Teacher Training in England: Exploring Trainee Teachers' Perspectives on Their Professional Identity Formation ¹

Abstract

This chapter outlines research conducted by Karan Vickers-Hulse (KVH) as part of an educational professional doctorate; Marcus Witt (MW) was one of her supervisory team. Participants were from two initial teacher education (ITE) routes (School Direct and university-led) leading to a PGCE primary teacher qualification. The research was set within the context of continuously evolving policy on the training of teachers and the subsequent impact on developing a professional identity. The introduction of new ITE routes in England (DfE, 2015) aimed to offer a wider range of pathways into teaching, attract more applicants and mitigate the impact of teacher shortages. The research discussed in this chapter explored the experiences of trainees on these routes and the impact on their professional identity formation. This chapter begins with an overview of the literature in the field of professional identity formation, followed by a discussion of the chosen methodology and methods. This chapter concludes with several recommendations for teacher training providers as well as recommendations for future research that may be useful for doctoral students interested in the field of professional identity formation.

This chapter provides an illustration of doctoral case study research and insights to how practitioner research can capture the localised impact of policy shifts.

Citation

Vickers-Hulse, K. and Witt, M. (2024), "Teacher Training in England: Exploring Trainee Teachers' Perspectives on Their Professional Identity Formation ¹ ", Waller, R., Andrews, J. and Clark, T. (Ed.) Critical Perspectives on Educational Policies and Professional Identities, Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 139-156. https://doi.org/10.1108/978-1-83753-332-920241009