Pathways and Stepping Stones: Student Teachers’ Preconceptions and Concerns about Initial Teacher Preparation in England

Abstract

This paper presents early findings from a six-year longitudinal study of beginner teachers’ experiences of initial teacher preparation (ITP) and early professional development in England. Data reported in the paper were generated via a questionnaire survey, completed by 4790 student teachers, and face to face interviews with 85 student teachers, across a range of ITP routes and providers throughout England. The main findings are that: (1) in general, many student teachers enter ITP with an apprenticeship orientation to their own learning of teaching, and with a number of concerns, relating particularly to workload, pupil behaviour and personal finances; whilst (2) there are some interesting differences between the preconceptions and concerns of student teachers following different ITP routes. Implications are discussed for the practice of teacher education, particularly with respect to the need to discover particular student teachers’ orientations and prior conceptions.