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Learn about the obstacles encountered by students attempting teaching roles. Understand factors contributing to student withdrawals and commitment levels to teaching. Gain insights for improving student retention and building teaching skills.
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What are the challenges for students who ‘try’ teaching? Christine LewisFaculty of Education Edge Hill University
BackgroundStudent Associates Scheme • 2008-9 a high proportion of students (40 from 287 = 14%) withdrew from undertaking a school placement. Various reasons given e.g. job opportunity, have to go home, too much academic work to do.
Interpretist paradigm • blend predominantly quantative data with qualitative data in a flexible design • Self completed questionnaire administered to 220 students at 3 training venues in 2010; 199 returned =90% response rate. • Visiting tutor reports • Historical documentary evidence
More Challenges Anxiety ‘if I’m not suited to it’ ‘the culture difference between China & England’ ‘realising it's still not for me’ ‘if I really don't enjoy it and feel under pressure’
Results of committed-ness to teaching by subject specialism I wish to apply for a place on a PGCE AND I already have a place on a PGCE P1 SO 17 (31%) 44 (76%) I’m considering teaching but not yet AND I’m not considering teaching but will put the experience on my CV P1 SO 36 (66%) 13 (22%)
% of P1 vs SO ‘dropping out’ • 15 & 14.8% • BUT actual number of students who withdrew in the ‘P1’ category is four times that of the ‘SO’ category (16/4). • However this = proportional withdrawals • Consequently given that there are four times as many P1 recruited as SO there seems to be no particular significance in these results.
So who will pursue teaching as a career…tutor reports • 6 SO - strong interest in teaching compared 3 P1. • Overall the P1 sample showed a balance between the responses; ‘strong interest’, ‘considering teaching’ and ‘positive experience’ with roughly a third of the sample in each category. • Whereas the SO sample was skewed towards the positive in relation to pursuing teaching as a career.
What would I want to do differently? • Interviews • Statistical analyses - Chi squared? – help! • Any suggestions?
Recommendations • Shortage subject advocates to continue to go into schools - how? Volunteers? • Structured opportunity such as the SAS to build and encourage the skills of beginning teachers in the shortage subjects so that they 'believe'that they are 'suited'to teaching. • A HE taught programme/module in collaboration with the National STEM Centre. • Introducing and reinforcing exciting teaching and learning strategies that Priority 1students could practise firstly during the programme and then in the classroom.
Bibliography • Collins, P. (2010) ‘Supporting and improving retention in initial teacher education shortage secondary subjects: The starting out scheme’ Worcester Journal of Learning & Teaching 4 http://www.worc.ac.uk/adpu/documents/FinalPCollinsITERetention.pdf [accessed 22 February 2011] • Cooper, P. and D’Inverno, R. (2004) ‘Those who can teach: Addressing the crisis in Mathematics in UK schools and Universities’ Educational Studies in Mathematics. 56 pp.343-357. • Cooper, P. and D’Inverno, R. (2005) ‘The future of the discipline? Mathematics and the undergraduate Ambassadors Scheme’ Journal of Mathematics Teacher Education. 8 pp.329-342. • Macdonald, D. (1999) ‘Teacher attrition: a review of literature’. Teaching and Teacher Education 15 pp.835-848. • Smithers, A., and Robinson, P. (2008) Physics in schools and universities: IV Supply and retention of teachers. Buckingham: Carmichael Press http://wordpress.buckingham.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/physics-teachers.pdf [accessed 23 March 2011.] • The Training and Development Agency for Schools http://www.tda.gov.uk/Recruit/experienceteaching/jointhestudentassociatesscheme.aspx [accessed 8.3.10.]