Revisioning School Experience Partnerships (original) (raw)

Anderson, Sarah ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9084-7413, Farrar, Jennifer ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7128-6355, Lappin, Mary ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1077-0925, Mclaren, Evelyn ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2975-9523 and Smith, Clare ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2677-9991(2025) Revisioning School Experience Partnerships. 21st ISATT Biennial Conference, Glasgow, UK, 30 June - 4 July 2025.

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Abstract

The Partnership Model of School Experience used at the University of Glasgow has been in place since 2011. The model was reviewed and scholarship activity exploring its evolution has been carried out. The overarching aim has been to develop and strengthen our model for the support and assessment of student teachers on school placement with an emphasis on equity and inclusion. This paper will discuss the themes and understandings about partnership as a concept emerging from the data while also providing an overview of our response. This work is placed in the context of the unique characteristics of teacher education in Scotland, and how these provide both opportunities and constraints. Several research methodologies have been used to record the voices of the partners in the model, expert interviews, focus groups and questionnaires. Nominal group technique and appreciative enquiry were used in student voice data collection. Analysis of data from practitioner expert interviews allowed key themes to be identified. Relationships and communication, identity, teacher learning, and challenges featured strongly. Student voice, focussed on appreciative enquiry, which allows us to identify the positive attributes of school experience and university-based preparation for placement to inform future practice. For student teachers, experience in schools is hugely significant to their progress as learners and to the development of their teacher identity. Lofthouse and Thomas (2014) have referred to school placement as a ‘vulnerable workplace learning practice’ and student teachers report increasingly variable experiences. The Partnership Model was developed to help mitigate negative placement experiences by providing a dedicated university-based teacher educator to support the student and develop partnerships with the teacher mentors. This study seeks to understand the extent to which this aim has been achieved and what needs to be done to ensure that the student experience is consistent and positive in future.

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