trainee_teachers_and_school_achievement_final_15_05_07

Impact of Trainee Teachers on School Achievement October 20, 2022 Training and Development Agency The Impact of Trainee Teachers on School Achievement A review of research Author Steve Hurd Centre for Research & Development in Teacher Education The Open University Adviser Professor Hilary Constable Acknowledgements We are very grateful to Marion Jones of Liverpool John Moores University and Michèle Dean of The Open University who have given valuable feedback during the writing of this paper May 5, 2007 Impact of Trainee Teachers on School Achievement October 20, 2022 Impact of Trainee Teachers on School Achievement October 20, 2022 The Impact of Trainee Teachers on School Achievement Headlines  Most of the research on teacher education focuses on its effectiveness rather than its impact of schools  It is widely believed that school-based teacher education could have an impact on: o Test and examination results o Inspection outcomes o Other intermediate outcomes  Trainees can have a positive impact by boosting school resources in financial terms, by providing more adult helpers in the classroom, and by bringing new knowledge and skills  The main negative effects relate to the impact on teachers’ workloads This is accentuated when schools have to cope with a trainee experiencing problems  The majority of school coordinators and mentors, especially in primary schools, believes that the presence of trainees improves the climate of learning in the classroom  A statistical comparison reveals that training-active schools achieve higher test scores at both Key Stage and Key Stage than the schools that are not involved in school-based training  Statistical analysis shows that in secondary schools that host more than trainees per placement, additional trainees bring about further gains in average Key Stage scores, even after allowance has been made for ability, social and school characteristics  Lower numbers of trainees are associated with a half-point depression of average Key Stage results This is likely to reflect Impact of Trainee Teachers on School Achievement October 20, 2022 differences in the way trainees are managed in schools that are reluctant participants in ITE  Trainee numbers have no significant impact on GCSE and A-level points or on Key Stage to GCSE value added This probably reflects the fact that most teaching by secondary trainees is at Key Stage level  Inspectors make comments on school-based ITE in only a small proportion of their reports When they ITE is looked upon entirely favourably  There are many intermediate benefits from school participation in ITE These include opportunities for host teachers to reflect upon and improve their own practice, a platform for professional learning especially through links with HEI, and benefits in terms of teacher retention and recruitment  Priority areas for further research relate to: o Managing weaker trainees; o Total teaching hours and the mix of class contact; o The allocation of trainees e.g over-concentration on nonexamination classes; o Selection of mentors with appropriate skills and experience  Tentative policy recommendations for improving the impact of trainees on school achievement are: o Reduce total class contact and the portion of whole-class teaching; o Explore ways to reduce the adverse impact of trainees experiencing problems; o Assess the school-based component of teacher education within the school inspection; o Urge the Dfes to collect data on trainee teachers as part of PLASC data collection, in order to facilitate future research Impact of Trainee Teachers on School Achievement October 20, 2022 Introduction Current teacher training requires a significant and substantial input from schools and not all school leaders are convinced that there is an overall gain For new schools to be recruited and for schools currently involved in initial teacher education (ITE) to be retained the case for being involved in training needs to be made and supported with evidence This paper reviews the literature currently available on this matter and attempts to identify what is missing The papers reviewed cover both primary and secondary training, as well as undergraduate, postgraduate and Graduate Training Programme (entirely school-based) models Whether or not having trainees makes schools better or worse is a genuine issue and one that matters to school leaders, teachers, parents and teacher trainers and above all to pupils On the face of it there are aspects that would seem to make them better Trainees increase the number of adult helpers in a school They open up additional opportunities for differentiated group work, learning away from school premises and other teacher-intensive styles of learning Trainees enrich schools with the knowledge and skills they bring from a wide diversity of educational and work experiences Mentor interaction with trainees stimulates reflection and improvements in their own classroom practice School ITE involvement also helps staff recruitment by providing an opportunity to vet potential new recruits, especially in shortage areas On the other hand, there are aspects of school-based ITE that might worsen school outcomes Supporting trainees may increase staff workloads and divert effort away from the needs of pupils The problems are accentuated when schools receive a weak trainee, but even good trainees can make mistakes that adversely affect the climate of learning The sums schools receive from Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) for hosting trainees are relatively modest However, where it is used to augment departmental budgets it can transform learning resource provision for the benefit of all school students, whether exposed to trainee teachers or not Schools with larger numbers of trainees have more to gain Professional issues seminars, a standard feature of schoolbased training, are delivered to larger groups of trainees with commensurate staffing economies There can also be benefits to departments that take more than one trainee, as there are opportunities for shared preparation, teaching and mutual ‘trainee to trainee’ support Impact of Trainee Teachers on School Achievement October 20, 2022 and evaluation of teaching performance This can relieve pressure on the teacher-mentor and facilitate livelier mentor tutorials As trainees move further into their period of school practice they take on greater responsibility for whole-class teaching, which progressively frees up teachers’ time for other activities, including devoting more time to examination classes In schools that have a long track record of involvement with ITE, senior managers have become adept at regulating the number and distribution of trainee teachers among departments in order to prevent adverse effects on teacher work loads and student learning In the following sections we review the research evidence There are plenty of anecdotal accounts and some research but it is less clear what it all adds up to; the balance sheet is not clear and this is what this review is about The review was conducted in a relatively short time frame so we have concentrated, almost exclusively, on British research revealed by searches of the British Education Index (BEI) and Education Resources Information Center (ERIC) databases for publications since 1992 Further references were identified from within search result publications and from direct searches of the main journals on teacher education, professional development and educational research The aim has been to draw together sources of evidence on the impact of ITE on schools in order to inform colleagues in schools, Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) and elsewhere with an interest in teacher education As a large proportion of the literature on ITE focuses on its impact on continuing professional development (CPD) this has been grouped separately from papers outlining wider aspects of the costs and benefits to schools of ITE involvement The overall impact of school-based ITE The following articles contain research findings on the impact of ITE involvement and the practice of hosting trainee teachers on schools As the papers not separate easily into distinct focus issues they have been arranged in date order This shows clearly how the debate has developed Shaw (1992) attempted to measure the direct resource costs to schools of being involved in ITE He drew upon his personal experience as a head of two large secondary schools; a national survey of initial teacher education made by the Modes of Teacher Education team (Barrett, 1992) and the results of a survey of senior teachers in 25 schools Writing at the very beginning of the new school-based model, he aggregated the time costs of teachers’ involvement in ITE The time commitments included attending HEI-based training, briefing and observing trainees, meeting HEI tutors during school visits, writing reports on trainees and dealing with problems, plus associated Impact of Trainee Teachers on School Achievement October 20, 2022 secretarial time When the cost of reprographics and other materials was added, the total resource costs came to over £1,250 per trainee in 1992, more than many schools received from their HEI partners However, Shaw acknowledged that there were also substantial benefits to schools that had to be weighed in the balance Tangible benefits came partly in the form of income for hosting trainees, but to these must be added the non-financial resources and training provided by partner HEIs Respondents appreciated the fact that trainees brought in wider benefits in the form of the latest curriculum development, novel teaching methods and new subject knowledge However, intangible benefits such as higher job satisfaction and professional development were regarded as even more important Many respondents noted that trainees bring enthusiasm and fresh ideas – they are a “breath of fresh air” Shaw concluded that, in tangible terms, costs probably outweigh the benefits, but the intangible benefits more than make up for this Bressoux (1996) conducted studies in France to assess the relative effectiveness of beginning teachers in primary schools from all over France in comparison with their more experienced colleagues This is very relevant to assessing the impact on classes of a trainee replacing a more experience teacher during spells of whole-class teaching The study by Bressoux included 65 newly qualified teachers (NQTs) and 96 experienced teachers with lengths of service ranging from to 35 years The study found that the NQTs were often just as effective in the classroom as the more experienced teacher they were replacing The research compared the effects of NQTs and experienced teachers on the performance of French primary pupils in mathematics and language The study used pupil-level data It found that, in mathematics, pupil test scores showed small but significant gains when taught by experienced rather than newly qualified teachers, although in language the differences were insignificant We cannot directly extrapolate from this to the effectiveness of a trainee teacher in England, and it tells us nothing about the trajectory of improvement of trainees over the course of their training So, it would be valuable to investigate whether the average effectiveness-gap of the broad body of trainee teachers is similarly small and also how the effectiveness of trainees differs between the upper and lower bands in general, and between training partnerships in particular This may help us to improve the selection and induction of trainees Brooks and Barker (1997) also attempted to identify the tangible and intangible effects of school-based ITE Their study included headteachers, school ITE coordinators (also called professional mentors), subject mentors and other class teachers who came into contact with trainees Quantitative data was gathered by means of a questionnaire to 800 individuals in 200 schools drawn randomly from Impact of Trainee Teachers on School Achievement October 20, 2022 the partnership lists of 16 HEIs throughout England and Wales The response rate was 51% There were also 24 interviews in secondary schools in central England 90% of respondents commented upon the time burden of supervising trainees – many said it diverted them from other essential commitments and involved using break and after-school time There were also concerns from mentors about the demands made by trainees on colleagues, who had no specific time allowance for supervision The most frequently mentioned other substantial tangible cost was reprographics Many respondents argued that payment from HEIs did not cover these extra costs, though the study did not gather data on how ITE money was distributed within schools, between central and subjects or departments It did say, however, that the time problems were accentuated when mentors had to cope with a weak trainee Burton (1998) outlined the benefits to schools from working in partnership with an HEI training provider in the delivery of ITE The evidence is drawn from her personal experience of one partnership and the findings of semi-structured interviews conducted by a colleague on the first three years of partnership arrangements in the college’s undergraduate teacher training programme The author describes how university tutors play a valuable role in training school-based mentors, improving mentoring skills but also encouraging teachers to keep abreast of developments within subject pedagogy and the wider professional role of teachers Duquette (1998) conducted an interview-based study of 21 secondary mentor teachers in the University of Ottawa’s training partnership in Canada and reported the effects of school-based training from their perspective Positive comments emphasised the impact on mentors’ reflectivity: helps me reflect on my own teaching Student teachers challenge me to continually look at and attempt to improve my own teaching (p.178) On the other hand, the possibility of trainees diverting mentors’ efforts from the classroom was also reported: Takes too much time…- planning, instructing, supervising, conferencing, disciplinary back-up, and providing resources (p.178) Lee and Wilkes (1999) examined the impact of ITE on teaching and learning in primary schools in England They sent a questionnaire to 462 primary headteachers and conducted 60 semi-structured interviews The overwhelming majority (89.1%) of responding headteachers felt that hosting trainees enhanced the learning environment in the school: student teachers can have a positive impact in the classroom (p 249) Impact of Trainee Teachers on School Achievement October 20, 2022 The few negative comments (10.9% of respondents) came either from schools with small numbers of trainees, one or two, or were associated with a recent experience of hosting a weak or problem trainee A number of interviewees remarked that trainee teachers quickly become indistinguishable from other colleagues In general and importantly, they found that the larger the number of trainees in a school the more likely was the reaction to be positive These findings are supported by a large-scale quantitative study reported later in this review (Hurd 2007) A majority of teachers enjoyed their role as mentors and saw it as part of their professional responsibility to train the next generation of teachers The primary teachers said trainees provided invaluable help with practical activities and support for individual learning needs Some of the schools involved in this study refused to take trainees when an Ofsted inspection was due 60% of respondents were worried that the presence of trainees might have an adverse impact on their Ofsted inspection, although many others felt that it would be advantageous Many teachers said they would not ask trainees to take classes when inspectors were present in school Lee and Wilkes found, in contradiction to this, that Ofsted reports often comment positively upon the learning benefits from hosting trainee teachers: the partnership with ITE makes a significant contribution to the school, enhancing the quality and range of teaching and learning in the classroom (p.256) Trainees were reported to bring new knowledge which influenced curriculum planning Between a quarter and a third of schools included ITE activity within the school’s Development Plan, and aimed to monitor its impact ITE was felt to enhance professional development, increase job satisfaction and improve the school culture The authors conclude that ITE provides a long-term platform for professional learning and is a valuable means to improve children’s learning Brooks (2000) examined in some detail the additional demands that ITE makes on teachers’ time A questionnaire was sent to a sample of 800 teachers from 200 secondary schools in 16 HEI’s training partnerships distributed throughout England and Wales In each school responses were sought from the headteacher, the school’s ITE coordinator, a mentor and one other classroom teacher without direct ITE responsibilities The questionnaire findings were followed up by school-based 24 interviews with each of the four groups The author found that mentors were spending far more time than they had been allotted on their timetables, if indeed they had been allocated any dedicated time at all, for working with trainees This additional time inevitably came at the expense of “school time” that was needed for normal teaching duties She points out that mentor-teachers are expected to take part in: Impact of Trainee Teachers on School Achievement October 20, 2022 the planning and delivery of training programmes, in their evaluation and development, and in the assessment of students’ fitness for the award of Qualified Teacher Status (Brooks, p 99) This contrasts with their former role as “informal guide and friend” to students on, what before 1992 was called, “teaching practice” (Brooks, p.100) Brooks documents the demands made on secondary teachers who have few free periods and primary class teachers who often, at the time, had no non-contact time The pressures, she says, are exacerbated when mentors are periodically called upon to support trainees with unplanned interventions; especially when these not lend themselves to easy resolution Hopper (2001) conducted a critical review of the literature to identify the contribution the HEI tutor makes in training and supporting mentors in schools HEI-based training sessions for mentors are generally supplemented by additional school-based training, where the HEI tutor works alongside the mentor in joint observation and feedback on a trainee’s lessons She argues that this type of support is invaluable for inexperienced mentors The three-way sessions develop a common understanding on the protocols for observing, listening, reporting on and giving feedback to trainees Such skills gained in how to mentor trainees in a sensitive and perceptive manner are directly transferable to mentoring school colleagues She demonstrates that this is an important way in which working with an HEI partner to support trainee teachers strongly supports professional development and school improvement Coldron, Williams, Fathallah-Caillau & Stephenson (2003) set out to address the problem that Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) experience in finding an adequate number of suitable training placements in schools They begin from the premise that many schools appear to believe that ITE involvement is likely have an adverse impact on their Ofsted inspection, consequently they tend to decline offers of trainees when Ofsted school inspections are imminent The researchers used three sources of evidence in their study Ofsted written guidance to inspectors They studied written guidance given to Ofsted inspectors in the primary and secondary inspection handbooks (Ofsted 1999; Ofsted 1999), whose only reference to ITE was the following: Is there effective induction of staff new to the school and is the school, or has it potential to be, an effective provider of initial teacher training? [Coldron, p.2] The researchers argue this demonstrates that Ofsted show no interest in the impact of ITE on the school itself Ofsted reports on schools Impact of Trainee Teachers on School Achievement October 20, 2022 and how the learning is transferred to other colleagues within a school, so contributing to the creation of a learning community (Ofsted 2003) The gains from working in partnership with colleagues in Higher Education Institutions on curriculum development and research have been emphasised by (Coldron et al 2003) and (Burton 1998) Finding ways to refresh mid-career teachers’ interest and enthusiasm by providing new challenges is an important management priority and mentoring trainees and involvement in ITE more generally can help with this; much as curriculum development did in the days before the national curriculum School-based ITE can similarly help to improve teacher retention (Coldron et al 2003; Ofsted 2003) We have seen too that trainees can help to refresh host teachers’ knowledge and skills This has been no more so than in the case of information and communications technology (Hurd et al 2007), but also by introducing teachers to contemporary developments within their subjects, new pedagogy and innovative curricula (Shaw 1992; Lee & Wilkes 1999) ITE also affords schools opportunities to identify potential recruits in areas of teacher shortage (Coldron et al 2003) Finally, we have seen that trainee teachers can bring a “breath of fresh air” into the classroom; their enthusiasm and vivacity can invigorate the classroom with consequent improvements in the quality of teaching and learning (Lee & Wilkes 1999; Hurd et al 2007) If the above intermediate outcomes are realised then school improvement and the higher order outcomes of better test and examination results and Ofsted evaluations will surely follow As the potential benefits of school-based ITE become more widely recognised they are initiating a move towards a new “demand-led” model of teacher education (Hurd 2007) In this model schools view initial teacher training as an integral part of school improvement strategy They actively seek partnerships with HEIs and monitor training in relation to school goals As this view takes over then it is likely that many more schools will want a slice of the training action 24 Impact of Trainee Teachers on School Achievement October 20, 2022 Areas for further research Below are some areas that have a bearing on the impact of trainees on school achievement and which warrant further research The perceived problem is presented in first, followed by lines of possible research a Class contact Many teachers are reluctant to give up classes to trainees, as it prevents them from getting to know their classes and establishing a preferred pattern of working The problem is exacerbated if trainees are required to take too many lessons and have insufficient time for preparation and to discuss lesson plans with the regular class teacher ahead of the lessons What is the impact on variations in teaching loads on the effectiveness of training? Is there evidence that very much lower levels of class contact, emphasising the quality of early teaching experiences rather than their quantity, might reduce adverse impacts on schools and raise overall effectiveness? Should class contact be 85%, 50% or 30%? What are the effects of altering the balance of school experiences e.g by changing the mix of wholeclass teaching, co-teaching and differentiated group work? b Allocation of trainees Teachers are reluctant to give up examination classes, especially at final year GCSE and A-level, as they fear the impact on results There may be a disproportionate impact of trainees on particular classes, e.g through concentrating experience at one Key Stage There is a need for research at pupil-level on the impact of trainees on particular classes and levels This either requires cooperation from the Dfes to include trainee teachers as a data field in their pupil-level data collection or independent research programmes conducted either in clusters of schools or organised nationally c Trainee problems Many teachers show concern about the disproportionate amount of time and effort taken up by a relatively small number of weak trainees and dealing with periodic class management problems by otherwise satisfactory trainees What is the precise nature and frequency of problems with individual trainees? How is the problem related to recruitment practices? To what extent is this problem exacerbated by the 25 Impact of Trainee Teachers on School Achievement October 20, 2022 design of financial penalties for under-recruitment? What are the most effective strategies for supporting trainees with problems? How effective are the strategies for counselling out unsuitable trainees? d Selection of mentors The effectiveness of day-to-day management of trainee teachers in their preparation of lessons, their teaching programme and the appropriate mix of whole-class, small group and co-teaching is likely to have a substantial effect on the overall impact of trainees on a school Yet, there is a suspicion that trainees are sometimes allocated mentors who are themselves in their first years of teaching There is a need to analyse the experience distribution of mentors and the processes by which they are recruited within schools, and to find out to what extent they have the appropriate personal and professional qualities, experience and skills to enable them to be effective 26 Impact of Trainee Teachers on School Achievement October 20, 2022 Tentative policy recommendations We exist in an era where decision makers seek to develop evidencebased practice In areas, such as ITE, where evidence is incomplete, policy has to combine what evidence exists with judgements drawn from experienced practitioners From the evidence of the research outlined and judgements drawn from experience the following tentative recommendations are offered with the aim of improving the outcomes for schools of ITE involvement Reduce total class contact and the portion of whole-class teaching Hitherto there have been no firm central guidelines on the amount of class contact and whole-class teaching undertaken by trainees on school experience There are large variations in expectations between training providers and these often reflect historic practices within each institution At the top end, some trainees on final school experiences are expected to cope with timetables which are 85% of those of a normal full-time teacher, and a substantial portion of this is taken up by whole class teaching This puts trainees, who are preparing topics for the first time, under enormous pressure They have to work excessively long hours to gather together material for lessons and they often have little time to reflect on how best to deliver the lesson and to consult with the mentor or class teacher This is bound to jeopardise standards in schools with little benefit to the trainee We should look to ways to improve the quality of early teaching experiences and to reduce their quantity At the same by shifting the balance away from whole-class teaching trainees can gain more time to work alongside and to learn from the work of experienced teachers Explore ways to reduce the adverse impact of the small number of weak trainees Qualitative evidence from several studies suggests that the number of weak trainees is small but their impact on teacher workload is disproportionately high and their adverse effect on the classes they meet could be substantial We need to investigate trainee recruitment to see if there is any evidence that poorly recruiting departments are accepting trainees they know to be “marginal” in order to avoid cash penalties If this is found to be so then the system of cash penalties for under-recruitment should be reviewed For example, instead of being applied for under-recruitment on an annual basis, a system of rolling multi-annual targets should be considered 27 Impact of Trainee Teachers on School Achievement October 20, 2022 When trainees show early signs that they are unlikely to gain Qualified Teacher Status then fast-track procedures should be introduced by partnerships to remove them from the training programme Where otherwise suitable trainees show some early weaknesses there should be a much greater willingness to reduce their class contact time and the share of whole-class teaching Additional resources should be made available for additional tutor and mentor support Assess the school-based component of teacher education within the school inspection In order to align rewards with efforts Ofsted should be urged to develop criteria for evaluating the school-based components of ITE within school inspections There is strong evidence that school-based ITE affects school performance It contributes to professional learning and represents a major “teaching” commitment in many schools ITE affects school management and the quality of teaching and learning and, as such, warrants examination Strong school support for ITE will be rewarded with positive Ofsted evaluations This will help to reinforce school commitment to training Urge the Department for Education and Skills to collect data on trainee teachers as part of the PLASC data collection This is essential for future research on trainee impact of school achievement 28 Impact of Trainee Teachers on School Achievement October 20, 2022 References Benton, P., Ed (1990) The Oxford Internship Scheme: integration and partnership in initial teacher training (London, Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation) Boyd, P (2002) Rose-tinted reflection? The benefits for teachers of initial teacher education in secondary schools, Journal of In-Service Education 28(2), 203-217 Bressoux, P (1996) The effects of teachers’ training on pupils’ achievement: the case of elementary schools in France, School Effectiveness and School Improvement 7(3), 252-279 Brooks, V (2000) School-based initial teacher training: squeezing a quart into a pint pot or a square peg into a round hole?, Mentoring and Tutoring 8(2), 99-112 Brooks, V (2006) A quiet revolution? The impact of Training Schools on initial teacher training partnerships, Journal of Education for Teaching 32(4), 379-393 Brooks, V & Barker, S (1997) Quid pro quo? Initial teacher education in secondary schools, British Educational Research Journal 23(2), 163-179 Burton, D (1998) The changing role of the university tutor within schoolbased initial teacher education: issues of role contingency and complementarity within a secondary partnership scheme, Journal of Education for Teaching 24(2), 129-146 Child, A.J & Merrill, S.J (2003) Professional mentors' perceptions of the contribution of school/HEI partnerships to professional development and school improvement, Journal of In-Service Education 29(2), 315-324 Coldron, J., Williams, J., Fathallah-Caillau, I & Stephenson, K (2003) What are the benefits to schools' involvement with initial teacher training? (Sheffield, Sheffield Hallam University School of Education, 16 Cunnah, W., Phillips, R & Richards, S (1997) Counting the costs or realising the profits? Partnerships, politics and professional development, British Journal of In-Service Education 23(2), 145161 Dadds, M (1997) Continuing professional development: nurturing the expert within, British Journal of In-Service Education 23(1), 31-38 29 Impact of Trainee Teachers on School Achievement October 20, 2022 Duquette, C (1998) Perceptions of mentor-teachers in school-based teacher education programs, Journal of Education for Teaching 24(2), 177-179 Field, K & Philpott, C (2000) The impact of hosting student teachers on school effectiveness and school improvement, Journal of InService Education 26(1), 115-137 Goddard, D & Leask, M (1992) Planning for improvement and managing change (London, Paul Chapman Publishing) Hanushek, E.A (2003) The failure of input-based schooling policies, Economic Journal 115(February), F64-F98 Hanushek, E.A & Rivkin, S.G., Eds (2004) How to improve the supply of high-quality teachers, Brookings Papers on Education Policy (Washington, DC, Brookings Institution Press) Harland, J & Kinder, K (1997) Teachers' continuing professional development: framing a model of outcomes, British Journal of InService Education 23(1), 71-84 Harris, R.C & Harris, M.F (1993) University/school partnerships: exploring tangible and intangible costs and benefits in: Partnerships in Education: Teacher Education Yearbook II M J O'Hair and S J Odell (Eds) (New York, Association of Teacher Educators Hopper, B.A (2001) The role of the HEI tutor in initial teacher education school-based placements, Mentoring and Tutoring 9(3), 211-222 Hurd, S (2007) Does school-based initial teacher training affect secondary school performance?, British Educational Research Journal Hurd, S., Jones, M., McNamara, O & Craig, B (2007) Initial teacher education as a driver for professional learning and school improvement in the primary phase, The Curriculum Journal (Forthcoming) Hurd, S., Mangan, J & Adnett, N (2005) Are secondary schools spending enough on books? , British Educational Research Journal 31(2), 239-255 Lee, S & Wilkes, J (1999) In what ways student teachers contribute to teaching and learning in the classroom? Views from some schools in England, Teacher Development 3(2), 249-261 30 Impact of Trainee Teachers on School Achievement October 20, 2022 Lewis, D (2004) Continuing professional development through the Dfes training school programme, Journal of In-Service Education 30(3), 377-390 Likert, R (1932) A technique for the measurement of attitudes, Archives of Psychology 22, 140-155 Lopez-Real, F & Kwan, T (2005) Mentors' perceptions of their own professional develop during mentoring, Journal of Education for Teaching 31(1), 15-24 McIntyre, D & Hagger, H (1992) Professional development through the Oxford Internship Model, British Journal of Educational Studies 40(3), 264-283 Murnane, R.J & Phillips, B.R (1981) What effective teachers of innercity children have in common?, Social Science Research 10(1), 83100 Ofsted (1999) Handbook for inspecting primary and nursery schools (London, TheStationery Office) Ofsted (1999) Handbook for inspecting secondary schools (London, The Stationery Office) Ofsted (2003) An evaluation of the Training Schools programme: Report HMI 1769 (London, Office for Standards in Education Shaw, R (1992) School-based training: the view from the schools, Cambridge Journal of Education 22(3), 363-375 31 Appendix: Summary of research evidence of ITE impact on schools Income and staffing impact Evidence Commentary Income from hosting trainees benefits the school and departments (Hurd 2007) HEIs pay between £700 and £1200 for each trainee’s school experience placements (Shaw 1992; Coldron et al 2003) and (Ofsted 2003) note beneficial effects on school and departments of additional, nonearmarked, income Part of the variation in fees paid by HEIs to partner schools is explained by differences in the provision of other goods and services in kind e.g some HEI providers offer more staff development support and training than others and some provide classroom resources and laptop computers to their mentors A fairly common formula in secondary schools is for 80% of the income to go to departments hosting trainees with the remaining 20% retained for central services, such as coordination and secretarial support; but there are many variations in this Overall cost of staff time and resources (Shaw 1992) estimated total staffing and resource costs per trainee (including secretarial, reprographic and other physical resources) as £1,250 – less than schools received from HEI training providers but, according to the author, balanced by substantial nonfinancial benefits (below) (Brooks & Barker 1997) found many mentors were concerned about the time and reprographic costs but presents no hard evidence on this (Duquette 1998) also A common complaint from mentors and school coordinators is that they are allocated no, or insufficient, time on their timetables for trainee support Time required for supervision, observation, mentor tutorials, meeting HEI tutors, quality assurance, troubleshooting, training and partnership meetings can be substantial There are, however, offsetting gains for mentors and other teachers, when trainees take responsibility for whole class teaching reports perceived time costs (Brooks 2000) finds evidence that time is diverted from other school activities, especially when problems arise (Coldron et al 2003) mentioned time costs (especially with Graduate Training Programme) but said overall impact is overwhelmingly positive (Ofsted 2003) note that Training Schools have benefited greatly from an influx of additional resources from their ITE involvement This releases time for mentors to undertake other school activities Trainees are a valuable extra staffing resource (Lee & Wilkes 1999) describe how trainees provide an “extra pair of hands” and create opportunities to widen the range of classroom activities and increase teaching intensity e.g through differentiated group work Many schools host trainees for up to 24 weeks of the year A substantial number of secondary schools take more than 10 trainees at a time and many primary schools have four or more trainees at one time This is a substantial boost to the amount of adult support in the school, and represents a significant real resource input School-based ITE activity aids teacher retention According to (Coldron et al 2003) working with trainees refreshes teachers’ enthusiasm for and commitment to teaching It provides a mid-career boost (Ofsted 2003) twothirds of Training Schools report improvements in retention Nurturing young trainees allows teachers to identify and recognise their own professional skills and helps to improve their self-image and commitment to the teaching profession Impact on Teaching & Learning Evidence Commentary ITE helps teacher recruitment and selection, especially in subjects with teacher shortages (Coldron et al 2003) identify recruitment benefits Extended periods of school experience allow schools and departments to evaluate the strengths of trainees and to assess their complementarities with existing staff Recruitment of a tried and tested trainee may be less risky than employing an outside applicant on the basis of interview only Trainees increase the pool of human capital and introduce innovations (Coldron et al 2003) find that trainees bring new knowledge, “real-world” experience, skills and enthusiasm School students benefit from new faces and ideas (Lopez-Real & Kwan 2005) found in Hong Knong that 39% of mentors claim to learn from trainees (Shaw 1992) itemises a wide range of benefits gained by schools (including access to new teaching materials, teaching and learning strategies, curriculum innovations) In recent years many trainees have made a major contribution to schools, introducing specific ICT skills and software; and innovative teaching strategies acquired either from HEI tutors or from their work experiences Professional development Evidence Commentary Trainees have a positive impact in the classroom on teaching and learning (Lee & Wilkes 1999) report that many primary headteachers believe that trainees improve the climate of learning in the classroom (Hurd et al 2007) found that 71% of primary teachers felt that ITE improved the climate of learning While 71% felt there was no effect on Key Stage outcomes, 25% judged the effect to be positive The trainee brings a new face in the classroom and classroom atmosphere can become more dynamic, especially when the trainee develops a good rapport with the existing teacher Opportunities for differentiated work with groups and individuals can have a positive impact on learning Trainees may be less effective than regular teachers, so they could set back learning progress? (Bressoux 1996) suggests there may be little or no difference in effectiveness between many NQTs and regular teachers (Lee & Wilkes 1999) report that many primary heads found that trainees were soon indistinguishable from established colleagues Mentor development (Duquette 1998), (Ofsted 2003) report growth of reflectivity among mentors and benefits for their own teaching This is corroborated by (Lopez-Real & Kwan 2005) where 54% of mentors report rise in reflectivity.(Coldron et al 2003) found that teachers were encouraged to reevaluate and improve their own practice Benefits can be enhanced by integrating mentor training into whole-school CPD plans, and making it an activity for all teaching staff Development of teaching colleagues (Ofsted 2003) argue that mentor training and skill development are There is a synergy between mentoring in ITE and coaching and mentoring transferable to supporting colleagues in school Newly Qualified Teachers and more experienced colleagues Wider professional learning and development (Lee & Wilkes 1999) argue that ITE is a long-term platform for professional learning (Hopper 2001) found that HEI link tutors and training sessions make a major contribution to professional development and school improvement Co-observations of trainees are particularly valuable (Coldron et al 2003) found that schools stress CPD gains and new enthusiasm from ITE (Lewis 2004) found that Training School status encouraged a move to accredit mentoring and CPD in general Increasingly the professional learning from supporting trainees is being formalised and consolidated by means of accreditation programmes run by partner HEIs HEI contact provides opportunities for professional learning, development and research collaboration (Burton 1998) sets out the substantial contribution that HEI training providers make to professional development in their partner schools, including training courses, professional sharing of ideas, other meetings and collaborative research (Brooks 2006) states that Training Schools are more effective in professional development and research when they are formally linked an HEI ITE partnerships help to foster collaborative action research which aims to raise the quality of training programmes and develop and evaluate innovations in curricula and classroom practices ITE involvement has a positive effect on test and examination results (Hurd 2007) found that secondary schools that take trainees get higher Key Stage and GCSE results Schools with large numbers of trainees show significant gains in Key Stage results (Hurd et al 2007) showed that primary schools that host trainees gain significantly higher overall Key Stage results, and higher grade in English and mathematics that those with no trainees The boost that ITE brings to staffing and financial resources can be expected to have positive effects on learning and school student outcomes There is a need to investigate the impact of different levels of class contact and whole-class teaching by trainees Could we achieve further gains by reducing the quantity of early teaching experiences and improving their quality by pairing trainees and asking mentors and class teachers to have a greater oversight of lesson plans before they are implemented? ITE involvement has a positive effect on Ofsted evaluations (Lee & Wilkes 1999), (Hurd et al 2007) report Ofsted comments on ITE involvement to be universally positive (Coldron et al 2003) found the same (Hurd et al 2007) found that while many Ofsted reports made no mention of ITE, those that did were wholly positive about its impact on schools (Hurd 2007) found that secondary schools that are ITE-active have slightly lower Ofsted grades than those with no trainees Given the effort and resources that many schools devote to supporting trainee teachers and the acceptance of this as a legitimate “teaching activity”, a persuasive case can be made for inspecting the school-based component of ITE within school Ofsted inspections This will incentivise schools and reward those that support trainees well