The pursuit of ‘excellence’: mentoring in further education initial teacher training in England

Abstract

Mentoring has become established as a central feature of initial teacher training programmes in English further education (FE) yet there remains a lack of clarity within the sector about what mentoring should mean. The direction of government reforms has been to make mentoring part of the formal assessment of trainee teachers against national standards, and the Office for Standards in Education (Ofsted) inspection reports emphasise an approach to mentoring that is target‐driven and judgemental. Official rhetoric uses the language of ‘excellence’ or ‘best practice’. However, mentoring literature reveals a range of possible models, and research into mentoring practices within colleges suggests there is a diversity of ideas and approaches, many of which emphasise the developmental character of good mentoring. In this paper we analyse some of the tensions and uncertainty that surround mentoring and reflect on their significance for teachers and managers in the development of initial teacher training in the sector.

Keywords:

• mentor
• mentoring
• further education
• teacher training

Notes

1. Further education colleges represent the largest and most substantial component of the further education (FE) sector in the UK. In different contexts the FE sector is known as the ‘learning and skills sector’ or the ‘lifelong learning sector’ that embraces adult and community learning (ACL), work‐based learning (WBL), and the voluntary sector. Teachers who undertake courses leading to teaching qualifications may include tutors and trainers in prisons, hospitals, the armed forces and other public services.

2. As a ‘sector skills council’, Lifelong Learning UK (LLUK) is responsible for setting the standards. Responsibility for quality assurance has been delegated to another body, Standards Verification UK (SVUK).

3. The 11 Centres for Excellence in Teacher Training (CETTs) were established by the Quality Improvement Agency (QIA) as a means for targeting resources and funding into the Learning and Skills sector. The funding for our study came from the CETT for the South West of England known as Switch. The QIA has been replaced by the Learning and Skills Improvement Service (LSIS).

4. The creation of ‘advanced teachers’ or ‘advanced practitioners’ formed part of a strategy to enable pay progression and seniority of status for experienced FE teachers who wished to keep their work classroom‐based rather than seek promotion into management. We have used the term ‘advanced teacher’ to embrace a role called variously ‘advanced practitioner’ or ‘advanced teacher’ in different colleges.

5. 7407 refers to City & Guilds 7407, one of the many numerical designations that this awarding body has given to its teaching qualifications. Probably the best known and most durable qualification was C&G 730, the Further and Adult Education Teachers’ Certificate.