There is an association between the quality of teacher education, the quality of teachers in school and the learning experiences of school students (Darling-Hammond & Lieberman, 2012; OECD, 2015). For this reason it is imperative that the teacher education continuum (i.e., initial teacher education, induction and in-service) provides teachers with a meaningful, relevant and worthwhile professional lifecycle. There continues to be an intense policy focus on the education of teachers across the professional lifecycle (Teaching Council, 2011). This proposal focuses on the early phases of the professional life-cycle, specifically the potential of developing a dialogue on the dynamics of in-school support for teacher learning within and across both ITE and induction.

The kinds and degree of necessary support for pre-service teachers’ (PSTs) and newly qualified are similar in many respects, though differ also in notable and important ways. The role of school placement in the initial teacher education phase continues to be supported as having the most influence on PSTs process of learning to be a teacher. For this reason, it is imperative that we not only explore the most effective way in which to configure the school placement experience but that we also explore how this experience in initial teacher education interacts and influences the professional lifecycle experiences in induction and in-service. This projects sets out to consider capacity building within teacher education through the investigation and development of the school placement triad, i.e., PSTs, teachers (who act as mentors in the schools PSTs undertake school placement in) and teacher educators (supervisors of PSTs on school placement) and overlapping dynamics of school-level support during induction. The dynamics of and capacity for support of PSTs and Newly Qualified Teachers (NQTs) is uneven in many jurisdictions.  For example, the school-level supports for PSTs that would typically provide assistance may often be much less structured and clearly articulated than is the case for NQTs during induction or vice versa.

Capacity building is not only explored with regards to the three populations represented in the school placement triad but also with an interest in extending the notion of teacher educators not only being those residing in universities but also school teachers. The partnership of the University of Limerick (UL), Ireland, the University of Porto (UP), Portugal and the University of Glasgow (UG), UK provides the symposium with a unique and complementary set of expertise. UL is particularly focused on the induction aspect of teacher education, i.e., a programme for sustained and systematic support and assistance for beginning teachers (Banks et al., 2015) and is currently investing a significant amount of time in considering how best to link initial teacher education to induction. UP’s initial teacher education school placement programme is well developed and they are currently looking to how best to link this with induction. Conscious that the first two institutions focus on particular components of the teacher education continuum, the UG provides a unique opportunity for an institution that is highly regarded as delivering and supporting each element of the teacher education continuum. UG would mentor other partners in the project on building a dialogue between initial teacher education and teacher induction that would lead and encourage further dialogue on how best to consider addressing teacher education as a continuum. Exploring the different circumstances that lead to who wears the mantle of ‘teacher education’ during school placements will allow the range of teacher educator ‘voices’ to be heard, shared and considered. The symposium will also look to address how best to support the necessary link between higher education institutions and schools in the education of prospective and qualified teachers.

Banks, J., Conway, P., Darmody, M., Leavy, A., Smyth, E. & Watson, D. (2015) Review of the Droichead Teacher Induction Pilot Porgramme. Working Paper No. 514. Dublin: Economic and Social research Institute. Darling-Hammond, L. & Lieberman, A. (2012) Teacher Education around the World: Changing Policies and Practices. Teacher Quality and School Development. London/New York: Routledge. OECD (2015) Schools for 21st-century learners: Strong leaders, confident teachers, innovative approaches. OECD. Teaching Council (2011) Initial Teacher Education: Criteria & Guidelines for Programme Providers. Dublin: Teaching Council.