Partnerships between schools and teacher education institutes

Abstract

Society has developed into a complex system of organisations and interactions, therefore the demands on schools and schooling has increased and the need for professional teachers increased accordingly. 'The profession of teaching is becoming more and more complex. The demands placed on teachers are increasing. The environments in which they work are more and more challenging' (Commission of the European Community, 2007, p. 2). With the recognition of teaching as a profession it has been acknowledged that all teachers require specialised training in order to develop the knowledge and competences necessary to take on teaching. As early as the end of the 1980s a growing dissatisfaction with 'teaching practice' culminated in a UNESCO report in which teacher preparation was regarded as 'insufficient, due to a lack of linkages between for instance subject matter and teaching processes, and preparation for diverse class and school situations'. Furthermore, 'the lack of training of cooperating teachers and the lack of credibility of college or university supervisors' was seen as a real problem (Down, Hogan & Madigan, 1995, p. 62). To address these problems teacher education institutes developed curricula based on the real problems student teacher need to learn to address in order to do their work in schools and classrooms (e.g. Bullough, 1997). Two important concepts underlying these new forms of teacher education are school-based teacher education and professional development schools. In the next section we will elaborate on these two concepts. During the last twenty years these changes in the practice of educating teachers have resulted in partnerships between schools and teacher education institutes. There is a great variety in form and intensity of partnerships in and between countries. We present three examples in two different countries of partnerships between schools and teacher education institutes to illustrate school-based teacher education and professional development schools. Christopher Bezzina describes partnerships in Malta, in the tradition of the professional development school movement. Corinne van Velzen discusses a partnership in the area of Amsterdam, the Netherlands. The main objective of this partnership is to create a school-based teacher education curriculum, especially the school part. Peter Lorist presents a partnership in the Utrecht area, in the Netherlands. Vocational education institutes cooperate with the institute for teacher education to assure that school development becomes strongly intertwined with school-based teacher education: a form of professional development schools. In the final sections of this chapter we summarize some of the consequences for teacher educators involved in these partnerships and we discuss some research outcomes.