It is within the local policy background and literature narrative outlined below that my research aims to explore school placement in ITE as experienced by the student teachers themselves through the following research questions:

1. What are the factors shaping the experience of student teachers on school placement and the development of their subsequent professional identities?
2. Why do these particular individuals choose to pursue the teaching profession?

The pivotal role played by school placement in in ITE has been acknowledged by the wide spectrum of stakeholders involved, namely the Scottish education policymakers (HMIE, 2005), the higher education institutions (Allen & Wright, 2014; Young et al., 2015), the schools/support teachers (Le Cornu, 2010; Sorensen, 2014), and obviously, the student teachers themselves (Busher et al., 2015; Caires et al., 2012; Smith & Lev-Ari, 2005). Dewhurst & McMurtry (2006) identify placement as ‘an essential part of learning to teach’ (p. 169) due to the sense of belonging experienced by the student teachers, constant communication and support, in addition to professional development opportunities to observe experienced teachers and eventually shoulder responsibility for their own teaching. This seemingly widely-embraced ‘beneficial’ nature of the school placement has been problematized on a range of issues, mainly, the failure of ITE to prepare student teachers in their transition from teacher preparation to full-time teaching. Grudnoff (2011) highlights ways in which teaching differs from the practicum, and how these differences may help, or actually, hinder the transition to teaching, suggesting a ‘rethinking [of] the practicum to support the development of realistic expectations and understandings which, in turn, could ease the transition to teaching’ (p. 232). Grudnoff (2011) furthermore dismisses an increase in the amount of school experience as the one and all solution to existing ITE problems, exposing this as an indication of ‘very unrealistic expectations both of the practicum, and of beginning teachers’ (p. 232). These issues can be placed in a global context through the main findings of the OECD’s ‘Teaching and Learning International Survey’ (TALIS) 2013 with wider-reaching implications for education and training policies in Europe. TALIS results underline an association between teachers' feeling of preparedness and a formal teacher education which includes a balanced mix of content, pedagogy and practical components. To ensure that content and practice are brought together, TALIS suggests that policy measures should focus on establishing quality assurance mechanisms and close co-operation between ITE providers, schools and educational authorities, as well as key stakeholders.

The important contribution of the practical component to ITE programmes, that is, the school placement experience, in promoting and developing teacher professionalism is reflected in the Scottish education policy scenario that provides the setting for my research project. The agreement ‘A Teaching Profession for the 21st Century’ (2001) stated that further work was required by the then Scottish Executive, among which is ‘a review of initial teacher education’ (p. 21). More specifically, there was a specific focus on student teacher placements, recognized as ‘an essential part in developing the professional skills of new teachers. Donaldson (2011) gives a lot of visibility to school experience, regarding it ‘not as complementary to what happens in the university but as integral to the total experience of teacher education’ (p. 90). The Donaldson Review identified the need for education policy to support ‘the creation of a reinvigorated approach to twenty-first century teacher professionalism’ (p. 84). A review of the literature revolving around ITE, more specifically the issue of school placement, reveals its growing visibility within the research spectrum, together with the apparent absence of the main stakeholders’ voices – the student teachers themselves – hence providing the justification for my research questions. 

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