Introduction

The Scottish Teachers for a New Era (STNE) is an initiative to reform teacher education based on Teacher for a New Era (TNE) initiative in the United Stated. The programme, a bachelor of education, is made up of four years of university based studies followed by two years of induction years.  The programme aims at developing effective teachers who are capable to enhance pupil learning and achievement in primary school. It is jointly funded by the Scottish government and the Hunter Foundation. While STNE is based on TNE, it responds to the Scottish education context (Gray et al. 2009). This paper looks at the field experience component of the STNE programme and how it supports student teachers through enhanced collaboration, feedback and the alignment between placement schools and the university.

Theoretical Issues

Field experience is a critical component of initial teacher education which contributes most to professional learning of student teachers (Mtika 2008; Moody 2009). Rots et al. (2007) found that field experience has the strongest impact on retention of student teachers. In accounting for the higher levels of attrition among beginning teachers, Day et al. (2006) attributed it to lack of suitable support. Smethem (2007) noted that student teachers are highly susceptible to the type of field experiences they have and it is through these experiences that they create their personal identities as beginning teachers.

Field experience pose various challenges for students such as developing a professional identity as a teacher, developing a conception of the content knowledge and pedagogical content knowledge, developing a conception of teaching and learning and the [expanded] role of a teacher , classroom management, and development of collegiate working relationships (Grossman and Stodolsky 1994; Spindler and Biott 2000). However, field experience can be reclaimed as a powerful component of professional learning.

Educative practicum

Field experience on the STNE programme has been redesigned, moving away from elements of the traditional apprenticeship model, to incorporating aspects of an educative practicum. This implies that student teachers engage in their professional learning and interpretation of unique learning and teaching situations through exploration, investigation, reflection, and decisions with the support of school teachers and university tutors (Zeichner 1996). Within the STNE programme, student teachers on two formal sources of support, namely: university tutors and school staff. The university tutors facilitate the student teacher’s personal and professional development by providing different types of support including acting as a metaphoric bridge between theory and practice (Lyle 1996). The supporter teachers provide support and encourage team work with the student teachers. Within this arrangement, collaboration, feedback and alignment of thinking and practices are central to ensuring student teachers’ professional learning progression.

Research questions

The main objective of this study is to learn from students teachers’ data on their experiences during field experience. The research questions we intend to answer are: what are the professional learning experiences of student teachers during field experience placement; and what recommendations concerning the delivery of field experience placement can be made based on student teachers’ experiences.

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