributors

Paul Adams

Dr Paul Adams Paul's doctoral study was a Social Constructivist/Social Constructionist theoretcial exposition of policy discourses under the auspices of New Labour. In his publications he explored the epistemological position for contemporary policy which culminated in a new perspective on educational policy-making: policy as positioning. From 2007 to 2009 Paul was a member of the Evaluation team for Shape-Up a pan-European project concerned with nutrition and movement. He is a member of the Editorial Board for the Peer Reviewed Journal Education 3 to 13: International Journal of Primary, Elementary and Early Years Education6. Paul’s research areas are in the policy and politics of education under the banner of social and educational inclusion. He favours a social constructionist approach to studying education and related issues. Paul's current research is primarily theoretical in orientation, although he does undertake empirical work as well. His current work centres on conceptual matters relating to becoming a teacher, education policy and the limits of truth, and Scottish education policy developments. He is currently co-PI (with Professor Aileen Kennedy, University of Strathclyde) for a Scottish Government funded project Meauring Quality in Initial Teacher Education (MQuITE). This project is due to run from 2017 to 2022.

Carrie McLennan

Ms Carrie McLennan Carrie began her professional life as a marketing executive but chose to change focus and pursue a career working in education. She qualified as a teacher specialising in Modern Languages (French and German) and worked in a variety of Scottish local authorities including Glasgow, West Dunbartonshire, North Lanarkshire, Midlothian, Dundee and, as Principal Teacher, Aberdeenshire. Carrie has worked as a teacher educator in the School of Education & Social Work since 2008 and has taught modules in both the Postgraduate and Undergraduate Initial Teacher Education Programmes. During her career at the University of Dundee, Carrie has managed a number of modules and, from 2012–2014, Carrie was the Years 3 and 4 Convener for the Bachelor of Education (Hons) and MA (Hons) Education Programmes. Since 2014, Carrie has been Programme Director for the MA (Hons) Education Programme. Carrie lectures in Modern Languages pedagogy, Education Studies (focusing on Psychology in relation to child development), and professional studies. She is also interested in quality assurance and has been a member of the School's Quality Assurance Committee since 2013.